Saint Spotlight: Martyr Nikon and 199 disciples with him in Sicily (March 23)
St. Nikon was born in Naples. His father was a pagan, and his mother a Christian. He was not baptized, but his mother secretly instructed him in the tenets of Christianity. Nikon was still a pagan when he reached adulthood. He served as a soldier, and showed unusual courage and strength. Once, Nikon and his military company were surrounded by enemies. In deadly peril, he remembered the Christian precepts of his mother and, signing himself with the Sign of the Cross, he prayed to God, vowing to be baptized if he were saved. Filled with unusual strength, he killed many of the enemy, and put the rest to flight.
Once returning home, he gave thanks to God for preserving his life. With the blessing of his mother, he set off in search of a priest. He went up to a high mountain on the island of Chios and spent 8 days in fasting and prayer, entreating the Lord to help him. An angel appeared to St. Nikon in a dream and led him to a monastic community on Mount Ganos led by Bishop Theodosius of Cyzicus, who would baptize St. Nikon, and he would join the monks on the mountain.
After being on the mountain for 3 years, an angel appeared to Bishop Theodosius that St. Nikon should be consecrated bishop and move to Sicily with all the monks. Bishop Theodosius did as the angel commanded then fell asleep unto the Lord entrusting the 190 monks to St. Nikon who would lead them safely to Sicily.
By God’s grace, St. Nikon came to his native city Neapolis. He found his mother still alive, and he remained with her for the final day of her life. His mother collapsed on his chest with tears of joy and kissed him. Making a prostration to the ground, she said, “I give thanks to You, O Lord, for You have permitted me to see my son as a monk, and as a bishop. Now, my Lord, hear Your servant, and receive my soul.” When she had finished this prayer, the righteous woman died. Those present glorified God and buried her with psalmody. Rumors of St. Nikon’s arrival spread through the city, and 10 soldiers, his former companions, came to see him. After conversing with the saint they believed and were baptized, and went with him to Sicily. Having arrived on the island, St. Nikon settled with the monks in a desolate area.
After years of peace, Governor Quintilian of Sicily began persecuting Christians again. Under the governor’s directions, all 199 monks would be seized and beheaded leaving St. Nikon alive to be toruted. They burned him with fire, yet he remained unharmed. They tied him to the tails of wild horses to be dragged over the ground, but the horses would not budge from the spot. They cut out the saint’s tongue, threw him off a high cliff, and finally beheaded him. The body of the St. Nikon was left in a field to be eaten by wild beasts and birds.
A certain shepherd, possessed by an evil spirit, went to that place, and finding the body of the saint, he immediately fell to the ground on his face. The unclean spirit, vanquished by the power of the saint, had thrown him to the ground and gone out from him with a loud shriek: “Woe is me, woe is me, where can I flee from Nikon?” The healed shepherd related this to the people. The bishop of the city of Messina also learned of this, then he and his clergy buried the bodies of St. Nikon and his disciples.