Saint Nicholas of Myra [ a ] traditionally 15 March β 6 December , [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ b ] also known as Nicholas of Bari , was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia in modern-day Antalya Province , Turkey during the time of the Roman Empire. His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Christian saints , and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the folklore of Santa Claus " Saint Nick " through Sinterklaas.
Little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas. The earliest accounts of his life were written centuries after his death and probably contain legendary elaborations. In his youth, he is said to have made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Syria Palaestina. Shortly after his return, he became Bishop of Myra. He was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian , but was released after the accession of Constantine.
An early list makes him an attendee at the First Council of Nicaea in , but he is never mentioned in any writings by people who were at the council.
Late, unsubstantiated legends claim that he was temporarily defrocked and imprisoned during the council for slapping the heretic Arius. Another famous late legend tells how he resurrected three children, who had been murdered and pickled in brine by a butcher planning to sell them as pork during a famine. Fewer than years after Nicholas's death, the St. Nicholas Church was built in Myra under the orders of Theodosius II over the site of the church where he had served as bishop, and his remains were moved to a sarcophagus in that church.
In , while the Greek Christian inhabitants of the region were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuk Turks , and soon after the beginning of the EastβWest schism , a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the church without authorization and brought them to their hometown, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola.
