Saint Paul Bishop of Neocaesarea

Saint Paul was the bishop of Neocaesarea, a city of Asia Minor (modern Niksar), during the early fourth century. He is remembered as a confessor of the faith who endured torture during the persecution of the Eastern emperor Licinius and survived to take part in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325.

Brought to trial under Licinius, Paul firmly confessed Christ and was subjected to beatings, starvation, and mutilation. His tormentors scorched his hands with red-hot iron; according to the historian Theodoret, the searing destroyed the nerves that move the muscles of both hands, leaving him without the use of them. He was held captive at a prison on the banks of the Euphrates.

After Licinius was defeated and executed in 324 and Constantine became sole ruler of the Roman Empire, the Christians who had been imprisoned regained their freedom, and Paul was released. He then returned to govern his diocese and participated in the council convened at Nicaea in 325, which condemned the teaching of Arius and set forth the Nicene Creed. The synaxarion relates that the maimed hands he carried from his trial became, at that gathering, a visible witness to his confession.