Nicetas the Goth

Nicetas (Russian Ники́та Nikita, Ukrainian Мики́та Mykyta, from Greek Νικήτας Niketas) is a Christian martyr of the 4th century, venerated particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

[2] Presumably, he received his Greek name on the occasion of his baptism by the Gothic bishop Theophilus, a participant in the First Ecumenical Council.

After the defeat of Athanaric and after the invention of Gothic alphabets by Ulfilas, Nicetas worked intensely among the Goths.

[3] In Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, and Cyprus there are several churches and monasteries named after St Nicetas.

The veneration of this saint in the medieval period gave rise to the Slavic forms of his name: Nikita, Mykyta and Mikita.