8th–9th century
Saint Joannicius the Great
A soldier from Bithynia who renounced iconoclasm, became a monk and hermit on Mount Olympus in Bithynia, and was renowned as a defender of the veneration of icons.
Biography
Joannicius was born in Bithynia around the middle of the 8th century to pious parents. As a young man he joined an elite unit of the Byzantine army and distinguished himself in the wars against the Bulgarians, once saving Emperor Constantine VI in battle.
According to tradition, army life initially drew him into iconoclasm, like Emperor Constantine V. But when he left the army, he recognised his error, repented and confessed it.
He became a monk on Mount Olympus in Bithynia, where he spent the rest of his life as an ascetic teaching the Orthodox faith and the veneration of icons, and died at the age of 94 at the Antidion monastery.