Editing Saint Nicholas (section)

=== Generosity and travels ===
[[File:Gentile da Fabriano 063.jpg|thumb|right|The dowry for the three virgins (Gentile da Fabriano, {{circa}} 1425, [[Pinacoteca Vaticana]], Rome)]]
After his parents died from an epidemic, Nicholas is said to have distributed their wealth to the poor.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}} In his most famous exploit,<ref>{{cite book |first=William J. |last=Bennett |title=The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas|publisher=Howard Books |year=2009 |pages=14–17 |isbn=978-1-4165-6746-2 |author-link= William Bennett }}</ref> which is first attested in Michael the Archimandrite's ''Life of Saint Nicholas'', Nicholas heard of a devout man who had once been wealthy but had lost all of his money due to the "plotting and envy of [[Satan]]."{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}<ref name="Michael10–11">Michael the Archimandrite, ''[http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/michael-the-archimandrite/ Life of Saint Nicholas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051940/http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/michael-the-archimandrite/ |date=3 July 2018 }}'' Chapters 10–11</ref> The man could not afford proper [[dowry|dowries]] for his three daughters.<ref name="Michael10–11"/>{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}}{{efn|Joe L. Wheeler and Jona Lendering both note that the legends of Saint Nicholas are filled with sets of three, which may be symbolic for Nicholas's vehement defense of the [[Holy Trinity]].{{sfn|Wheeler|2010|page=38}}{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}}} This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment, be forced to become prostitutes.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}}<ref name="Michael10–11"/> Hearing of the girls' plight, Nicholas decided to help them, but, being too modest to help the family in public (or to save them the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to the house under the cover of night and threw a [[money purse|purse]] filled with gold coins through the window opening into the house.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}} The father immediately arranged a marriage for his first daughter, and after her wedding, Nicholas threw a second bag of gold through the same window late at night.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}}<ref name="Michael12–18">Michael the Archimandrite, [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/michael-the-archimandrite/ ''Life of Saint Nicholas''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051940/http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/michael-the-archimandrite/ |date=3 July 2018 }} (Chapters 12–18)</ref>

According to Michael the Archimandrite's account, after the second daughter was married, the father stayed awake for at least two "nights" and caught Saint Nicholas in the same act of charity toward the third daughter.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}}<ref name="Michael16–18">Michael the Archimandrite, [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/michael-the-archimandrite/ ''Life of Saint Nicholas''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051940/http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/michael-the-archimandrite/ |date=3 July 2018 }} (Chapters 16–18)</ref> The father fell on his knees, thanking him, and Nicholas ordered him not to tell anyone about the gifts.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}}<ref name="Michael16–18"/> The scene of Nicholas's secret gift-giving is one of the most popular scenes in Christian devotional art, appearing in icons and frescoes from across Europe. Although depictions vary depending on time and place,{{sfn|Seal|2005|page=1}} Nicholas is often shown wearing a [[cowl]] while the daughters are typically shown in bed, dressed in their nightclothes. Many renderings contain a [[cypress]] tree or a cross-shaped [[cupola]].{{sfn|Seal|2005|page=1}}

The historicity of this incident is disputed.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}} Adam C. English argues for a historical kernel to the legend, noting the story's early attestation as well as the fact that no similar stories were told about any other Christian saints.{{sfn|English|Crumm|2012}} Jona Lendering, who also argues for the story's authenticity, notes that a similar story is told in Philostratus's ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'', in which Apollonius gives money to an impoverished father but posits that Michael the Archimandrite's account is markedly different.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}} Philostratus does not mention the fate of the daughters and, in his story, Apollonius's generosity is purely motivated out of sympathy for the father; in Michael the Archimandrite's account, however, Saint Nicholas is instead expressly stated to be motivated by a desire to save the daughters from being sold into prostitution.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}} He argues that this desire to help women is most characteristic of fourth-century Christianity, due to the prominent role women played in the early Christian movement, rather than Greco-Roman paganism or the Christianity of Michael the Archimandrite's time in the ninth century, by which point the position of women had drastically declined.{{sfn|Lendering|2006|page=Nicholas of Myra}}

Nicholas is also said to have visited the [[Holy Land]]. The ship he was on was nearly destroyed by a terrible storm but he rebuked the waves, causing the storm to subside. Thus, Nicholas became venerated as the patron saint of sailors and travelers.{{sfn|Ferguson|1976|page=136}}

While in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], Nicholas is said to have lived in a crypt near [[Bethlehem]], where the [[Nativity of Jesus]] is believed to have taken place. Over the crypt where Nicholas is believed to have lived now stands the "Church of Saint Nicholas" in [[Beit Jala]], a Christian town of which Nicholas is the [[Patron saint]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stories from Beit Jala |url=https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/modern-miracles/miracles-palestine/beit-jala-stories |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=St. Nicholas Center |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of Saint Nicholas – Beit Jala |url=https://visitpalestine.ps/where-to-go/listing/bethlehem/sites-attractions-bethlehem/christian-sites-bethlehem/st-nicholas-church-beit-jala/}}</ref>