![]() ![]() Mark Twain wrote in Innocents Abroad, 1869, of visiting the Church of the Nativity: He decided to go back to Asia Minor, but not before visiting the birthplace of Jesus. The three bags of money which Nicholas threw into the house are remembered by the three gold balls hung outside of pawnbroker shops - as they present themselves as rescuing families in their time of financial need.Īs a result, Nicholas became considered the “patron saint” of pawnbrokers.Īfter Nicholas had given away all his money, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he intended to join the secluded Monastery of Sion.īefore making his final vows to join, somehow the Lord impressed upon him “not to hide his light under a bushel.” This was the origin of secret, midnight gift-giving and hanging stockings by the fireplace on the anniversary of Saint Nicholas’ death, which was December 6, 343 AD. ![]() Nicholas made the father promise not to tell where the money came from, as he wanted the credit to go to God alone. When Nicholas threw the money in, the father ran outside and caught him. Nicholas then threw a bag of money in the window for the second daughter, and she was able to get married.Įxpecting money for his third daughter, the merchant waited up. It was the talk of the town when the first daughter was able to get married. Supposedly the bag of money landed in a shoe or a stocking that was drying by the fireplace. Nicholas heard of the merchant’s dilemma and, late one night, threw a bag of money in the window for the oldest daughter’s dowry. Unfortunately, he did not have money for a dowry, which was needed in that area of the world for a legally recognized wedding. The merchant had the idea of quickly marrying his daughters off so the creditors could not take them. He knew if they were taken it would probably condemn them to tragic lives of forced marriages, sex-trafficking, or prostitution. The creditors threatened to take not only his house and property, but also his children. One notable incident that occurred during this time in Nicholas’ life was when a merchant in his town had gone bankrupt. Nicholas generously gave to the poor, but he did so anonymously, as he wanted the glory to go to God.Ībout this time, in the 3rd century, the pietist-monastic movement spread, where sincere converts to Christianity would give away all their money and possessions, then withdraw from the world to live in a cave as a hermit or join a monastery. When his parents died in a plague, Nicholas inherited their wealth. Greek Orthodox tradition tells of Saint Nicholas being born around AD 280, the only child of a wealthy, elderly couple who lived in Patara, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). Patrick was to the Irish, or as Saint Boniface (Winifred) was to the Germans. He was as popular to Greeks, and later Russians, as St. Nicholas was the most renown saint in early Greek Orthodox tradition, equivalent to St. One of the notable church leaders who was persecuted in the late 3rd century was St. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” - declared the aged Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John, as he stood in 155 AD before the Roman judge who ordered him to deny his faith or be killed.ĭuring the first three centuries of Christianity, the Church suffered multiple waves of severe government persecution. “86 years have I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. ![]()
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