#the basilica of saint nicholas

[postcard-from-the-past]

Medieval bull sculpture by the main door of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in the Old Town of Bari, Puglia region of Italy

Italian vintage postcard

[howamidrivinginlimbo]

Basilica di San Nicola, Bari

[gunhilde]

Norman carvings from the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, Bari

[rabbitcruiser]

St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day celebrates St. Nicholas, a popular minor Christian saint in Western and Eastern churches. In the fourth century, he was a  bishop in Myra, a Greek town in the ancient district of Lycia, in Asia Minor, near present-day Demre,  Turkey. The story of much of his life is not based on historical  evidence, but on traditional stories and legends. It is believed that he  was born in Patara,  a seaport in Lycia, and that he traveled to Palestine and Egypt before  coming to Myra. He was imprisoned for his beliefs by Roman Emperor  Diocletian but was freed by Constantine the Great. He is believed to  have been at the first council of Nicaea,  and there are many legends that say he performed miracles for the poor.  He was known for giving gifts and putting coins in people's shoes, and  this influenced the way he is celebrated, as well as how other  traditions during the Christmas season are celebrated.

St. Nicholas was buried in his church in Myra, and over the next few  centuries, pilgrims began coming to his shrine. In 1087, his remains  were stolen and taken to Bari, Italy. This increased his popularity in  Europe, and Bari became a popular pilgrimage site. Most of his remains  are still at the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari. His popularity  continued to rise during the Middle Ages, but disappeared in most places  except the Netherlands during the Reformation. His popularity has come back in Europe, and he has since become the patron saint of many places and people.

St. Nicholas Day is popular in Europe, particularly with children,  because of the belief that St. Nicholas brings them gifts. Before the  day, many European children place shoes or special St. Nicholas boots in  front of fireplaces or outside of their front door at night. On the  morning of the day, they receive small presents, such as candy, cookies,  fruit, and small toys. Besides shoes or boots, presents are also placed  in stockings, socks, or bags. In some countries, gifts are given on the  eve of the day. In some European cities, especially those where he is  the patron saint, the day is also marked with parades, feasts, and  festivals. Some churches also have special services dedicated to the  day.

Some in America also celebrate St. Nicholas Day. In the seventeenth  century, the Dutch brought the tradition to New Amsterdam, which is now  New York City. St. Nicholas had been called Sinterklaas in the  Netherlands, and when he was brought to America he eventually became  known as Santa Claus. During the nineteenth century, the Santa Claus we  think of today came into his own. Similar to Sinterklaas in the  Netherlands, Father Christmas of Britain is inspired by St. Nicholas.  Another character, Krampus, is seen as being the evil companion of St. Nicholas.

How to Observe St. Nicholas Day

Children  could celebrate by putting their shoes or boots in front of a fireplace  or outside of their front door the night before the day. Stockings or  socks could also be used. Parents could fill the shoes with small toys,  candy, and other treats. Although the day is most celebrated by children  and their parents, anyone can participate. You could even drop coins  into people's shoes just as St. Nicholas did. Some cities have parades,  feasts, and festivals which you could attend today. You could also plan a  trip to the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari, where the remains of St. Nicholas are held.

Source

[davidstanleytravel]

The Basilica San Nicola (1087-1197) in Bari, Italy, contains relics of Saint Nicholas brought here from Turkey in 1087.

[sunthatiam]

Rose Window, Basilica of Saint Nicholas, Amsterdam

[brother-joseph]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Saint Nicholas of Tolentino DVD, by Bob and Penny Lord, New.

