Card from St Nicholas Church North Walsham, Norfolk, UK St. Nicholas Center Collection

Some say St. Nicholas existed only in legend, without any reliable historical record. Legends usually do grow out of real, actual events, though they may be embellished to make more interesting stories. Many of the St. Nicholas stories seem to be truth interwoven with imagination. However, the following facts of the life of St. Nicholas could contain some part of historical truth. They provide a clear sense of his personal characteristics which are further elaborated in other narratives.

• Nicholas' birth in Patara
  Though the exact date is not known, it is believed to have occurred between AD 260 and 280. The place, Patara, can be historically grounded.

• Dowries for the poor girls
  This story, distinct to Nicholas, can be regarded as historical in its essence. There are three very ancient accounts which only differ in regard to the number of maidens and other detail. This event reveals important aspects of St. Nicholas's personality, namely, his charitable nature and humility. This story is not found in hagiographic accounts of other saints' lives.

• Election as Bishop of Myra, though not a priest
  Unusual though it was for a non-ordained person to be nominated to the position of bishop, two sources corroborate the story. Because it is so unusual, there are only two other such cases (Saint Severus and Saint Ambrose), it adds credence to the story as it is not something that would be made up. *

• Participation in the Council of Nicaea
  Although Bishop Nicholas does not appear on all lists of attenders, his name appears on the oldest Greek list and on five other lists.

• Saving three condemned innocents
  This story is the oldest and most genuine recorded episode from the life of St. Nicholas. Historical documentation confirms the many references to place names and people. Some versions expand the account to include the story of the three generals.

• Intervention in favor of the unjustly jailed
  The outstanding figures in this solidly structured story are well known in other contemporary accounts, where they are portrayed in similar ways.

• Destruction of the Temple of Artemis
  This account reveals knowledge of detail concerning the temple which would have been unknown to a writer several centuries later had it not been based on an account coming out of the people and traditions of that city.

• Mariners saved during a tempest
  The episode is important to explain the origin of his wide-spread patronage to sailors and other sea voyagers.

The earliest reference to St. Nicholas of Myra comes from the late 700s—about 250 years after his death. The life of St. Nicholas of Sion (a 6th century abbot of a mountain monastery near Myra) describes a visit "going down to the metropolis of Myra, [Nicholas of Sion] went off to the martyrium of the glorious Saint Nicholas." This reliable witness, written by a close associate of Nicholas of Sion shortly after his death, roots Nicholas of Myra in history and reveals his status as a revered saint.

The ancient sources cited to substantiate this information are Michael the Archimandrite, Sinaitic and Ethiopian manuscripts, Gratianus' Decretum, Theodore the Lector, Andrew of Crete, Eustratios of Constantinople, AD 583; Passionarium Romanum, 650 AD; and Praxis de tributo.

Saint Nicholas: Early Evidence
A look at early sources, including a summary of Michael the Archimandrite's Life, Works, and Miracles of our Holy Father Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia

The Real Face of St. Nicholas
Modern forensic reconstruction from 2004 compared with traditional iconographic images

* Nicholas, who was raised by his uncle, an abbot, probably became a monk before his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Selected as a Brother to become the Bishop of Myra, he would have been ordained a deacon, then priest in quick succession before ordination as a bishop. He would not have served as a deacon or priest.

SOURCES:
Cioffari, P. Gerardo, O.P., "The Truth About Saint Nicholas: The Most Ancient Texts in the Light of Recent Historical Criticism," Bollettino di San Nicola, November-December 1997
Cioffari, P. Gerardo, O.P., Saint Nicholas: His Life, the Translation of his Relics and his Basilica in Bari, translated by Philip L. Barnes, Centro Studi Nicolaiani, Bari, Italy, 1994
Seal, Jeremy, Nicholas: The epic journey from Saint to Santa Claus Bloomsbury, New York & London, 2005
Nicholas' transformation into Santa told through careful historical detail, travelogue, and personal reflection; extensive material on Nicholas as Saint, as well as Santa. Purchase from amazon.com, amazon.ca, or amazon.co.uk