A Goth and a disciple of Bishop Theophilus of Gothia—who had participated in the First Ecumenical Council—Saint Nicetas confronted the Gothic chieftain Athanaric and rebuked him when he began persecuting Christians. Subjected to terrible torments, the martyr of God professed the faith in Christ with ever-increasing fervor and prayed to God with growing thanksgiving. Beneath his garments, upon his chest, he held an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, for she had appeared to him to offer comfort; in his hands, he held a cross. After enduring prolonged torture, he was cast into the fire, where he surrendered his soul to the Lord; yet, his body remained unharmed. His friend Marianus transferred the relics of Saint Nicetas to the Cilician city of Mopsuestia, where he built a church dedicated to the saint. Saint Nicetas suffered martyrdom in the year 372.

Venerable Philotheus. Saint Porphyrius the Martyr. Holy Martyrs Theodotus, Asclepiades, and Maximus. Saint Bessarion, Archbishop of Larissa. Saint John of Crete, New Martyr. Saint Joseph, Bishop of Alaverdi. Saint Joseph of Timișoara. After-feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.