St. Nicholas Church, Demre

St. Nicholas Church
St. Nicholas Church
	St. Nicholas Church
Religion
Affiliation	Christianity
Status	Museum
Location
Location	Demre, Antalya Province, Turkey
	Shown within Turkey
Geographic coordinates	36°14′41″N 29°59′08″E / 36.24467°N 29.98543°E

St. Nicholas Church is an ancient East Roman basilica church in the ancient city of Myra, now a museum located in modern Demre, Antalya Province, Turkey. It was built above the burial place of St Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop of Myra,^[1]^[2] an important religious figure for Eastern Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics and the historical inspiration for Santa Claus.^[3] Its use dated from its 6th century construction for the state church of the Roman Empire by Justinian the Great. The basilica is on UNESCO's tentative list to become a World Heritage Site.^[4]

^ Domenico, Roy Palmer (2002). The regions of Italy: a reference guide to history and culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 21. ISBN 0-313-30733-4. Saint Nicholas (Bishop of Myra) replaced Sabino as the patron saint of the city… A Greek from what is now Turkey, he lived in the early fourth century.
^ Burman, Edward (1991). Emperor to emperor: Italy before the Renaissance. Constable. p. 126. ISBN 0-09-469490-7. For although he is the patron saint of Russia, and the model for a northern invention such as Santa Claus, Nicholas of Myra was a Greek.
^ "Demre Statues". St. Nicholas Center. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
^ "St. Nicholas Church". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 17 December 2018.