The Serbian Miraculous Icon of Saint Nicholas in Bari (Italy)

Forgotten priceless gifts that the Nemanjićs (Serbian Dynasty) gave to the Italian basilica. King Milutin built a chapel around the saint’s tomb, cast from a mixture of silver and gold. Even after the collapse of the medieval state, Serbs still donated the temple

The Catholic Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, which preserves the saint’s relics, still has an Orthodox chapel, and even partial autonomy from the absolute papal authority, thanks to the invaluable gifts of Nemanjic, reveals Vladimir Davidovic, former SANU secretary, expert on Serbian heritage abroad.

Today’s presentment of Saint Nicholas, accepted all over the world, is based on the Serbian icon that was given to Bari by the Serbian King Stefan of Dechani- Davidović points out. – According to tradition, the saint’s figure drawn at the Council of Nicaea was faithfully transferred to that icon, which indicates that the Serbian Dynasty Nemanjić had an original valuable work in the treasury. That is why the Serbian icon was considered miraculous, and to this day it stands above a large table of honor that covers the tomb of Saint Nicholas, and is made of silver donated by the Serbian King Milutin.

The gifts of the chronicler Beatil testify to the gifts of Uroš II Milutin, the most powerful ruler of the Balkan Peninsula:

“In the summer of June 1319, the second indictment, King Uroš the ruler Raška, Duklja, Albania, Bulgaria and the Adriatic Sea all the way to the river of the great Danube, had this honorary table, a large silver icon, lamps and large silver candelabra made for the Glory of God and his Blessed Nicholas. Obrad of Kotor, son of Silav and maestro made this work by order of the above mentioned King “.

Today, unfortunately, there is no longer Milutin’s chapel, which was made from floor to ceiling from slabs of glam, a mixture of silver and gold, which was produced only in medieval Serbia. In its center was the tomb of St. Nicholas under a table of honor adorned with numerous reliefs with biblical representations. The miraculous room of unimaginable value was lit by the flames of about twenty huge silver-gold chandeliers and candles of human height.

Miraculous icon of Saint Nicholas

Milutin’s chapel began to be destroyed in 1481 by King Ferrante I of Aragon, who cut and melted it in order to pay his mercenaries with silver. The theft was continued by the nobles and some bishops, who destroyed the Serbian masterpiece piece by piece. The chroniclers of the basilica noted that the perpetrators of sacrilege and their families were followed misfortunes after that. Baroque reconstruction never reached the glory of the legendary Milutin’s altar. At the end of the 20th century, it was removed, and the artists made an approximate replica of the Serbian original. However, one Serbian gift has remained, except for the ravages of time, untouched since the Middle Ages: an icon encrusted with silver, a gift from the Serbian king Stefan of Dechani (Stefan Dečanski). “Father Nicholas’ miraculous face” was preserved primarily thanks to the population of Bari, who considered the Serbian icon the protector of the city. The chronicler Beatilo left a testimony that it was kept in a specially protected part of the silver chapel from where it was taken out only in the most difficult times:

– The great icon of Uroš is kept with great adoration in a secret vault chapel with sacred relics and is never taken out of there, except on rare occasions when there is a great drought or too much rain. And it is a real miracle to see that whenever a great holy icon is publicly exposed to the people, who are crying and shouting, it suddenly would start or stop raining, depending on the need.

Serbian Tsar Dušan maintained the family tradition and donated a tax of 200 perpers to the basilica, which Dubrovnik paid to Serbia. Even after the collapse of the Serbian medieval state, the Serbs continued to donate a temple in Bari for a long time, according to the possibilities.

Basilica of Bari

– It is a tradition established by Stefan Nemanja, the first Serbian ruler and  donor of the basilica, about which his son Stefan Prvovenčani left a testimony in his life – says Davidović. – In the same biography, the hierarchy that became the matrix in the national being is stated:
“He lived thanks to the Lord God our Jesus Christ and his pure and immaculate virgin the Mother of God and the holy miracle-worker, the quick helper and archbishop Nicholas in misery and the holy and great passion-bearer and defender George the martyr in battles.”

Fast Protector

STEFAN Nemanja built the first monumental church in honor of St. Nicholas in the town of Toplica, today’s Kursumlija, Serbia.

– It is completely normal that Nemanja, the ruler of the Serbs, the people of migration, respects the saint who is the protector of passengers and “quick to help” in trouble – says Vladimir Davidović and adds sarcastically. – That is why the Nemanjićs are the biggest donors of the basilica in Bari, and only after them are the Anjouans, who are our female lineage, from the time of Queen Jelena of Anjou. She was born a Catholic, died as an Orthodox nun, and donated beautiful Orthodox icons to the basilica in Bari and the Church of St. Peter in Rome.

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