Biography
Nicholas was a Greek bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey). Orphaned young, he used his inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He is famously remembered for secretly dropping bags of gold down the chimney of a poor man's house to provide dowries for his three daughters, saving them from prostitution. He was imprisoned during the persecution of Diocletian. At the Council of Nicaea in 325, tradition holds that he became so enraged by Arius's blasphemy against Christ's divinity that he slapped or punched the heretic in the face. His legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus ('Saint Nick').
Miracles & Signs
- ✦Resurrecting three children who had been murdered and pickled in a barrel during a famine
- ✦Multiplying wheat during a great famine in Myra
- ✦Calming a storm at sea, saving sailors
Wisdom & Quotes
“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God's giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.”