Nikon the Metanoeite

Nikon the Metanoeite
Mosaic icon of St. Nikon in Hosios Loukas
Venerable
Bornc. 930
Pontus or Argos, Peloponnese
Died26 November 998
Honored inEastern Orthodox Church
Feast26 November
PatronageSparta, Laconia, Greece

Nikon the "Metanoite" (Greek: Νίκων ὁ Μετανοεῖτε, Nikon ho Metanoeite (Nikon "Repent!" ); born circa 930,[1] died 26 November, 998[2][3]) was a Byzantine monk, itinerant preacher, and Christian Orthodox saint.[4][5] Perhaps Nikon's most notable historical impact, according to historian Andrew Louth, was his Life, the biography of Nikon written after his death by a successor abbot in his monastery, focused on the re-Christianizing of reconquered sections of the Byzantine Empire.[6] It is also special in its references of localities in Crete and the central Greek mainland. Nikon himself was special in that he was represented as a missionary monk, one who was constantly preaching rather than constantly praying.[7]

  1. ^ Makrides 2009, p. 206: "...Nikon the "Metanoeite" (ca. 930–ca. 1000)..."
  2. ^ Thurston & Attwater 1956, p. 426: "ST NIKON METANOEITE (A.D. 998)".
  3. ^ Neville 2004, p. 179.
  4. ^ Anderson 1999, p. 496: "Nikon the Metanoeite...Greek monk, itinerant preacher, and saint."
  5. ^ Thurston & Attwater 1956, p. 426: "NIKON, a native of Pontus, in his youth fled from his friends to a monastery called Khrysopetro, where he lived twelve years in the practice of the most austere penance and prayer."
  6. ^ Louth 2007, "Nikon the 'Metanoeite': Preaching the Gospel within the Byzantine Empire", pp. 241–262.
  7. ^ Abrahamse 1990, pp. 1060–1061.