“The tomb of Saint Nicolas, the inspiration behind Santa Claus, has been discovered after archaeologists uncovered the remains of an ancient church in Turkey that was submerged by rising sea levels in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.
The holy figure, who lived between 270 and 343 AD, is most famous for inheriting money that he gave away to the poor and specifically the story about how he gifted three girls with bags of gold to save them from a life of prostitution. …”
Originally posted by Stlhead: If all it takes to gain sainthood is giving bags of gold to prostitutes I am curious why there are not more saints? .
How about read a little more??
quote:
St Nicholas, who is famous for his gift-giving and charity to the poor, was born in the village of Patara to wealthy parents who died in an epidemic and left their son a large fortune.
As a devout Christian, St Nicholas followed Jesus' teaching of selling all worldly possessions and giving to the poor - and that is what he did.
Q
Posts: 28543 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: September 04, 2008
An interesting connection to history which, I agree, does not require injection of climate theory politics.
Thanks for sharing. I knew that they were looking for it but hadn't heard the update.
_________________________ NRA Endowment Member _________________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
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It's always fun to read about historical people and the legends they've left behind. Sometimes it's cool to just imagine being a fly on the wall at those points in time to see exactly what happened and how much of a story is based in fact and how much has been bastardized by the telling and retelling of such.
Thanks Pipe Smoker for throwing this out there for us to chew on
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Posts: 2880 | Location: Lake Anna, VA | Registered: May 07, 2012
Originally posted by Stlhead: IS dragging climate change into a non climate change thread any different than dragging in politics?
If all it takes to gain sainthood is giving bags of gold to prostitutes I am curious why there are not more saints? And color me skeptical about good st Nick not getting his moneys worth. To any public defenders or criminal lawyers, have you tried the St Nick defense? Honest your honor, my client was just trying to save this poor wretch from a life a depravity, by giving her money, to help her turn her life around.
He did not give 3 prostitutes bags of gold he paid 3 marriage dowries for young girls that likely would have come to have to live the life of prostitution had they not been married thanks to the dowries.
He also is said to have brought 3 children back to life, punched Arius in the face at the Council of Nicaea, he was also imprisoned and tortured until being released by Constantine.
So, yeah there probably Is a bit more to becoming a Saint.
———————————————— The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. If we got each other, and that's all we have. I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand. You should know I'll be there for you!
Originally posted by Stlhead: Believe whatever you like, but I will hoist my bullshit flag without even reading the click bait story. If humanity is still around in another 2000 years I wonder what saint they will be producing whatever click bait will be called for.
After 2000 years of spin a story will have no resemblance to what actually happened, and the truth is certainly far lost. If it will make people feel better I am certainly willing to concede that Santa may have not given gold to prostitutes, but it would seem a very Santa like action. His motto is Ho Ho Ho after all.
How about try reading the actual historical documents of the time?? Nothing I typed came from a clickbait site. On top of that simple reading comprehension goes a long way you made the inference/assumption that he gave the money to prostitutes. The “clickbait story” is not worded well because it gives very little detail but at no point does the article say he gave money to prostitutes.
He gave them money to save them before having to become prostitutes.
But I can type here all day and it would not mean anything as your post was nothing more than simply trying to ridicule others beliefs that are different than yours.
———————————————— The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. If we got each other, and that's all we have. I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand. You should know I'll be there for you!
For those that don’t want to deal with the ad filled article:
quote:
Experts conducted work at the site in 2017 when they found gaps under the newer church's floor and spent the past few years carefully removing the mosaic flooring to reveal the ancient foundation The tomb of Saint Nicolas, the inspiration behind Santa Claus, has been discovered after archaeologists uncovered the remains of an ancient church in Turkey that was submerged by rising sea levels in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.
The holy figure, who lived between 270 and 343 AD, is most famous for inheriting money that he gave away to the poor and specifically the story about how he gifted three girls with bags of gold to save them from a life of prostitution.
Another church was built on top of the ancient basilica's foundation to protect the saint's tomb, but it was not until recently did archaeologists uncover mosaic and stone flooring from the previous sanctuary under the one that stands today that led them to St Nicholas' final resting place.
The discovery support claims that St Nicolas lived and died in Turkey and the team also announced that the same stone flooring found hiding beneath layers of sediment was also walked upon by the Christian figure, Demirören News Agency reports.
The Byzantine church built over the ancient foundation was a place of worship for Orthodox Christians between the 5th and 12th centuries and is surrounded by statues of St Nicholas.
It was also added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1982.
