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The Boy Bishop: Saint Nicholas in Christian and Muslim Lands
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10301 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1993 |
3,071 Words |
| Author
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Paul J. Magnarella
Paul J. Magnarella is professor of anthropology and Middle
Eastern Studies at the University of Florida. |
Saint Nicholas is one of Christendom's most popular saints. He is commemorated in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and is associated with the celebration of Christmas. Whereas most patron saints are specialists, Nicholas, a fourth-century figure, is a generalist. He is known as the protector of maidens, children, bankers, pawnbrokers, merchants, and sailors, as well as the patron of charitable fraternities and guilds in cities as diverse as Fribourg and Moscow. The story of this widely venerated saint crosses continents and oceans, traveling from the place of his birth in Asia Minor, the land now occupied by Turkey, throughout Europe and Asia to the New World and back again. Interestingly, in contemporary Muslim Turkey, where Nicholas is affectionately known as Noel Baba or Father Noel, his legends and fame are not only preserved but enhanced.
The historic and mythic Nicholas
Nicholas was born to rich and pious parents around A.D. 300 in Patara, on the southwestern Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. He spent most of his life in the nearby community of Myra, located about eighty-five miles southwest of the present-day city of Antalya. Both Patara and Myra had been part of ancient Lycia, a district whose warriors took part in the Trojan War during the thirteenth century B.C. Myra had been an important ancient Lycian port city. Its name derives from myrrh, a sweet-smelling resin obtained from shrubs that are abundant in the area. It may also have been a holy city during the ancient era, for its mountain is honeycombed with rock tombs from that period. The Romans had conquered Myra in 42 B.C., and it was still part of the Roman Empire when Nicholas was born.
Reportedly Nicholas (his name means "victory") was destined for greatness from the beginning. A legend tells how, as a baby he stood up in a tub during his first bath. In his early years, Nicholas showed signs of piety, fasting even in infancy and learning all he could about the Scriptures. His parents died when he was still young. Instead of indulging in his rich inheritance, he gave much of it away to the needy. According to legend, when the bishop of Myra died, other bishops gathered in the local church, fasting and praying to God to help them choose a proper successor. One night the senior bishop had a vision in which a divine voice instructed him that the first person named Nicholas who entered the church the next morning should be made bishop. The next morning, the boy Nicholas entered the church and to his surprise was proclaimed the new bishop of Myra. This legendary event became one of the most celebrated episodes in the medieval Christian
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