Paul of Neocaesarea
Encyclopedia
Paul of Neocæsarea, also known as Saint Paul, Bishop of Neocæsarea, was an early Christian
bishop best known for demonstrating the scars of his religious persecution under the emperor Licinius
at the First Council of Nicaea
in AD 325.
At his trial under Licinius, Orthodox tradition holds that Paul firmly declared his faith and was subjected to beatings, starvation, and mutilation. According to Theodoret
, Paul "had been deprived of the use of both hands by the application of a red hot iron by which the nerves which give motion to the muscles had been contracted and destroyed."
After Licinius was executed in the year 324, when Constantine the Great became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, and Christians in prison received their freedom, Paul was released. It was then that he participated at the Council of Nicaea. At the end of the Council, the Emperor Constantine received the Council participants and kissed Paul's burned and crippled hands.
His feast is on December 23 in the Orthodox Church.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
bishop best known for demonstrating the scars of his religious persecution under the emperor Licinius
Licinius
Licinius I , was Roman Emperor from 308 to 324. Co-author of the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire, for the majority of his reign he was the rival of Constantine I...
at the First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
in AD 325.
At his trial under Licinius, Orthodox tradition holds that Paul firmly declared his faith and was subjected to beatings, starvation, and mutilation. According to Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
, Paul "had been deprived of the use of both hands by the application of a red hot iron by which the nerves which give motion to the muscles had been contracted and destroyed."
After Licinius was executed in the year 324, when Constantine the Great became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, and Christians in prison received their freedom, Paul was released. It was then that he participated at the Council of Nicaea. At the end of the Council, the Emperor Constantine received the Council participants and kissed Paul's burned and crippled hands.
His feast is on December 23 in the Orthodox Church.