Editing Saint Nicholas (section)

=== Bari ===
[[File:St. Nicholas Bari.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica di San Nicola]] in [[Bari]], Italy where most of the [[relics]] of Saint Nicholas are kept today{{sfn|Cullen|2017}}]]
After the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in 1071, the Byzantine Empire temporarily lost control over most of Asia Minor to the invading [[Seljuk Turks]], and so [[Byzantine Greeks|Greek Christians]] of Myra became subjects of the Turks.{{sfn|Jones|1978|pages=176–193}}{{sfn|Seal|2005|page=101}} At the same time the Catholic Church in the West had declared (in 1054 AD) that the [[Greek Orthodox|Greek church]], the official church of the Byzantine Empire, was in [[East-West Schism|schism]]. Because of the many wars in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult.{{sfn|Jones|1978|pages=176–193}}

Taking advantage of the confusion and the loss by the Greek Christian community of Myra of its Byzantine imperial protection, in the spring of 1087, Italian sailors from Bari in [[Apulia]] seized part of the remains of the saint from his burial church in Myra, over the objections of the Greek Orthodox [[monasticism|monks]] in the church.{{sfn|Jones|1978|pages=176–193}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| first= Michael | last= Ott| title= Nicholas of Myra| encyclopedia= [[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]| volume= 11| location= New York| publisher= Robert Appleton Company| year= 1907}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last= Butler| first= Albin| title= Lives of the Saints | volume= 2| year= 1860}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1= Wheeler | last2= Rosenthal| chapter= Chapter 1| title= St. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas| first1= Joe L. | first2= Jim | publisher= Thomas Nelson| year= 2005| isbn= 9781418504076}}</ref>

Adam C. English describes the removal of the relics from Myra as "essentially a [[furta sacra|holy robbery]]" and notes the thieves were not only afraid of being caught or chased after by the locals, but also the power of Saint Nicholas himself.{{sfn|Medrano|2017}} Returning to Bari, they brought the remains with them and cared for them. The remains arrived on 9 May 1087.{{sfn|Jones|1978|pages=176–193}}{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Medieval Saint}} Two years later, [[Pope Urban II]] inaugurated a new church, the Basilica di San Nicola, to Saint Nicholas in Bari. The Pope himself personally placed Nicholas's relics into the tomb beneath the altar of the new church.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Medieval Saint}} The removal of Saint Nicholas's relics from Myra and their arrival in Bari is reliably recorded by multiple chroniclers, including [[Orderic Vitalis]]{{sfn|Seal|2005|page=131}}{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Medieval Saint}} and 9 May continued to be celebrated every year by western Christians as the day of Nicholas's "translation".{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Medieval Saint}} Eastern Orthodox Christians and the Turks have both long regarded the unauthorized removal of the relics from Myra as a blatant theft,{{sfn|Jones|1978|pages=176–193}}{{sfn|Seal|2005|pages=93–94}} but the people of Bari have instead maintained that it was a rescue mission to save the bones from the Turkish invaders.{{sfn|Jones|1978|pages=176–193}}{{sfn|Seal|2005|pages=100–102}} A legend, shown on the ceiling of the Basilica di San Nicola, holds that Nicholas once visited Bari and predicted that his bones would one day rest there.{{sfn|Seal|2005|pages=93–94}}
[[File:Statue of Nicholas of Bari.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Nicholas in [[Bari]].]]
Prior to the translation of Nicholas's relics to Bari, his following had been known in western Europe, but it had not been extremely popular.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Medieval Saint}} In autumn of 1096, [[Normans|Norman]] and [[Franks|Frankish]] soldiers mustered in Bari in preparation for the [[First Crusade]]. Although the Crusaders generally favored warrior saints, which Saint Nicholas was not, the presence of his relics in Bari made him materially accessible.{{sfn|Seal|2005|pages=114–115}} Nicholas's associations with aiding travelers and seafarers also made him a popular choice for veneration. Nicholas's veneration by Crusaders helped promote his following throughout western Europe.{{sfn|Seal|2005|pages=114–116}}

After the relics were brought to Bari, they continued to produce "myrrh", much to the joy of their new owners. Vials of myrrh from his relics have been taken all over the world for centuries, and can still be obtained from his church in Bari. Even up to the present day, a flask of manna is extracted from the tomb of Saint Nicholas every year on 6 December (the Saint's [[feast day]]) by the clergy of the basilica. The myrrh is collected from a sarcophagus which is located in the basilica vault and could be obtained in the shop nearby. The liquid gradually seeps out of the tomb, but it is unclear whether it originates from the body within the tomb, or from the marble itself; since the town of Bari is a harbour, and the tomb is below [[sea level]], there have been several natural explanations proposed for the manna fluid, including the transfer of [[seawater]] to the tomb by [[capillary action]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1966, a vault in the crypt underneath the Basilica di San Nicola was dedicated as an Orthodox chapel with an [[iconostasis]] in commemoration of the [[Catholic–Orthodox Joint Declaration of 1965|recent lifting of the anathemas]] the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches had issued against each other during the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]] in 1054.{{sfn|Seal|2005|page=117}}

In May 2017, following talks between [[Pope Francis]] and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a portion of the relics of Saint Nicholas in Bari were sent on loan to Moscow. The relic was on display for veneration at Christ the Savior Cathedral before being taken to Saint Petersburg in mid-June prior to returning to Bari.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/05/21/major_relics_of_st_nicholas_visit_russia/1313807 |title="Major relics of St Nicholas visit Russia", Vatican Radio, May 21, 2017 |access-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206152131/http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/05/21/major_relics_of_st_nicholas_visit_russia/1313807 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> More than a million people lined up in Moscow for a momentary glimpse of the gilded ark holding one of the saint's ribs.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/why-more-than-a-million-russians-have-lined-up-tosee-one-of-theribs-of-saint-nicholas/2017/06/28/02aae204-5696-11e7-840b-512026319da7_story.html |title=Filipov, David. "Why more than a million Russians have lined up to see a piece of the rib of Saint Nicholas", ''The Washington Post'', June 29, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211160555/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/why-more-than-a-million-russians-have-lined-up-tosee-one-of-theribs-of-saint-nicholas/2017/06/28/02aae204-5696-11e7-840b-512026319da7_story.html |archive-date=11 December 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>