The Church commemorates Martyrs Vyzantinus, Maximus, Nikitas of Goth and those with him, and New Martyr John of Crete († 1811).
Saint Nikitas was born to noble and rich parents. When he was a child, he was taught the Christian faith by Bishop Theophilos, which helped him to forge a stable and whole personality with wisdom and obedience to the will of God, as expressed in the Holy Gospel and the life of the Church.
His work was rich in spirituality and the saint devotedly spread the teaching of the resurrected Jesus Christ.
For his Christian work, he was arrested by the ruler Athanasius who tried to make him renounce his faith in the true Triune God. Saint Nikitas was not afraid to confess his faith in Jesus Christ since he was filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. The ruler became furious and, with arrogance and selfishness, ordered him to be tortured in various ways resulting in a horrible death. His body, however, remained unharmed by the flames, so a Christian retrieved the body knowing that man is sanctified as a psychosomatic entity because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Source: Church of Cyprus