[kappavision]

This hilltop church with a handsome portico was once surrounded by a unique line of defence that was significantly involved in the uprising of the Maltese against the French during the 1798-1800 blockade. View a set of five photos by Kappa Vision below 👇 THE TAS-SAMRA CHURCH Built in 1630 in the area covered by the parish of St. Gaetan in the #Maltese town of Ħamrun, this historic church is dedicated to Our Lady of Atocia (aka Atocha or Attocia). It is however popularly known today as tal-Madonna tas-Samra (the Dark Madonna). The church was recently raised to the grade of Sanctuary. The icon on the High Altar of the church reflects the image of Our Lady of Atocia, venerated at the Basilica of Atocia in Madrid, Spain. A VERY OLD, HILLTOP AREA OF ĦAMRUN The church was built on a hilltop on the site of an earlier church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, which gave its name to the Torre San Nicola nearby. The church lies at the heart of the earliest known urban core of Ħamrun, which flourished with the arrival of the abundant supply of fresh water secured by the aqueduct. During the Maltese uprising against the French (1798-1800), one of the insurgents improvised gun batteries that were placed on this hilltop. NOTABLE BUILDINGS AROUND THE CHURCH There were also several other villas and gardens, on a more modest scale, around the church (see diagram). Unfortunately these have been largely lost as a result of urbanisation since the late 19th century. Some examples still appear on the early 20th century survey sheets, such as the villa and formal garden that stood in front of the church of Our Lady of Atocha. The garden was replaced by housing before the Second World War, but part of the main villa block is intact. NEGLECTED IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY The church was abandoned for some time in the early 20th century. A WWII SHELTER Next to this church there is also a World War Two shelter which has been recently cleaned up. Full article on Kappa Vision on Facebook (at Ħamrun) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpEf4ajIwaF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mamunj27]

Valentine's Day History

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine. Through later folk traditions, it has become a significant cultural and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

There are a number of martyrdom stories associated with various Saint Valentines connected to February 14, including an account of the imprisonment of Saint Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in the third century. According to an early tradition, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer. Numerous later additions to the legend have better related it to the theme of love: an 18th-century embellishment to the legend claims he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution another tradition posits that Saint Valentine performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry.

The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14.The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. In the 19th century, handmade cards gave way to mass-produced greetings. In Italy, Saint Valentine's keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver's heart", as well as to children to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady).

Saint Valentine's Day is not a public holiday in any country, although it is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion[13] and the Lutheran Church. Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate Saint Valentine's Day on July 6 in honor of Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and on July 30 in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.[16] The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Gelasius I in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of St. Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which "remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV [1288 - 1292]".[18][19] The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Other relics are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.[20]

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (now Terni, in central Italy) and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273. He is buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino). Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas notes that "abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe." A relic claimed to be Saint Valentine of Terni's head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster, Winchester, and venerated.

The Catholic Encyclopedia speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.

February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentine's Day in various Christian denominations; it has, for example, the rank of 'commemoration' in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion. The feast day of Saint Valentine is given in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church. In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14 was relegated from the General Roman Calendar to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14. Therefore, as he remains within the Roman Martyrology, he may recognised optionally during mass outside of Christmastide and Eastertide.

The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar (see General Roman Calendar of 1960).

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Valentine is recognized on July 6, in which Saint Valentine, the Roman presbyter, is honoured; in addition, the Eastern Orthodox Church observes the feast of Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on July 30.[26][27][28]

[judyconda]

#FolkloreThursday: St Valentine - PART I Saint Valentine (Italian: San Valentino; Latin: Valentinus) was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his Saints' Day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is also a patron saint of Terni, epilepsy and beekeepers. Saint Valentine was a clergyman – either a priest or a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine (Saint Valentine's Day) since at least the eighth century. Relics of him were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which "remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV". His skull, crowned with flowers, is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Other relics of him are in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Dublin, Ireland, a popular place of pilgrimage, especially on Saint Valentine's Day, for those seeking love. At least two different Saint Valentines are mentioned in the early martyrologies. For Saint Valentine of Rome, along with Saint Valentine of Terni, "abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe", according to Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas. Saint Valentine of Rome was martyred on February 14 in AD 269. The Feast of Saint Valentine, also known as Saint Valentine's Day, was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of the Christian martyr. #mystique #spiritique #valentines #ValentinesDay #Valentinesweek #HappyValentinesday #ValentinesSeason #valentinesszn #lovers #happyloversday #loversday #loversseason #loversszn #mindfulness #Spiritual #Spirituality #mystical #mystic #mysticisim #StValentine #Galentinesday #galentines #StValentinesDay #sacredhearts #sacredheart #folklorethursday #folklore #folkloreflash #catholiques https://www.instagram.com/p/CouOAuKyqpN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ramtinsnaps]

