Panteleimon’s Christian mother passed away when he was just a child. His pagan father sent him to study the medical sciences. He became such a skilled physician that he was invited to become the doctor to the royals in Nicomedia. His curiosity for Truth, Goodness and Beauty was not satiated by his studies though and he was led to meet and hear the wisdom of the monastics. After raising a snake-bitten boy from the dead through the intercession of Christ, he was baptized. He lived his live using both his human skills as a physician and his access to the miraculous as a Christian to heal all who came to him without cost. His faith, and the jealousy of the other physicians in the region caused the emperor to torture and finally kill him. His relics continue to heal many who approach them in faith. He is the patron of soldiers and healers.
Saturday, July 23 –
