St Nicholas, Myra, and Santa Claus - Mistaken Identity​

by Sally Dormer

Dear Members and Guests,

We invite you to join us for the 3rd lecture of the season given by Sally Dormer on ‘St Nicholas, Myra and Santa Claus - Mistaken Identity​’ in the Atrium on Tuesday 9th December 2025 at 20.00 hours.

How did the remains of Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop from Myra, Turkey, reach Bari, Italy in 1087?  And how did this rather obscure churchman become the patron saint of sailors, merchants, prisoners, and children in the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe?  This lecture explores the development of St Nicholas’ medieval cult through the artefacts associated with it:  icons, wall paintings, and illuminated manuscripts, and charts his eventual transformation into the well-loved Santa Claus.

This will be a live lecture with the lecturer physically present in the Atrium.  We are hoping that members and Guests will take the opportunity to come to the Atrium.  

For those unable to be present at the Atrium, this lecture will also be streamed via a Zoom to those who registered.

You are requested to sign up for the lecture beforehand, also if you are coming to join us in person at the Atrium, by clicking on the sentence at the 'How to book' section.