Martyr
Martyr Nitas of Syria
III в.
Also known as: Нит, сын мчч. Терентия и Неониллы
Martyr Nitas of Syria — one of the seven children of Martyrs Terentius and Neonilla, martyred together with his whole family under Emperor Decius; his Life is identical to that of the already-researched database card neonilla_of_syria.
CROSS-REFERENCE: this card describes the same martyred saint from the family group already researched in detail in the neonilla_of_syria card (the mother of the family) in an earlier batch of this project — the same independently confirmed source and date are used, without re-conducting the research from scratch.
Martyr Nitas was one of the seven children of Martyr Neonilla and Martyr Terentius (along with Sarbelus, Photus, Theodulus, Hierax, Bilaeus, and Eunicia). During the persecution of Emperor Decius (249–251) the whole family openly confessed Christ and refused to worship idols, for which they were subjected to cruel torture — vinegar poured on their wounds, being thrown to wild beasts, immersion in boiling pitch — from which, according to the Life, they miraculously emerged unharmed each time — and were ultimately all beheaded by the sword.
HONEST NOTE: no independent information about Nitas apart from his brothers and sisters has survived — the Life is a brief, formulaic synaxarion account of a group martyrdom, without individualization of each child.
His feast is kept on October 28/November 10.