Did St. Nick Really Slap a Heretic as the Council of Nicaea?

The Catholic season of Advent began November 30th, and with that, many of the church’s Christmas traditions are popping up throughout communities. Advent wreaths with their four candles are decorating tabletops and nativity scenes patiently await Christmas day to receive the figure of baby Jesus. While Christmas is historically a Christian holiday, the Catholic church specifically has a major claim on the holiday’s traditions and stories—especially when considering the lore of Santa Claus. 

The jolly red man who jumps down our fireplace is inspired by the historical St. Nikolas of Myra, a bishop for the early church in the 4th century. While little historical documentation exists concerning his history, a millennia of stories and legend portrays the man as an avid defender of children. He is said to have left gifts on children’s windowsills, particularly for the most needy. When Myra entered a famine, St. Nick convinced grain ships to deliver to his area instead of their intended destinations. He saved wrongfully convicted men from a death sentence. 

Legend also claims that St. Nick slapped Arius the Heretic at the council of Nicaea.

The story goes that at the Council of Nicaea, the first major gathering of Christian leaders to debate theology, the Cyrenaic Arius began strongly arguing that Jesus was not equal to God. In a fit of rage, Nikolas struck him. 

This story, in particular, gains traction during Advent. Similar to the story of Jesus flipping tables or crafting a whip, the moral is taken to condone a sort of righteous violence within Christianity. To strike a heretic seems almost chivalric, particularly to an audience primed to enjoy violence. For the modern western Christian, the legend resembles a slapstick comedy show rather than a hagiographical text. 

Its innate humor has kept the story in circulation. The image of St. Nick slapping a man at an ecumenical council is a stark contrast to the calm composure associated with bishops or the jolly nature associated with Santa Clause. The St. Nicholas Center dedicates an entire section to the legend. The scene is celebrated in Greek Orthodox iconography. 

Notably, the legend gets cut in half more often than not. In the second half of the story, St. Nick is thrown in jail for committing a crime. In a moment of great shame, he prays for forgiveness, and it is only through the intercession of his god that he is released from jail. The earliest version of the story argues against violence, not for it. 
The story is not real—or at least, there is no evidence to prove it happened. It is unlikely that the bishop Nikolas of Myra even attended the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century. Accounts of him slapping a heretic during the council did not pop up until the 14th century. Even still, the development of the story—both its creation and the change of its moral implications—demonstrates a living counterculture within Christmas lore. Where most Christmas stories, including many surrounding St. Nick’s life, illustrate the heart of goodwill, this particular legend challenges the understanding of the ‘Christmas spirit’ through the controversy of its violent themes.