By T.K. Wilson (Rated PG)
Nicetas (also spelled Niketas) was a member of the Gothic people and lived near the Danube River in what is now Romania. We do not know under what circumstances Nicetas was brought to the Christian faith, but we do know he was baptized by Bishop Theophilis of the Goths.
During this time, there was an uprising by a pagan Gothic king by the name of Athanarichus against the king of the Christian Goths, Friginatus. During this conflict, Nicetas fought on the side of the Christians and helped drive the pagans out of their territory. During the time of peace that followed, the Gothic alphabet was created and many spiritual books were translated from Greek to Gothic. While peace governed the Goths, Nicetas was seen as the example par excellence of Christian manhood among them, a preacher, a warrior, and a pious man who converted many by his example.
This unfortunately attracted the attention of Athanarichus, who hated Christians, and the beloved Nicetas in particular. He captured Nicetas and tried to force him back to paganism. When that didn’t work, Athanarichus had him tortured, then thrown into a fire. The saint’s friend Marianus found that his body had not been utterly destroyed and rescued his relics, sending them to Constantinople.
May we convert others by our example, as Nicetas did!
Sources:
https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nikitas_the_Goth
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2017/09/15/102615-greatmartyr-niketas-the-goth
LogoSophia Magazine 
Thank you! I am grateful for these little weekly hagiographies.
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