Saint Nicholas Artist: G. E. Mullan St Nicholas Center Collection

Stories about St. Nicholas were first told while he was living, as sailors were already claiming him as their patron saint. Sailing to different ports and along rivers, they carried stories of Nicholas throughout Europe. As the stories were told and retold, imaginative and sometimes miraculous details were added—details which vary in accounts of the same episode. It takes a very unique and special person to inspire such a rich legacy.

These stories reveal St. Nicholas' character. His is the story of a man who embodied love-who loved God and cared for people. He was ready to help in any way he could; he truly loved his neighbors as himself. And so the stories show a man, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, who is a worthy example. Bishop Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. A true saint.

Traditional Stories & Legends
        Life of Nicholas
        Early Miracles
        Later Miracles
Classic Sources
Illustrated Accounts
Life of St. Nicholas shown in images

Interactive Story Painting

Life & Miracles of Saint Nicholas ~ interactive story painting
Thirty-one  stories from Russian tradition and The Golden Legend 

Traditional Stories & Legends—simple retellings

Life of Nicholas
 Answer to Prayer: Nicholas' Birth
 Boyhood: Tragedy Strikes
 Three Impoverished Maidens or The Story of the Dowries
 Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
 How Nicholas Became A Bishop
 Nicholas and the Temple of Artemis
 Famine Relief or the Miracle of the Grain
 Bishop Nicholas Loses His Cool (At the Council of Nicaea)
 Where Was Nicholas?
 Righter of Wrongs
 The Emperor Dreams
 Tax Relief for Myra
 Grace Received: the Death of Nicholas
 A Second Home: the Translation
 Divine Approval

Early Miracles
 The First Miracle
 Come Out!
 Demons, Be Gone!
 Kidnapped!
 The Sailors' Friend
 The Evil Butcher
 One Cup or Two?
 A Saint in the Making

Later Miracles
 Oil and Water
 A Surprise Ending
 Icon Power
 Water as Sign
 Dragon Charmer
 The Saint and the King
 Unexpected Treasure
 Lost and Found
 Miraculous Redemption
 Arrogance Humbled
 Rescue by Stone
 Faith Rewarded

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Classic Sources

Stratelatis or Military Officers 
Anonymous Greek account (ca AD 400)
The Life of St. Nicholas the Bishop
thirteen stories from The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (1275)
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
from The Prologue from Ohrid: Lives of Saints (ca 1940)

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Illustrated Accounts

The Life of Saint Nicholas
A picture book with fifteen stories
The Life of St. Nicholas, excerpts from The Golden Legend
adapted and whimsically illustrated by Jennifer Lynn Jordan

Life of Saint Nicholas Shown in Images

Scenes from the Life of Nicholas: Frescos from St Nicolaaskerk, Amsterdam
The Life of St. Nicholas Told in Icons: from St. Nicholas Chapel, Greek Catholic Union
Scenes from the Life of Nicholas in Serbia: 17th century frescos from St Nicholas Church, Patriarch of Pec, Serbia
The Life of Nicholas: 9th century frescos from the Abbey of Novalesa in Italy

More Stories & Poems

LINKS
The Real St. Nicholas, selections from The Life of Nicholas
by Symeon the Metaphrast, ca 912
Butler's Lives of the Saints, St. Nicholas, Confessor, Archbishop of Myra—A.D. 342
first published 1756-9
The Miracles of St. Nicholas: The Pious Man's Daughters and the Butcher's Boys: A Real Story of the True St. Nick, a grown-up cartoon story by Jon Morris
If the images are too large for your screen, click F11. To return to your regular desktop, click F11 again.
 An Italian saint site with a beautiful series of Saint Nicholas images from around the world
Click the thumbnail image at the lower right of each page to move through the sequence