Neophytos was born in

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

to Christian parents who were named Theodore and Florentia. During the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...

he went to Nicaea and boldly denounced the pagan faith. He was killed by Roman soldiers in A.D. 303, 10 years before the

Edict of Milan The Edict of Milan ( la, Edictum Mediolanense; el, Διάταγμα τῶν Μεδιολάνων, ''Diatagma tōn Mediolanōn'') was the February 313 AD agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. Frend, W. H. C. ( ...

permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is commemorated on

January 21 Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...

. In 2014 the underwater

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Basilica of Saint Neophytos Basilica of Saint Neophytos is the name of a defunct, underwater basilica in Lake Iznik, modern-day Turkey. Coordinates: 40.4258225,29.7095841 visible just off shore History In 2014 the underwater Byzantine Basilica of Saint Neophytos, dedicate ...

suspected to have been dedicated in his honour was discovered in Lake İznik, modern-day

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The basilica had been built in the place where he was killed on the shore of the lake and subsequently became submerged after an earthquake.Basilica in Lake Iznik to become underwater museum Hürriyet Daily News 2015-04-07
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References

{{Authority control 303 deaths 4th-century Christian saints People from Nicaea Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian