The Story of Saint Nicholas

There has been talk about St. Nicholas in regard to Solstice and Christmas holiday celebrations. A brief information about the Saint Nicolas in Turkey. The temple which had been build the honor Artemis Euthera (formerly Cybele, the mother goddess of Anatolia) collapsed in an earthquake in the 2nd century A.D. It is assumed that an orthodox church was built in the Byzantine are over the remains of the temple. It appear that Nicholas became the bishop of the church, and served there until his death. We know that he died on Dec.6, 343 and his body was put in a marble Roman sarcophagus which was placed in the central apse on the south side of the church. During the Arab invasions between the 7th and 9th centuries A.D., like all the other southern Mediterranean cities, Myra end the church, too, were destroyed. In 1087, during the turbulent years of the late Byzantine era, the Italian merchants from Bari, who came to the area, broke the sarcophagus and took St Nichola's remains to Italy. The thieves, in their hurry, left behind a few finger bones Museum. In 1750, the Russian czarina bought the lend where the church is, and later the Russians repaired the church and its dome. A white marble sarcophagus, decorated with reliefs of various kinds of plants, is seen in the apse on the south side of the church. It belonged to St. Nicholas. The bones left behind by the thieves and the gold decorated icons of the church are on display on a special section in the Antalya Museum. This icons are among the most beautiful treasure of the Orthodox world. The church is built like a basilica in the shape of an Orthodox cross. The main section is in the center and it covered by a dome. On each side of main section, there are side halls, and on the southern side, there is a small square room, two corner rooms, an apse and a bema. The dome covering the main section is supported on the sides by semidomes. The main section is polygonal on the outside and has a windov with three archesthat openson to the back side. A synthronom with nine cave, placed on a arched vestibule, is seen on the main section. Arched door wayslead to the side halls, which give access to the other sections on the sides. The floors of the side rooms are covered either with colored mosaics or with stone. The small rooms added on during the Byzantine are in the north and it is assumed that these were used for different purposes. There is a garden, surrounded by tall walls, at the end of the small rooms. Byzantine column capitals, pieces of marble reliefs, and sarcophagi are seen in the garden. In a corner in the garden, there is a rectangular basin and it is assumed that it was used to store the holy water. The church stayed under the silt for the many years. After it was unearthed, it was repaired many times, and survived up to today. The turks who settled in the area respected St. Nicholas and did not damage the church.

St. Nicholas died in 343 and was put in a sarcophagus in a church built to his name. The church saw great damage in the earthquake of 529. The Byzantine emporer Justinian helped with repair work of the church. Arab raids have given some more damage later. But the grave was intact. Then in 1087 a group of Italian seamen landed in Demrya and hastily took some of his remains from the sarcophagus and carried them to Italy, bary. There, his remains were put in a large cathedral built to his name. The original St. Nicholas church was covered partly by alluvial silt brought by Demyra stream. Restoration and excavation work started in 1959 and still continues. The church is in "зarsi" the marketplace of the present town. It can be visited. The grave of St. Nicholas broken by the Italian sailors is in one of the side chapels of the church. Those remains of St. Nicholaus which have not been taken by the Itallians,i.e. some bones of his, are on display in Antalya Museum.

Demre

Some people believe that Santa Claus did not exist but truth is that old Father Christmas did in fact exist as a historic personality. He did not come from beyond the North Pole where Reindeers roam, but lived under the warm Lycian sun as Bishop of Myra. His church and extomb continue to exist as places of pilgrimage in the Turkish town of Demre (known also as Kale, near Antalya).

Saint Nicholas was born in Patara, was elected bishop during Diocletian's persecutions, and died in Myra around the year 350. This stories of his charitable acts took on legendary dimensions during the following centuries.

One of these stories concerned three boys who were hacked into pieces by a greedy butcher, who salted and pickled them for sale in his shop. Nicholas miraculously restored the boys to life. On another occasion, on hearing that the daughters of a poor Myran could not marry for lack of a dowry, Nicholas stole under the man's window at night and left a bag of gold for each girl. This act earned him the reputation of secretly delivering gifts in the black of night.

By the 10th century Nicholas had become the most popular folk saint in the Byzantine realm, counting as the patron of children, poor virgins, innocent prisoners, sailors and Russians. His tomb in Myra became the object of pilgrimages. A church was built around it in the 6th century. After it was destroyed in an Arab raid, the church was rebuilt in its present form with the help of Constantine IX and Empress Zoe in 1043.

The fame of St. Nicholas was brought to the west by Teophano, a Byzantine princess who married Otto II of Germany. In 1087 some Italian merchants broke into the tomb and removed

the bones of Santa Claus to Bari, where the famous church of San Nicola di Bari was built. Miraculously, enough other bones were found in Myra and transferred to the Antalya Museum.

The Church of St. Nicholas fell into disuse in Turkish times. In 1862 Czar Alexander I bought the edifice and began restoring it. Further restorations were carried out in recent years by the Turkish government, which also promoted the annual festivities which take place on the saint's feast day. Thousands of pilgrims from Italy, Greece and other countries come to Myra each year on December. Byzantine scholars and church historians meet to discuss the life and deeds of Santa Claus. Unfortunately there is no resident Christian community in Myra today, so the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Myra holds office in Istanbul.

Demre-Myra St Nicholas Church (Antalya)

The Church of St Nicholas was first built in the 3rd century and the major part of the extant building dates mainly to the 8th century, with a monastery added in the 11th/12th century. It was badly rebuilt in 1862 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, and in recent years Turkish archaeologists led by Semiha Yэldэz Цtьken have been engaged in investigation and restoration.

In 2004 excavations took place in trench W6, which produced Late Roman/Early Byzantine material including red slip terra sigillata. Last year in Building D a grave, perhaps that of the building benefactor, was found under the floor. Also under Building D were a stone surface and walls belonging to an earlier phase (5th-7th century). Among later finds were Philistine glass; ceramics from Greece, Cyprus and Syria; and a Seljuk coin (1246-49) in pre-alluvial context.

Documentation and conservation of the wall paintings have been undertaken since 2000 and continued in 2004. There are fifteen cycle scenes and thirty-eight saints. They are now ready to be displayed to the public.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29