Saint Nikitas the Goth the great martyr
Date of celebration: 15/09
Saint Nikitas came from the nation of the Goths, who had settled beyond the river Istros (Istros, according to the geographer Meletius, is called the river Danube from the point where it joins the river Savos to the Black Sea or according to others from Axioupoli and below, to its mouth.), in the years of Constantine the Great.
As a child, Nikitas was taught the holy faith by the Goth bishop Theophilos, who often reminded Nikitas of the words of the Apostle Paul: “one in which you learned… from infancy you saw the holy scriptures, the things that are possible for you became wise for salvation through faith of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy, 3:14-15). That is, stand firm in what you have learned. From a young age, you know the Holy Scriptures, which can impart to you the true wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. And that’s how it happened.
When the ruler Athanaricus arrested Nikitas and threatened him to deny Christ, he remained unmoved by what he learned as a child. He boldly confessed Christ before the ruler, who when he heard him was very angry. He immediately ordered and his bones were broken in the most horrible manner. But the hatred of the Barbarians was so great that they threw him into the fire, where he died. The fire, however, by divine will, respected his relic. A pious Christian took it and kept it in a case.
