Saint healer Panteleimon: the life and death of the Great Martyr

Saint healer Panteleimon was born in Nicomedia (Asia Minor). His father was a noble pagan Evstorgy. His parents gave him the name Pantoleon (in all the lion), because they wanted to raise a son fearless and courageous. His mother was a Christian and wanted to raise him in this religion, but died early. Father gave his son to a pagan school. Then he studied medicine at the famous in the city doctor Efrosin. The young Pantoleon was once introduced to Emperor Maximian, who wanted to leave the young man as a court physician.

At that time, Christian priests Ermippe, Ermolai and Ermokrat secretly lived in Nicomedia. They survived after the persecutions of 303, when two tens of thousands of Christians were burned. Yermolai once drew attention to the young man, invited him to his place and started a conversation about the Christian religion. The future holy healer Panteleimon often came to him. He listened with interest to stories about Jesus Christ.

One day the young man was returning from his teacher and saw that there was a dead child on the road, and a snake bitten by it. Pantoleon felt sorry for the child, and he began to pray, as Ermolai taught him, and ask God for the resurrection of the deceased and the death of the serpent. As a doctor, he understood that it was no longer possible to help a child, but the Christian priest said that for the Lord the impossible does not exist. The future holy healer Panteleimon decided to himself, if his request was fulfilled, he would accept Christianity. Then a miracle happened. The snake tore to pieces, and the deceased revived, to the great surprise of the young man.

After that, Yermolai christened the guy. Christian Pantoleon then often talked with his father, urging him to accept his true faith. One day a young man was brought to a blind man, whom no one could cure. The future holy healer Panteleimon asked God to return his sight, and the blind man received his sight. This miracle was completely convinced by Evstrogia, and he became a Christian.

After his father died, Pantoleon devoted himself to the sick, the poor and the poor. He treated free of charge all those who addressed him, visited prisoners in prisons. All his patients recovered. Man is an envious creature. Nicomedian doctors were no exception. They informed the emperor that Pantoleon had converted to Christianity. Maximian began to persuade a doctor, whom he valued highly to dispel the denunciation, to sacrifice pagan idols. However, Pantoleon did not do this. In the eyes of the emperor, he healed the paralyzed in the name of Christ.

Maximian was angry, he subjected his doctor to terrible tortures and ordered to be executed. The Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon was suspended in a tree. His body was torn with iron hooks, burned with candles, tortured with molten tin, stretched on the wheel. More than once the martyr was God and strengthened his spirit. Pantolenon, despite the torture, remained unscathed. The emperor executed the teacher Ermolai, and ordered him to be torn in the arena by wild animals for the fun of the crowd. However, the animals began to lick his legs. People began to shout and ask for pardon of the innocent, and also to glorify Christ. Maximian ordered to kill all those who did the latter. The animals were destroyed, too.

Then the emperor gave the order to cut off his head to his doctor. When he prayed before execution, one of the soldiers hit him with a sword, but the metal softened and became like wax. At that moment, God revealed to the martyr and called him Panteleimon, many-gracious.

With this name he entered the Church Tradition. All this was seen by soldiers and ordinary people. They refused to execute Panteleimon. But the great martyr ordered them to continue. When his head was cut off, the olive tree, to which he was attached, blossomed. The body of the saint was thrown into the fire, but it remained unscathed. In memory of the Great Martyr many churches have been erected. There is a source of St. Panteleimon healer. And not one. In honor of him, many springs are named, the water of which has healing power.