Emperor Diocletian, during the persecutions of Christians, arrived in Nicomedia, where Bishop Theopemptus was captured. He boldly declared that the idols worshipped by the emperor were not gods and refused to offer sacrifices. The emperor ordered him to be thrown into a blazing furnace, but the saint emerged unharmed, which terrified the emperor.
Diocletian, not believing in the miracle, commanded that a dog be thrown into the furnace, which burned to death. Saint Theopemptus was imprisoned for 22 days without food, yet remained alive through God's grace. When he was tortured again, he continued to profess his faith and was healed from his sufferings.
The emperor, unable to break the saint, summoned the magician Feon, who, upon witnessing the miracles of the saint, himself believed in Christ and was baptized. However, when the saint refused to offer sacrifices to the idols, he was subjected to cruel tortures but remained unharmed.
In the end, the saint was beheaded while confessing his faith in the Holy Trinity. Feon, who had come to believe in Christ, was thrown into a pit and buried alive, also meeting a martyr's end. Their suffering and struggle took place in Nicomedia under Emperor Diocletian.
