As mentioned in the last post, St. Nicholas was an early Christian saint who served as bishop to a then thriving port city, Myra, which is in modern-day Turkey. He was revered for his generosity and kindness, especially to children.
Nicholas reportedly attended the First Council of Nicaea, which was held in 325 CE in what is the modern city of Iznik, Turkey. This council is best known for its opposition of Arianism (the belief that Jesus was created by God and not divine himself), and the establishment of the Nicene Creed, which is still said in many churches today.
One thing I forgot to include in my original post were a couple of pictures of the frescoes in the church of St. Nicholas. The church was built sometime in the sixth century CE, and repaired many times since. The frescoes are not in the best of shape, but still quite beautiful and interesting. As the pictures I took of the church when I visited in the early 1990s were not digital, I've used pictures from Sacred-Destination.com.
This first fresco of the apostles covers the ceiling of the dome. The dark blue of the background must have been quite striking when it was fresh.
This fresco from a niche in the church is, I think, of Nicholas.
And here is the exterior of the church, showing both the older sections and some newer additions.
2 comments:
You can't beat the combination of history and pictures. Fascinating post! I wish I could see these places for myself.
Glad you liked the pictures. I hope you can go to Turkey some day, too. There's loads of wonderful historic places to visit.
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