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 Transfer of the Relics of St Nicholas From Myra to Bari, 900th Anniversary 500 lira: Transfer of his relics from Myra to Bari 700 lira: Offering of bags of gold coins to three daughters of a man who fell into poverty (thus saving their honor) 3000 lira: The miraculous rescue of a ship Scott 803-805 (1987) December 6 is Saint Nicholas Day, the feast of Saint Nicholas. It commemorates his death in Myra in the year 343 AD. Nicholas was a 4th century bishop of Myra (Lycia in southwestern Turkey, now known as Mugla). A Nicholas cult was established in the 6th century and spread to the West in the 10th century. When Muslims took over Turkey, Nicholas’ relics were transferred in 1087 to Bari, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, a city in which there was a large Greek immigrant community. The Basilica of St. Nicola di Bari was built 1087-1197 to house the relics, and is shown here:  The Basilica of San Nicola, Bari, Italy With Statue of Saint Nicholas Photo by Holger Uwe Schmitt From Wikimedia Commons Used under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license The Basilica is a center for pilgrimages by both Greek and Latin Christians. In addition to the Basilica at Bari, many churches have been named for St. Nicholas as are numerous artistic depictions. Historian David Farmer suggests that San Nicola was “the most frequently represented saintly bishop for several centuries.” St Nicholas is the patron of many causes – children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, pawnbrokers, apothecaries, perfumers. His most popular representation is that of Santa Claus – the giving of gifts to children – known as Father Christmas or the Dutch Sinte Klaas. Historian Donald Attwater observes that Nicholas “…is the patron of countries provinces, dioceses and cities, titular of churches innumerable...and [is] represented countless times in paintings and carvings. Yet what can be confidently stated of his personal history is no more than that he was a bishop of Myra….”His emblem is three balls – representing the bag of gold he presented to unmarried girls as a dowry to protect them from a life of prostitution. The same symbol is used for pawnbrokers. Saint Nicholas was been commemorated by Vatican City in a set of three stamps marking the 900th anniversary of the translation of his relics to Bari (shown above). The stamps were issued in minisheets of 8 stamps, with the stamps surrounded by 16 letter seals "portray[ing] some of the different ways in which popular imagination has represented the saint", as stated on the Philatelic Office release for the stamps: 
 Transfer of the Relics of St Nicholas From Myra to Bari, 900th Anniversary Minisheets for Scott 803-805 (1987) In addition, a fresco of Saint Nicholas from the Cathedral of Nardo (Italy) was presented as part of a five-stamp issue commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Cathedral, issued in 2013: 
Fresco of Saint Nicholas of Myra Cathedral of Santa Maria di Nardo Scott 1547 (2013) REFERENCES: |
