St Nikita, Bishop of Remesiana
Commemorated June 24
A friend and contemporary of St Paulinus of Nola (see January 23rd), he was probably a Slav and he preached the Gospel among the Slavs in the region around Nis and Pirot. The great impression that Nikita made on the Slavs is best shown by the hymn that St Paulinus composed in his honour:
'Oh, what a happy change!
The hilly, impassable haunts of bloodthirsty robbers
now shelter peace-loving dwellers,
bandits-turned-monk.
Where once the rule of the wild beast held sway,
the choir of angels is now to be heard.
The righteous now dwell in the caves
where before were infamous men.'
St Nikita's capital was the city of Remesiana, which some people reckon to be Pirot. He wrote several books, six of them on the Faith and one on a fallen woman who awoke many to repentance. St Nikita entered into rest in the Lord in about 414.
Author's Note: Philaret says in his book: 'The Saints of the Southern Slavs', that Nikita was a Slav and lived in Pirot.
Troparion
As a rule of faith and model of tenderness, and teacher of abstinence hath the reality shewn thee unto thy flock; there withal hast thou acquired by humility greatness, by poverty riches; O father hierarch Nikita, intercede before Christ the God that our souls may be saved.
Kontakion
O divine thunder, spiritual trumpet, planter of faith and cutter off of heresies, great favourite of the Trinity, hierarch Nikita, standing with the angels before God do ever and unceasingly pray for us all.
Source: Crkveni Kalendar
