Church commemorates Great Martyr Panteleimon

Great Martyr Panteleimon. Photo: open sources

On August 9 (July 27 according to the Julian calendar), the Church commemorates Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, venerated by Orthodox Christians as a holy physician and martyr for Christ. The church calendar marks the day with festive services in Orthodox churches.

According to his Life, the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon was born in Nicomedia in Bithynia (Asia Minor) to a noble pagan named Eustorgius. He was given the name Pantoleon because his parents wanted him to grow up courageous and fearless. His mother, St. Eubula, raised the boy in the Christian faith but died while he was still young. His father then sent Pantoleon to a pagan school and later arranged for him to study medicine under Euphrosynus, a renowned physician in Nicomedia. The young man excelled in his studies and became known at the court of Emperor Maximian, who was fiercely persecuting Christians.

After turning to Christ, Pantoleon was baptized. According to tradition, after his baptism he healed a blind man, leading his own father to embrace Christianity. He went on to heal the sick in the name of Christ without accepting payment, for which he was denounced to Emperor Maximian. Because of his faith, the saint was subjected to brutal tortures – he was broken on the wheel, plunged into boiling lead, and thrown to wild beasts – yet remained unharmed. According to tradition, before his execution the Lord gave him the name Panteleimon, meaning “all-merciful.”

After these tortures, the saint was sentenced to beheading. He was tied to an olive tree, and the executioners attempted to cut off his head, but Panteleimon began to pray and the sword could not harm him. A voice from heaven then called Panteleimon to the Kingdom of Heaven, after which the saint asked the soldiers to carry out the order they had been given. According to his Life, when he was beheaded, milk flowed from the wound instead of blood, while the olive tree immediately bore fruit. The Great Martyr’s body was then thrown into a fire but did not burn, and Christians later buried it.

As the UOJ reported, the Primate of the UOC prayed for his flock in Ukraine before the relics of Great Martyr Panteleimon. The saint holds a special place in the Church calendar, as his life embodies faithfulness to Christ, service to others, and prayer for the sick. Each year, the commemoration of Great Martyr Panteleimon draws large numbers of believers to churches and monasteries.

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