Saint Nicholas is the key figure upon whom Santa Claus is based. He was a nice guy who helped those in need, and was kind to kids. However, Good Ole Saint Nick was not above brawling. Like that time he punched a priest in the face. Below are some fascinating and lesser known facts about Saint Nicholas.
The Nice Saint Nick
Our modern Santa Claus as we know him today is the end result of inputs from various cultures. However, the biggest single input is probably Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari (270 – 342 AD). One of the most popular minor saints of both the Western and Eastern churches, Saint Nicholas was a generous man known for his gifts. His gift giving became associated with Christmas, and the tradition of gifts given that day.
Nicholas was born into wealth, and he used his riches to help the less fortunate. He traveled around, went on pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, and became associated with various good deeds, such as saving three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution. Legend also attributed to him numerous miracles. He reportedly chopped down a demonic tree, calmed the sea, and brought back to life three kids who had been murdered by a butcher and pickled in brine for sale as pork during a famine. No wonder he became the patron saint of children.
The Heated Religious Debates of Saint Nick’s Era
By all account, Saint Nick was a good guy, and a worthy figure upon whom to base the legend of the lovable and kindly Santa. However, Nicholas was not nice all the time, and he was not above settling debates by beating up people he had religious disagreements with. That was not unusual in Nicholas’ day. Early Christianity was chaotic, with little consensus about the new faith’s doctrine, and discussions often got physical. In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great convened bishops in Nicaea, in today’s Turkey, to sort things out.
Saint Nicholas was among those invited to the convention of bishops, which came to be known as the First Council of Nicaea. It settled some core issues, such as the divine nature of Jesus and his relationship to God, the first part of the Nicene Creed, and when to celebrate Easter. The debates en route to consensus were heated, though. They were not like Ivy League discussion panels, where violence is the last thing expected from nerdy professors in bowties and thick glasses. As seen below, fisticuffs often played a role in debates back then.
The Not So Nice Saint Nick
Participants at the Council of Nicaea could and did use fists to support the points they wanted to make. Forget passive aggressive cutting remarks: early church fathers might pull out knives in the middle of debates to literally cut each other. Saint Nicholas was among those who settled a discussion at the council with his fists. His victim was a priest named Arius, whose teachings had roiled Christianity and caused the convocation of the council in the first place. The controversy’s details seem esoteric and immaterial to modern ears, but they mattered a whole lot to people back then.
Arius, who was accused of heresy, had been invited by Emperor Constantine to defend his position. He got up and began to do so. His speech angered opponents, whose numbers included Nicholas – by then middle-aged, and apparently with a short fuse when it came to heresy. He reportedly did a Will-Smith-at-the-Oscars, rose from his seat, rushed Arius, and interrupted his speech with a punch to the face. For that, Saint Nick was stripped of his bishopric, and imprisoned for a time.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Daily Beast – Was Santa Actually a Badass Who Beat Up a Priest?
Encyclopedia Britannica – Saint Nicholas
History Halls – Did a Real Life Natural Disaster Inspire the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah Narrative?
Orthodox Church in America – Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
