Archbishop
Saint Nikitas the Confessor, abbot of Medikion, was born in Caesarea of Bithynia into a pious family. His mother died shortly after his birth, while his father became a monk. The saint was raised by his grandmother. He served in the church from a very young age, under the guidance of the hermit Stephen. By his blessing, he came to Medikion, where he was soon ordained as a presbyter and later as an abbot.
Saint Nikitas cared for the prosperity of the monastery, encouraging all monks to be strict in their monastic life. The blessed community that was formed in the monastery attracted many people. Soon the brotherhood consisted of a hundred monks. After the death of the abbot Nikiforos, Saint Nikitas was chosen as his successor.
Among others, the Lord granted him the gift of wonderworking. Through his prayers, the deaf, the demon-possessed, and many others who suffered from serious illnesses were healed.
During the reign of Emperor Leo V the Armenian, iconoclasm was intensified. Saint Nikitas, firmly stood for the truth of the orthodox faith and was imprisoned along with other abbots. He bravely endured suffering and became a figure of hope for those around him.
The emperor and the patriarch Theodotos tried to deceive him into receiving the Holy Communion from an heretic priest. Saint Nikitas accepted it under great pressure. However, he soon repented and began to denounce the heresy with passion and great strength, which led him to prison for six years.
There, he continued to perform miracles, praying for the captives, enduring hunger and sorrows. In 824, under the reign of the new emperor Michael, he fell asleep in the Lord. His body was transferred to the Medikion monastery, where he kept on healing people from his tomb, located next to his mentor Nikiforos.
