St. Nicholas

- Russian-orthodox St. Nicholas

Today is the Memorial of St. Nicholas. One of the interesting things about the saint is his relic-worthiness. As Wikipedia says ...

Whereas the importance of relics and the business associated with pilgrims and patron saints caused the remains of most saints to be spread over several churches in several countries, Saint Nicholas is unique in that most of his bones have been preserved in one spot: his grave crypt in Bari. Although jealously guarded and kept from prying eyes of scientists, especially with the still continuing miracle of the manna, the Roman Catholic Church allowed for one scientific survey of the bones: In the late 1950s, during a restoration of the chapel, it allowed a team of their own scientists to photograph and measure the contents of the crypt grave.

In the summer of 2005, the report of this measurements was sent to a forensic laboratory in England. The review of the data revealed that the historical Saint Nicholas was barely five foot in height (while not exactly small, still shorter than average, even for his time) and had a broken nose.

Here below is the Basilica di San Nicola, where the saint's remains live ...



Wikipedia says of it ...

The Basilica houses one of the most noteworthy Romanesque sculptural works of southern Italy, a cathedra (bishop's throne) finished in the late 11th century for Elias. There are precious mosaic pavements in the crypt and presbytery. The ciborium, the most ancient in the region, is also decorated with mosaic; it has four columns with foliage, animals and mythological figures. The crypt, with 26 columns sporting capitals in Byzantine and Romanesque style, houses the relics of St. Nicholas.


- the crypt


- the alter above the crypt