The paganization of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in historical and ethnographic scholarship

The author discusses the tendency of Russian historians to understand the veneration of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Russia as a consequence of the extended process of replacing Slavic pagan deities with Christian saints. The author argues, however, that various peculiarities of the Russian tradition of venerating St. Nicholas are fully in accord with Christian popular piety. Some cultural examples that could lead to a “pagan” interpretation of the veneration of St. Nicholas, such as a folk wooden sculptures of the 17th century, medieval stone crosses, and horse skeletons discovered at the excavation of the 14th century St. Nicholas Church, are reviewed in this light.