Saint Nicetas of Medikion

Some time later, Nicephorus recognized in him such prudence and virtue that he entrusted him entirely with the conduct of his religious; in order to allow him, however, to be occupied only with ensuring the observance of regularity in spiritual matters, the holy Abbot gave him as procurator another religious of eminent virtue, called Athanasius. It was a thing worthy of admiration to see these two wise religious, one watching over the spiritual, SAINT NICETAS, ABBOT. 177 and the other over the temporal, working equally for their sanctification, without their great cares causing them to diminish any of the austerities they had undertaken. The singular piety of these two holy personages appeared especially when they were occupied with the celebration of the Holy Mass, Nicetas in the capacity of priest, and Athanasius serving him as deacon. The former appeared as if seized with such profound respect while at the altar that one would have said he saw Jesus Christ with his bodily eyes; and the latter, I mean the deacon Athanasius, was ordinarily so recollected and so elevated in the contemplation of this high mystery that he could not stop the torrent of his tears; the people made it a joy to attend such an edifying ceremony, a sacrifice offered by such pure hands.

The blessed Nicetas found himself, some time later, deprived of the sweetest consolation he could have on earth, losing first Athanasius, his intimate friend, and then the blessed Nicephorus, whom he regarded as a true father: these virtuous figures both died to go and receive the reward for their distinguished piety. The affliction of Nicetas was increased by the weight of the burden that all the religious imposed upon him, choosing him to succeed Nicephorus, under whom he had governed until then. They were not deceived in this choice: for one saw, in the person of this worthy abbot, a perfect model of all religious virtues; he watched over the temporal affairs of the house, in the place of Athanasius, so well that he nevertheless neglected nothing that related to perfect regularity. He was himself a living rule, for one saw in his conduct everything that he required of others.

A life so exemplary and so innocent, accompanied by a perfect humility and an extraordinary simplicity, made him merit the gift of miracles: he cast out demons from the bodies of the possessed, restored speech to the mute and the use of perfect reasoning to the insane, and performed several other wonders that one will be able to see in the full account of his life given by his disciple Theoctistus.

But we cannot omit the struggles he had to endure for the faith. The Emperor Leo, the Armenian, renewin L'empereur Léon, l'Arménien Byzantine iconoclast emperor who initiated the persecution against images. g the heresy of the Iconoclasts, or imag hérésie des Iconoclastes Religious movement rejecting the veneration of images, which caused the persecution of the two saints. e-breakers, which the pious Empress Irene had all but extinguished, stirred up a new persecution against the orthodox. He had assembled a false Council in the church of Saint Sophia. Seeing that the Catholic bishops who met there would not acquiesce to the proposals of the heretics, he summoned all the heads of the monasteries to his palace to make them condescend to his wishes; but he could gain nothing from these invincible hearts, who remained firm in the sentiments of the orthodox faith; he then resolved, after having used ways of gentleness, to exercise great cruelties upon their persons; and as Nicetas was one of the most commendable, and the one who most encouraged others to remain constant in their faith, he had him thrown into a horrible dungeon, the very smell of which was unbearable. Some impious men, without religion, added insults and outrages to this torment to please the emperor more. The Saint endured this persecution with admirable generosity, being quite glad to suffer and even to die, had it been necessary, for such a cause: but the emperor's council having judged that it was appropriate to remove this great man, whose reputation was too well known throughout the country, he was taken to a very distant place, and locked in a rural castle, where he was made to suffer new persecutions. One had the hardness to leave him in a completely exposed place, without any furniture and even without a bed: he was forced to endure, in the middle of winter, the rains, the snows, the cold, and the other inconveniences of such a harsh season, without anyone having any compassion for him in this state. He was left in this sad dwelling, deprived of all help, for the space of about a year; afterwards, he was led even further away, under the guard of a cruel and barbaric conductor; but the Saint, animated by the spirit of the persecuted martyrs, kept a great joy in his heart for having been found worthy to suffer so many evils for the defense of the truth.