📍Basilica of Saint Nicholas Church , Amsterdam, Netherlands September 2022 #amsterdam🇳🇱 #amsterdam #photography #travelling_europe #travelphotography #church #basilicasaintnicholas #netherlands #eurotrip2022 #hollanda #visithollanda #photojourney https://www.instagram.com/p/CnAIpYGJPxy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[florilegiodelgrottesco]

Church of Saint Nicholas (Russian Orthodox)

Basilica of Saint Nicholas (Roman Catholic)

Bari, Apulia (Italy)

[gdgs-world]

Basilica Of Saint Nicholas

Amsterdam Netherlands

[rabbitcruiser]

St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day celebrates St. Nicholas, a popular minor Christian saint in Western and Eastern churches. In the fourth century, he was a  bishop in Myra, a Greek town in the ancient district of Lycia, in Asia Minor, near present-day Demre,  Turkey. The story of much of his life is not based on historical  evidence, but on traditional stories and legends. It is believed that he  was born in Patara,  a seaport in Lycia, and that he traveled to Palestine and Egypt before  coming to Myra. He was imprisoned for his beliefs by Roman Emperor  Diocletian but was freed by Constantine the Great. He is believed to  have been at the first council of Nicaea,  and there are many legends that say he performed miracles for the poor.  He was known for giving gifts and putting coins in people's shoes, and  this influenced the way he is celebrated, as well as how other  traditions during the Christmas season are celebrated.

St. Nicholas was buried in his church in Myra, and over the next few  centuries, pilgrims began coming to his shrine. In 1087, his remains  were stolen and taken to Bari, Italy. This increased his popularity in  Europe, and Bari became a popular pilgrimage site. Most of his remains  are still at the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari. His popularity  continued to rise during the Middle Ages, but disappeared in most places  except the Netherlands during the Reformation. His popularity has come back in Europe, and he has since become the patron saint of many places and people.

St. Nicholas Day is popular in Europe, particularly with children,  because of the belief that St. Nicholas brings them gifts. Before the  day, many European children place shoes or special St. Nicholas boots in  front of fireplaces or outside of their front door at night. On the  morning of the day, they receive small presents, such as candy, cookies,  fruit, and small toys. Besides shoes or boots, presents are also placed  in stockings, socks, or bags. In some countries, gifts are given on the  eve of the day. In some European cities, especially those where he is  the patron saint, the day is also marked with parades, feasts, and  festivals. Some churches also have special services dedicated to the  day.

Some in America also celebrate St. Nicholas Day. In the seventeenth  century, the Dutch brought the tradition to New Amsterdam, which is now  New York City. St. Nicholas had been called Sinterklaas in the  Netherlands, and when he was brought to America he eventually became  known as Santa Claus. During the nineteenth century, the Santa Claus we  think of today came into his own. Similar to Sinterklaas in the  Netherlands, Father Christmas of Britain is inspired by St. Nicholas.  Another character, Krampus, is seen as being the evil companion of St. Nicholas.

How to Observe St. Nicholas Day

Children  could celebrate by putting their shoes or boots in front of a fireplace  or outside of their front door the night before the day. Stockings or  socks could also be used. Parents could fill the shoes with small toys,  candy, and other treats. Although the day is most celebrated by children  and their parents, anyone can participate. You could even drop coins  into people's shoes just as St. Nicholas did. Some cities have parades,  feasts, and festivals which you could attend today. You could also plan a  trip to the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari, where the remains of St. Nicholas are held.

