“Santa is dead; I have been to all three of his tombs!” That tongue-in-cheek potential presentation title is the idea of beloved former student, now-former colleague, and fine scholar, J Mark Nicovich. The conundrum of three tombs (plus many other claimed relics) arises from the traditions that St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Asia Minor … Continue reading The Places and Faces of St. Nicholas: St. Nick’s Not-So-Final Resting Place? Part 3 (Pic of the Day 2017-12-26)
Tag: Santa Claus
This is a brief intermediate follow-up to “Part 1 of St. Nick's Not-So-Final-Resting-Place,” before we get to the conclusion in Part 3 (that will make it a trilogy!). Here I will focus on the city where St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) was bishop and what can be seen there. Ancient Myra was a typical Greco-Roman city … Continue reading The city of Myra in Asia Minor: St. Nick’s Not-So-Final Resting Place? Part 2 (Pic of the Day 2017-12-25)
As I write this, it is Christmas Eve, and NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) is already performing its annual national defense duty: (that of tracking Santa on his rounds). It occurred to me that we can attempt to track Santa's movements in antiquity—or at least those of his remains . . . . As … Continue reading St. Nick’s Not-So-Final Resting Place? Part 1 (Pic of the Day 2017-12-24)
A.D. 