A bishop of Chalcedon renowned for his mercy and care of the poor, who upheld the veneration of the holy icons and suffered exile for the confession of the faith.
Our Father among the Saints Niketas the Confessor, Bishop of Chalcedon
Niketas was a bishop of Chalcedon, the city on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus opposite Constantinople, who is venerated as a confessor for his defense of the holy icons during the second period of Byzantine iconoclasm. He is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on May 28. According to the synaxarion he was raised to the episcopate on account of his God-pleasing life, and he became known above all for his mercy and his care of the poor.
The accounts of his life dwell on his charity. He is said to have helped the poor, to have lodged travelers in his own home, to have cared for orphans and widows, and to have interceded on behalf of those who had been wronged. When the iconoclast emperor Leo V the Armenian renewed the persecution of the icons after his accession in 813, Niketas openly denounced the heresy and urged his flock to venerate the icons of Christ, the Theotokos, and the saints.
For this confession he suffered greatly at the hands of the emperor and his supporters: the tradition relates that he was subjected to tortures and sent into exile. He is reckoned among the confessors because he endured this persecution without renouncing the veneration of the icons. The synaxarion records that he died at the beginning of the ninth century and that many miracles of healing afterward occurred from his relics.
You shone with the splendor of your deeds, venerable Nicetas.
You became an heir to the throne of the apostles.
Completely filled, O Father, with the teachings of God, you shone like the sun upon your flock.
Therefore we cry out to you: “Rejoice, beauty of Chalcedon.”
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father Nicetas,
entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
Niketas belonged to the generation of hierarchs who resisted the revived iconoclasm under Leo V the Armenian (reigned 813-820). Sources record that he was exiled for the confession of the faith, and some traditions associate his exile with that of his brother Ignatios, who is commemorated together with him. The Canon for his liturgical service was composed by the priest Joseph of Constantinople, in which his brother Saint Ignatius is also remembered.
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