St. Nicholas Church is an ancient

East Roman The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

in the ancient city of

Myra Myra ( grc, Μύρα, ''Mýra'') was a Lycian, then ancient Greek, then Greco-Roman, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman town in Lycia, which became the small Turkish town of Kale, renamed Demre in 2005, in the present-day Antalya Province of ...

, now a museum located in modern

Demre Demre is a town and district in the Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, named after the river Demre. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra. The district was known as ''Kale'' until it was rename ...

Antalya Province Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visi ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It was built above the

burial place A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Dem ...

, a 4th-century

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Myra, an important religious figure for

Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

s and

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the historical inspiration for

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

. Its use dated from its 6th century construction for the

state church of the Roman Empire Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion ...

Justinian the Great Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

. The basilica is on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

's tentative list to become a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

History

The church was built in AD 520 on the foundations of an older Christian church where Saint Nicholas had served as a bishop.

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...

contributed to the reconstruction. It is noted for its remarkable wall

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

s, and its architectural and religious significance. Over time the church was flooded and filled with

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

. In 1862 it was restored by Russian Emperor Nicholas I, who added a tower and made other changes to its Byzantine architecture. The church continued to function until its final abandonment by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

in 1923, when the remaining

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

of Demre were required to leave by the

Population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

Archaeological excavations

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

s in the Church started in 1988 directed by Prof. S. Yıldız Ötüken of Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. The work has revealed some of the northern section of the monastery complex, and also the small chapels around the nave, one of which notably contains vibrant

es detailing the life and miracles of the saint, and a desecrated

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...

which is thought to be the original burial place from which his remains were forcibly

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

in 1087.For the story of the translation of the bones see: Charles W. Jones, "Saint Nikolaos of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend" (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) 1978, , pp. 176-193. File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5939.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Exterior File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5895.jpg, St. Nicholas Church from courtyard File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5509.jpg, St. Nicholas Church courtyard from high File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5406.jpg, St. Nicholas Church View to choir File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5421.jpg, St. Nicholas Church at choir File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 7402.jpg, St. Nicholas Church view from choir

Decoration

The northeast annex arcade contains the only example of St Nicholas's life cycle on ancient frescos in Turkey. File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5477.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5863.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5918.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5919.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5920.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5922.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5923.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5924.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5925.jpg, St. Nicholas Church Fresco File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5917.jpg, St. Nicholas Church corridor with Nicolas frescos

''Opus sectile''

Parts of the church preserve ''

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The ...

'' decoration. File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5398.jpg, St. Nicholas Church opus sectile File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 5819.jpg, St. Nicholas Church opus sectile File:St. Nicholas Church, Demre 7392.jpg, St. Nicholas Church opus sectile

Liturgy

The Orthodox

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

is occasionally celebrated in the church on 6 December.

References

External links

sacred-destinations.com

Hundreds of pictures of church and frescos
{{Authority control 520 establishments 520s establishments in the Byzantine Empire 6th-century churches Buildings and structures in Antalya Province Tourist attractions in Antalya Province World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Former churches in Turkey Saint Nicholas