The ancient church was first believed to have been discovered in 2017 by researchers who conducted electronic surveys under St Nicholas church, which revealed gaps between the floor and the ground.
The team had announced that they may have found the tomb of Saint Nicholas, but were still working to carefully remove the Byzantine church's flooring to not damage it.
Osman Eravsar, the head of the provincial cultural heritage preservation board in Antalya, told Demirören News Agency last week: 'The first church was submerged with the rise of the Mediterranean Sea, and some centuries later, a new church was built above.
'Now we have reached the remains of the first church and the floor on which Saint Nicholas stepped,' he noted. 'The tiling of the floor of the first church, on which Saint Nicholas walked, has been unearthed.'
The team also announced that the same stone flooring was once walked upon by St Nicholas. Pictures is the original foundation recently uncovered by archaeologists working at the site in Turkey
St Nicholas, who is famous for his gift-giving and charity to the poor, was born in the village of Patara to wealthy parents who died in an epidemic and left their son a large fortune.
As a devout Christian, St Nicholas followed Jesus' teaching of selling all worldly possessions and giving to the poor - and that is what he did.
However, these ideas are not presented in historical documents, but have been shared in stories.
He did become bishop of Myra in the 4th century, but was imprisoned shortly after by the Roman emperor Diocletian at a time when Christians were persecuted and then released under the rule of Constantine the Great.
Records do show that St Nicholas was buried at the church built in his name.
However his body's exact whereabouts has always been a mystery.
Researchers now believe at the time of his death in 343 AD, St Nicholas was interred at the church in Demre, where he lay undisturbed until the 11th century.
Previously, it was believed the 1,674-year-old remains were smuggled to the Italian city of Bari by merchants in the year 1087.
However, Turkish archaeologists are now suggesting the wrong bones were removed - and the ones that went to Italy belonged to an anonymous priest.
He was buried in his church at Myra, and by the 6th century his shrine there had become well known.
In 1087 Italian sailors or merchants stole his alleged remains from the tomb and took them to Bari, Italy.
Nicholas’s relics remain enshrined in the 11th-century basilica of San Nicola at Bari, though fragments have been acquired by churches around the world.
Santa Claus is based on stories about St Nicholas who built a reputation for performing miracles and secretly giving gold to the needy.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas, which is Dutch for Saint Nicholas.
The Byzantine church was also damaged and restored several times through the 8th and 9th centuries, according to thein Antalya.
The organization notes that it had major rebuilds by Constantine IX in 1043 and Tsar Nicholas I in 1862, who added a tower.
The church was also flooded by the Demre River and eventually buried until it was rediscovered in 1956 and is now a destination for many pilgrims seeking to pay homage to St Nicholas.
THE ORIGINS OF SANTA CLAUS
St Nicholas was Bishop of Myrna, in what is now Turkey, in the 4th century, and was known for his generosity towards children.
He was known for his secret gift giving, such as putting coins into the shoes of people who left them out for him.
This practice is still celebrated on his national feast day, December 6.
The bishop was popularized in 6th century Europe as Father Christmas, who secretly gave gifts to young children.
Young Dutch arrivals to the United States called Saint Nicholas 'Sinterklaas', which later became Santa Claus.
In modern depictions, Saint Nicholas is presented as a portly old man dressed in red and white with a bushy beard.
But some have suggested the original character wore green, and that his modern red-and-white colors are the result of a 1930s marketing campaign from soft drinks brand Coca Cola.
quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey: I'd fly to Turks and Caicos with live ammo falling out of my pockets before getting within spitting distance of NJ with a firearm.
After 2000 years of spin a story will have no resemblance to what actually happened, and the truth is certainly far lost. If it will make people feel better I am certainly willing to concede that Santa may have not given gold to prostitutes, but it would seem a very Santa like action. His motto is Ho Ho Ho after all.
Wow. You're a dick. Probably a huge gas at parties too.
“The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.”—H.L. Mencken
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_____________________________ Pledge allegiance or pack your bag! The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher Spread my work ethic, not my wealth
Posts: 7130 | Location: South East, Pa | Registered: July 04, 2002
I think we need a fresh injection of Christmas spirit into this thread.
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-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
Posts: 17880 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: October 14, 2005
I agree. Here are the Ho Ho Ho Gnomes. Faithful servants of St. Nick.
"I vowed to myself to fight against evil more completely and more wholeheartedly than I ever did before. . . . That’s the only way to pay back part of that vast debt, to live up to and try to fulfill that tremendous obligation."
Alfred Hornik, Sunday, December 2, 1945 to his family, on his continuing duty to others for surviving WW II.
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