{"id":22609,"date":"2024-12-18T14:43:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/learn\/santas-tomb-coffin-of-st-nicholas-may-have-been-found-but-theres-a-catch\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T14:43:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:43:06","slug":"santas-tomb-coffin-of-st-nicholas-may-have-been-found-but-theres-a-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/fr\/learn\/santas-tomb-coffin-of-st-nicholas-may-have-been-found-but-theres-a-catch\/","title":{"rendered":"Le tombeau du P\u00e8re No\u00ebl ? Le cercueil de Saint Nicolas aurait \u00e9t\u00e9 retrouv\u00e9 \u2014 mais il y a un hic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav \u00c4\u0152erm\u00c3\u00a1k (1831-1878). \/ Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (public domain)<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

CNA Staff, Dec 18, 2024 \/ 06:00 am (CNA).<\/p>\n

After years of excavation work, the leader of an archeological expedition at the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey, announced this week that her team has found a sarcophagus that may contain the body of St. Nick<\/a> \u2014 a discovery that\u00a0could muddy the conventional wisdom about the true resting place of the saint\u2019s relics, which is currently believed to be Italy.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview,<\/a> the\u00a0leader of the expedition,\u00a0Professor\u00a0Ebru Fatma F\u00c4\u00b1nd\u00c4\u00b1k, said that sources point to Turkey\u2019s southern Antalya Province as Nicholas\u2019 resting place after his death, which took place in the 340s. <\/p>\n

She said that after an earthquake in the region in 529, archeologists believe the Church of St. Nicholas,\u00a0long\u00a0a popular pilgrimage site, especially for Russian Orthodox Christians, \u201cmay have been built near the burial place of the saint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dans another interview,<\/a> F\u00c4\u00b1nd\u00c4\u00b1k speculated that the sarcophagus, \u201cthe first sarcophagus unearthed in the church\u201d after drilling work began in 2022, could have been covered by gravel and sand from a flood or tsunami, which she says is why it is so well preserved.<\/p>\n

Turkish claims to the resting place of St. Nicholas are not new<\/a> \u2014 in fact, Turkish officials have admitted for years that if they can prove that St. Nicholas is buried there, \u201ctourism will gain big momentum.\u201d The present excavations at the church were initiated by Turkey\u2019s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been carrying out excavations in the church for months \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 During our drilling work in the two-story building that borders the\u00a0courtyard of the church\u00a0from the south, we came across a sarcophagus\u201d that they believe belongs to St. Nicholas, F\u00c4\u00b1nd\u00c4\u00b1k said. <\/p>\n

\u201cGeologists related to this subject will come soon, and they will\u00a0actually\u00a0investigate and examine it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Who was St. Nicholas?<\/h2>\n

Nicholas<\/a> was an early Christian bishop born in the third century in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey,\u00a0at a time\u00a0when Christians suffered sporadic but often brutal persecutions under the Roman Empire. He was ordained a priest and later\u00a0ordained\u00a0bishop of Myra, an ancient port city that corresponds to the modern-day Turkish\u00a0city\u00a0of Demre. <\/p>\n

There are numerous legends about Nicholas, who was known for his generosity; perhaps the most famous of which is that he once dropped three bags of gold through an open window or down the chimney at a house in Myra to pay the doweries of the three women who lived there, ultimately saving them from a life of prostitution. This is likely the explanation for why the modern Christmas character of Santa Claus clandestinely brings gifts for children. <\/p>\n

Nicholas was imprisoned for a time under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian, only released when Constantine the Great came to power and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Nicholas later participated in the Council of Nicea in 325 and fervently defended the Church against heretics such as Arius. <\/p>\n

He died on Dec. 6,\u00a0which is\u00a0the day his feast is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church. He is deeply revered in the East as well, especially in the Russian Orthodox Church. <\/p>\n

Where are Nicholas\u2019 relics?<\/h2>\n

The location of St. Nicholas\u2019 mortal remains is already a matter of some dispute,<\/a> and the discovery of the additional sarcophagus, depending on what it contains, will likely muddy things further. <\/p>\n

Churches\u00a0across the world\u00a0\u2014 including in Germany, Russia, and even Virginia<\/a> \u2014 claim to possess relics of him. But the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, in Italy\u2019s southern region of Puglia, has perhaps the strongest claim to St. Nicholas\u2019 final resting place today. <\/p>\n

Amid the takeover of the Turkish region by the Muslim Seljuks, Nicholas\u2019 bones were purportedly moved by merchants from Myra to Bari in 1087 \u2014 and a few bones reportedly made their way to Venice \u2014 not long after the Great Schism between Catholics and the Orthodox in 1054. <\/p>\n

a desecrated sarcophagus<\/a> located in the Turkish church was previously thought to contain Nicholas\u2019 body until it was taken \u2014 either for pious or opportunistic reasons, depending on whom you ask \u2014\u00a0to Italy.  <\/p>\n

Pope Francis has visited Bari twice during his papacy, and during both the 2018 and 2020 visits, he stopped in the basilica\u2019s crypt to venerate St. Nicholas\u2019 relics. In the crypt where St. Nicholas is purportedly buried, there is an altar\u00a0for the celebration of\u00a0Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgies, making it an important ecumenical site. <\/p>\n

In 1953, scientific studies confirmed that bones from both Bari and Venice belonged to the same individual, though whether they were both from St. Nicholas remains inconclusive, Archeology Magazine a rapport\u00e9.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Lien source <\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ad_1] St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav \u00c4\u0152erm\u00c3\u00a1k (1831-1878). \/ Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (public domain) CNA Staff, Dec 18, 2024 \/ 06:00 am (CNA). After years of excavation work, the leader of an archeological expedition at the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey, announced this week that her team has found a sarcophagus [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-22609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1733489142_jaroslav-cermak-1831-1878-sv.-mikulas.jpg?fit=900%2C600&quality=80&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38024,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/fr\/learn\/who-is-the-patron-saint-of-pope-leo-xivs-final-vows\/","url_meta":{"origin":22609,"position":0},"title":"Who is the patron saint of Pope Leo XIV\u2019s final vows?","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"mai 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pope Leo XIV and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. \/ Credit: Daniel Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez\/EWTN News; Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel of the Augustinian Order Lima Newsroom, May 20, 2025 \/ 09:21 am (CNA). 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St. Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, is known to possibly be the real-life inspiration for the beloved Christmas character of Santa Claus.Not\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Christian News"","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/fr\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"5 things to know and share about St. Nicholas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5-things-to-know-and-share-about-St.-Nicholas.png?fit=1200%2C335&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5-things-to-know-and-share-about-St.-Nicholas.png?fit=1200%2C335&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5-things-to-know-and-share-about-St.-Nicholas.png?fit=1200%2C335&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5-things-to-know-and-share-about-St.-Nicholas.png?fit=1200%2C335&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5-things-to-know-and-share-about-St.-Nicholas.png?fit=1200%2C335&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21787,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/fr\/learn\/5-things-to-know-and-share-about-st-nicholas\/","url_meta":{"origin":22609,"position":2},"title":"5 things to know and share about St. Nicholas","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"d\u00e9cembre 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"[ad_1] St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav \u00c4\u0152erm\u00c3\u00a1k (1831-1878). \/ Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (public domain) Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 \/ 04:00 am (CNA). 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