NICODEMUS. - A noble Jew, a disciple of Jesus, mentioned in the Gospel of St. John: he was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1), a teacher in Israel (ibid. 3:10), a member of the Sanhedrin (ibid. 7:50), rich and influential (ibid. 19:39).

NICODEMUS - Sculpture in local stone from the end of the 15th century. Detail of the Sepulchre of Our Lord - Solesmes, abbey church.(phot. Abbey of Solesmes)

Having gone by night to interview Jesus, he received from him the revelation concerning the necessity of being born from above (through Baptism) and concerning the person of the Only-begotten Savior, who came down from Heaven (ibid. 3:1-21). He defended Jesus before the members of the Sanhedrin, who sought to condemn him without hearing him, and for this he was insulted as a Galilean (ibid. 7:50-2). With Joseph of Arimathea (v.) he embalmed the body of Jesus, bringing about 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes (ibid. 19:39-40).

The rest of his life is uncertain. He is spoken of in the apocryphal Acts of Pilate (v.) or Gospel of Nicodemus. His body is said to have been discovered together with those of St. Stephen and Abibon at Caphargamala. Thus according to the legendary Epistula Luciani ad omnem Ecclesiam (PL. 41, 807 ff.) and the Roman Martyrology on 3 Aug. The Greek Menologia and that of Sirleto commemorate him on 15 Sept. The Servites and the Passionists commemorate him on 27 March, the Copts on 25 July. There is no evidence for identifying the present N. with the rabbi Naqdimon ben Gurion who, according to the Talmud, is said to have lived until the fall of Jerusalem. A Christian legend attributes to N. the Holy Face venerated at Lucca.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: A. Molini, Nicodème, in DB. IV, coll. 1614-16; U. Holzmeister, Grundgedanke und Gedankengang im Gespräche des Herrn mit Nikodemus, in Zeitschr. f. kath. Theol., 45 (1921), pp. 527-48.

Pietro De Ambroga

@incollection{ec8_nicodemo, author = {De, Ambroggi Pietro}, title = {Nicodemo}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {1841--1842}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/nicodemo} }

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