St Nicholas, born in 270AD, was Bishop of Myra, then part of the Roman Empire. The city no longer exists, having been destroyed in Arab invasions in the 8th Century. Paul visited Myra on his way to Italy (Acts 27). Its ruins are in the South-West of modern Turkey.

One of the earliest attested and most famous incidents from St Nicholas’ life records that he rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them. Other early stories tell of his making secret gifts to people in need, calming a storm at sea, and intervening at risk of his own life to save three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution. The courageous, passionate and generous St Nicholas is the basis for the current cultural image of Santa Claus.

Early accounts relate that St Nicholas was present at the Council of Nicea, which was called to settle the division caused by the teaching of Arius. Arius taught that Jesus was not the co-eternal Son of God, but a lesser created being. “There was a time when the Son was not,” was the catch-cry of Arius’ movement.

The list of books of the New Testament had not been settled by then, and would not be settled until the end of that century. Local churches, under the leadership of a bishop, along with his presbyters and deacons, may have a had a few of the Old Testament scrolls, and some scrolls or letters written by the Apostles or claiming to be apostolic teaching, like the Didache or the Shepherd of Hermas.

Arius claimed he could prove his point of view from the Scriptures. The problem was twofold. First, there was incomplete agreement about what books were to be considered Scripture, and secondly, everyone knew, and this is what carried the day in the end, that Arius’ view was not what had been taught by the Apostles. Nicholas was so outraged by Arius’ attempts to enrich himself and gain political influence by bare-faced lies about what the faith was (and is, it hasn’t changed) that he slapped Arius in the face.

Nicholas got in trouble, but he was right. Many of the bishops present at the Council bore the marks of brutal tortures inflicted by the empire in an attempt to get them to give up or compromise their faith. They did not compromise then in the face of death, and they would not compromise now. The Council confirmed what we know from early letters and sermons had been the belief of the Church from the beginning – Jesus is the co-eternal, consubstantial Son of the Father.

In November of this year, Pope Leo XIV travelled to Turkey for the 1700th anniversary of that great Council. He joined there with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in prayers for peace and unity, and in recognising the common heritage of Eastern and Western Christianity in the teaching of the Apostles.

Pope Leo’s Apostolic letter In Unitate Fidei marks that visit with a discussion about Nicea, and in particular, how that Council calls us to unity in the truth. This unity was so important to Jesus that calling and praying for it made up a substantial part of Jesus’ words to His disciples at the Last Supper. You can read the letter here: https://www.vatican.va/…/20251123-in-unitate-fidei.html