The life of Nikodemos and Nektarios
Some years later Nikodemos went to Athos in search of his son and, moved by what he saw of the monks' life there, repented of his apostasy. He was tonsured a monk himself, taking the name Nikodemos, and after a period of fasting and preparation under the guidance of an Athonite elder, he resolved to return to his former home and openly confess Christ again, since Church teaching held that only a public confession could undo a public denial.
Recognized on his return, he was brought before the local judge, and though offered wealth to reembrace Islam and threatened with torture if he refused, he held to his confession. Tradition holds that he was thrown from the city walls and survived unharmed before finally being beheaded, in the year 1722 by most accounts. Christians later buried him in Berat, in the Church of the Theotokos, where his relics have long been venerated.
