You know him as the rotund merry-maker in the red suit. But set aside the childhood myth. In this portrait, you’ll encounter the true St. Nicholas, a figure revered for his astonishing miracles and a humility that redirected all attention to God’s glory. You’ll be amazed to find St. Nicholas always turning up at just the right time—rescuing sailors from the certain death of a violent sea, saving three young women from a life of prostitution, and guarding an infant from the burns of a boiling bath.

A tireless defender of God’s truth and His people, St. Nicholas’s wonderful and mysterious deeds illustrate, time and again, a heart for the weak, the poor, and the endangered—truly “the patron saint of practically everybody” and one of the most fascinating figures in all of Christian history.

We learn about life through the lives of others. Their experiences, their trials, their adventures become our schools, our chapels, our playgrounds. Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church through prose as accessible and concise as it is personal and engaging. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. Whether the person is D.L. Moody, Sergeant York, Saint Nicholas, John Bunyan, or William F. Buckley, we are now living in the world that they created and understand both it and ourselves better in the light of their lives. Their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires uniquely illuminate our shared experience.

Joe L. Wheeler