Martyr, died about 305. According
to legend he was the son of a rich pagan,
Eustorgius of Nicomedia and had been instructed
in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula.
Afterwards he became estranged from Christianity.
He studied medicine and became
physician to the Emperor Maximianus. At one
point he abandoned his faith, and fell in
with a worldly and idolatrous crowd. However,
he was eventually overcome with grief, and
with the help of the priest Hermolaus, he
returned to the Church. Brought his father
to the faith. Upon the death of his father
he came into possession of a large fortune,
gave his fortune to the poor, treated them
medically, and never charged. Some of his
cures were miraculous, being accomplished
by prayer.
Envious colleagues denounced
him to the emperor during the Diocletian persecution.
At trial he offered a contest to see whose
prayers would cure the incurable - his or
their pagan priests'. The pagans failed to
help the man, a palsied paralytic, but Pantaleon
cured the man by mentioning the name Jesus.
Many of the witnesses converted.
The emperor wished to save him
and sought to persuade him to apostasy. Pantaleon,
however, openly confessed his faith, and as
proof that Christ is the true God, he healed
a paralytic. Not with standing this,he was
condemned to death by the emperor, who regarded
the miracle as anexhibition of magic. According
to legend, Pantaleon's flesh was firstburned
with torches; upon this Christ appeared to
all in the form of Hermolaus to strengthen
and heal Pantaleon. The torches were extinguished.
After this, when a bath of liquid
lead was prepared, Christ in the same form
stepped into the cauldron with him, the fire
went out and the lead became cold. He was
now thrown into the sea, but the stone with
which hewas loaded floated. He was thrown
to the wild beasts but these fawned upon him
and could not be forced away until he had
blessed them. He was bound on the wheel, but
the ropes snapped, and the wheel broke. An
attempt was made to behead him, but the sword
bent , and the executioners were converted
. Pantaleon implored heaven to forgive them,
for which reason healso received the name
of Panteleemon (the all-compassionate). It
was notuntil he himself desired it that it
was possible to behead him.
Pantaleon is venerated in the
East as a great martyr and wonder worker.
In the Middle Ages he came to be regarded
as the patron saint of physicians and midwives
and became one of the fourteen guardian
martyrs.
From early times a phial containing
some
of
his blood has been preserved at Constantinople.
On the feast day of the saint the blood
is
said to become fluid and to bubble. Relics
of the saints are to be found at St. Denis
at Paris; his head is venerated at Lyons
. His feast day is 27 July, also 28 July,
and
18 February.
