The life of St Nicephorus of Antioch
When persecution broke out under Valerian, Sapricius was arrested, confessed Christ under torture, and was condemned to be beheaded; as he was led to execution Nicephorus met him in the street and pleaded again for reconciliation, but Sapricius would not even look at him.
Tradition holds that at the very place of execution, with his crown of martyrdom almost won, Sapricius suddenly lost heart and offered to sacrifice to the idols rather than die. Nicephorus, grieved, then declared himself a Christian in his place and asked to be executed instead; the authorities agreed, and Nicephorus was beheaded while Sapricius went free. Modern scholars have questioned whether Nicephorus is a genuinely historical figure at all, and regard the story chiefly as a treasured teaching on forgiveness rather than settled history; the Church has kept it for that reason for many centuries.