Source

[patoftheshire]

[pamphletstoinspire]

Feast of Saint Nicholas, Bishop - December 6th

Santa Claus signed the Nicene Creed

Traditions the world over are so embedded in the rhythms of daily life that their ubiquity goes unnoticed. Why a birthday cake with lighted candles? Why make a wish and then blow those candles out? The origin of this charming tradition is obscure. Why shake hands, toast by clinking glasses, cross fingers for good luck, or have bridesmaids? The sources of many traditions are so historically remote and culturally elusive as to allow diverse interpretations of their meaning. Today’s saint is without doubt, however, the man behind the massively celebrated tradition of Santa Claus, the most well-known Christmas figure after Jesus and the Three Kings. Santa Claus’ mysterious nocturnal visits to lavish children with gifts at Christmastime is not a tradition whose origin is lost in the mists of history. It is a tradition firmly rooted in Christianity.

Little is known about the life of Saint Nicholas, besides that he was the Catholic Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the early fourth century. It is likely that he suffered under the persecution of Diocletian and certain that he later attended the Council of Nicea in 325. “Nicholas of Myra of Lycia” appears on one of the earliest and most reliable lists of the Bishops at Nicea. Some of the bishops at Nicea looked like soldiers who had just crawled off the battlefield; eyes gouged out, skin charred black, stumps for legs. These were the front-line torture victims of Diocelatian. The Emperor Constantine had called the Council, and when he entered the dim hall to inaugurate the great gathering, this colossus, the most powerful man in the world, dressed in robes of purple, slowly walked among the hushed and twisted bodies and did something shocking and beautiful. He stopped and kissed each eyeless cheek, each scar, gash, wound, and mangled stub where an arm had once hung. With this noble gesture, the healing could finally begin. The Church was free. The mitred heads wept tears of joy, and Saint Nicholas was among them.

At his death, Saint Nicholas was buried in his see city. Less than a century later, a church was built in his honor in Myra and became a site of pilgrimage. And the Emperor Justinian, in the mid-500s, renovated a long-existing church dedicated to Saint Nicholas in Constantinople. In Rome, a Greek community was worshipping in a basilica dedicated to Saint Nicholas around 600. The church can still be visited today. These churches, and hundreds of others named for Saint Nicholas, prove that devotion to our saint was widespread not long after his death.

When Myra was overrun by Muslim Turks in the 1000s, there was a risk that the saint’s bones would disappear. So in 1087, sailors from Bari, Italy, committed a holy theft and moved Saint Nicholas’ relics to their own hometown. In 1089 the Pope came to Bari to dedicate a new church to Saint Nicholas. And just a few years later, Bari became the rendezvous point for the First Crusade. Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of travelers and sailors, making him popular with the crusading knights. These knights, in turn, later brought the devotion to Saint Nicholas they learned in Bari back to their villages dotting the countryside of Central and Western Europe. Thus it happened that a saint famous along the shores of the Mediterranean became, in ways not totally understood, the source of gift-giving traditions that perdure until today in every corner of Europe.

Legends state that Nicholas saved three sisters from lives of shame by secretly dropping small sacks of gold through their family’s window at night, thus giving each a marriage dowry. Other legends relate that Nicholas secretly put coins in shoes that were left out for him. Nicholas’ legacy of gift-giving became a Central-European and Anglo-Saxon expression of the gift-giving formerly exclusive to the Three Kings. Christmas night gift-giving in Northern lands thus slowly replaced the more biblically solid traditions of giving gifts on the Feast of the Epiphany, a custom more popular in Southern Europe and in lands which inherited its traditions.

The antiquity of the Church means it has played a matchless role in the formation of Western culture, a role that no faux holidays or new “tradition” can replicate. Santa Claus has roots. He wears red for the martyrs. He dons a hat resembling a bishop’s mitre. He often holds a sceptre similar to a bishop’s crozier. And he distributes gifts to children in humble anonymity on the night of Christ’s birth. Old Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or Santa Claus is real, in one sense. In all likelihood, he signed the Nicene Creed. Our “Santa,” then, was an orthodox Catholic bishop who argued for correct teaching about our Trinitarian God. The gift of the truth was, then, his first and most lasting gift to mankind.

Saint Nicholas, your service as a bishop included not only teaching correctly the mysteries of our faith but also generous and humble charity in alleviating the material needs of your neighbor. Help all of us to combine good theology with Christian action like you did.