Martyrdom
According to the synaxarion, the denunciation came from a female slave during the Diocletianic persecution, and Maximus of Alexandria presided over the proceedings. The governor is said to have applied many forms of torment over a period of seven days, all of which Neaniskos endured without renouncing his faith. When these failed to break his resolve, he was sentenced to death and led to the place of execution, where, after a brief prayer, he was beheaded.
The gesture of the gold ring is the defining feature of the account. Rather than treating his betrayer with hostility, Neaniskos is recorded as thanking the slave girl, framing her denunciation as a benefaction that had hastened his union with Christ. The Greek synaxarion preserves his words to her — 'I thank you woman, for by your betrayal you became my benefactor of these good things' — and a paired commemorative verse celebrating his return of good for evil.