St. Nicholas, in the year 322 was already bishop of Mira, a city located in Lycia, province of the Byzantine Empire, which is located in present-day Turkey.
Nicholas had come to the port to mediate between the soldiers of Constantine’s troops and the local people, exasperated by the harassment of the military. Nicholas, invited to calm down, went to the three generals at the head of the expedition to convince them to keep the soldiers at bay. The generals understood Nicholas’ requests and gave their troops the order not to disturb the population.
The question was apparently resolved when messengers came from the city to warn the bishop that three innocent citizens of Mira were about to be executed for an unfair ruling of the governor.
Nicholas immediately returned to the city and, having arrived at the place of execution, blocked the arm of the executioner just in time, throwing away his sword. Then, he blamed the governor for his behavior, and it was only thanks to the intervention of the three generals that he decided not to proceed further against him.
The abundance of precise data historical and geographical references leaves no doubt on the historical reliability of the facts that have nothing miraculous that make us know better the figure of an exemplary bishop who acts in defense of the weakest and most defenseless.
Continue reading, read more about the episode “The miraculous column”.