A year later, the emperor, wishing to manage minds to make them condescend to his will, summoned all the bishops and abbots to Constantinople; many were cowardly enough to acquiesce to the prince's desires, fearing his indignation. As for those who persevered in the firm resolution to die rather than betray their conscience, the emperor had it maliciously explained to them that they were only required to communicate once with the patriarch Theodotus, who had been placed on the episcop al throne in place patriarche Théodose Iconoclast patriarch intruded upon the see of Constantinople. of the true patriarch, who had been sent into exile. Not fully penetrating the prince's design, and not perceiving the trap being set for them, they went to find the pious abbot Nicetas in the prison where he was being held, and they gave him so many reasons to persuade him to come with the others to communicate once with the new patriarch, that he allowed himself to be won over, not out of cowardice, nor to avoid the pains of exile and prison, but out of a motive of submission to the will of so many great men, who were soliciting him to take a step that he did not believe was dangerous to the substance of the cause. Nicetas and the other Fathers therefore conferred again with Theodotus as the emperor wished, without, however, acquiescing to the errors he supported; and the assembly being finished, everyone was free to go back to their own country; but the holy abbot Nicetas, more clear-sighted than the others and more zealous than his brethren for the interests of the Church, soon perceived that he had committed a fault, and that the step he had taken could have great consequences; instead of returning content like the others to his monastery, he thought of performing a very harsh penance, and of seeking the means to repair the evil he believed he had done. Guided by this sentiment, he boarded a ship that took him to the island of Proconnesus, towards the coasts of the Hellespont; but a new light made him realize that it was more appropriate for him to repair his fault in the very place where he had committed it.

Nicetas, therefore, being ready to suffer martyrdom if necessary, returned to Constantinople, where he declared without fear that he acknowledged having done wrong to communicate with the false patriarch Theodotus. The emperor, having learned what was happening, ordered him to return to his monastery, otherwise he would have him punished as he deserved. The generous confessor replied to this prince that he did not fear his threats at all, and that he was very glad to let him know that he had been engaged to take a step that he should not have taken, and that only respect for so many venerable old men had made him do it; that, moreover, he repented of it, and that he was not in his communion; but that he held to the ancient tradition of the Church, and of the holy Fathers who had preceded him.

The emperor immediately gave orders to an officer named Zacharias to keep him locked up under his guard. Zacharias obeyed his prince; but he knew the merit of Nicetas so perfectly that he treated him with every kind of gentleness, and he had such great respect for his person that he did not dare to look him in the face. The emperor, warned of the good reception that Zacharias was giving the holy Confessor, sent Nicetas into exile on a very distant island, under the command of a most impiou s magician, Anthimus, ni Anthime, surnommé Caïphe Brother of Cosmas and Damian, martyr with them. cknamed Caiaphas because of his vanity. This wicked man, in order to maintain himself in the good graces of the heretics and the emperor, threw the blessed Nicetas into a dark and deep dungeon where the Saint was deprived of the light of day and the company of all men; he gave him for his only food, per day, some piece of brown and moldy bread, which he had thrown through the air vent of the pit where he was, and, for his drink, he gave him only corrupted water. This impious man believed that he would thereby gain something over the mind of the holy Confessor, and force him to yield to the wishes of the prince; but Nicetas, who had understood what the glory and happiness of those who suffer persecution and even death for the truths of the faith are, remained unshakable; he was more resolved than ever to give his life willingly, rather than approve of heresies.

The invincible Confessor remained five or six years in this captivity, enduring inconceivable hardships; but if his body was in distress in his dungeon, his spirit enjoyed a sovereign freedom: for, besides the high degree of prayer to which he was raised, God also favored him with the gift of miracles; he delivered, through his prayers, his friend Zacharias, who had been taken by the barbarians when he was going to the province of Tarsus; and three young brothers, who knew his distinguished merit, were also saved from an evident shipwreck by invoking his name. But finally, God, contenting Himself with the sincere will that Nicetas had to shed his blood and give his life for His glory, rendered him victorious over the malice of his enemies; for Emperor Leo, having been massacred at the very foot of the altars on Christmas Day in the year 820, peace was restored to the Church; and Nicetas, enjoying the privilege granted to all the other Confessors, left his prison, less content with this freedom than if he had been made to suffer death for the cause he defended.

This generous Confessor, no longer seeing himself subjected to the cruelty of tyrants, and having no more enemies to wage war against him, became his own persecutor, and armed himself against his own body, to complete, by the sword of penance, the sacrifice he would have wished to consummate in persecution by martyrdom. He therefore sought a solitude where he could accomplish his design; he found one that was a little distance from the city of Constantinople; he built himself a small retreat there where he led a life more angelic than human; but the new austerities he practiced there, added to the extreme hardships he had been made to suffer for the space of six years in the dungeon into which he had been thrown, soon led him to the grave. He fell extremely ill, and after several days of languor, during which he had prepared himself for the final passage common to all men, he peacefully rendered his spirit to God, on April 3, 824.

No sooner was his death known in the city of Constantinople than everyone showed sorrow and respect: people implored at every opportunity the help of this venerable personage, who had shown apostolic constancy for the defense of the faith. Theophilus I, Archbishop of Ephesus, and Joseph, Archbishop of Thessalonica, attended his funeral, and conducted his holy body to his monastery of Medikion. When this sacred deposit arrived at this monastery, it was placed in the sepulcher of Saint Nicephorus, which Saint Nicetas had built himself during his lifetime.

Surius and the Bollandists.