Commemoration Day of
St. Pantaleon the Physician,
the Priest Hermolaus,
and the Virgin Eupraxia
St. Pantaleon the Physician
Pantaleon was from Nicomedia, the son of a pagan father and a Christian mother. His mother died after having barely had time to sow the seeds of Christianity in his young heart. The child was therefore raised according to the religion of his pagan father.
He received an excellent education and devoted himself to the study of medicine. He attracted the attention of Emperor Maximian, who entrusted him to the care of his chief physician.
By divine providence, Pantaleon met the priest Hermolaus, who caused the seeds planted by his devout mother to sprout and grow within him, and Pantaleon became convinced of the truth of the Christian faith.
His new faith was strengthened further through a miracle. One day, while making his rounds, he came upon a child who had died from a snakebite, with the snake still nearby. Inspired to test the power of Christ, he said: “O dead child, in the name of Jesus Christ, arise; and you, evil beast, receive the punishment for the harm you have done to this child.”
At that very moment, the child came back to life and the snake died.
Pantaleon immediately ran to Hermolaus, told him what had happened, and asked to be baptized.
A fervent desire then arose within him to convert his pagan father. He succeeded when, in his father’s presence, he healed the eyes of a blind man. Both the blind man and his father were converted.
After his father’s death, Pantaleon used his entire inheritance for the benefit of the poor. Through his ministry he healed three kinds of suffering: poverty, illness, and sin. He healed the sick in the name of Christ, helped the poor, and brought people to conversion.
Naturally, his reputation and popularity aroused the envy of the other physicians, who denounced him before Emperor Maximian (286–305).
Although through Pantaleon’s intercession and prayer a disabled man was completely healed in the emperor’s presence, the emperor himself was not cured of his spiritual infirmity. On the contrary, he subjected Pantaleon to nearly every severe form of torture known at that time. By the grace of God, however, the servant of God miraculously survived them all.
When Maximian learned that the priest Hermolaus had been responsible for Pantaleon’s conversion, he ordered Hermolaus to be martyred.
Finally, the emperor ordered Pantaleon to be beheaded. The accounts of his martyrdom state that milk, rather than blood, flowed from his severed neck.
Because of the many acts of mercy he performed—the last of which was to ask forgiveness for those who tortured him—he was also called Panteleimon, meaning “all-merciful.”
The Priest Hermolaus
As noted in the account of Pantaleon the Physician, Hermolaus was an elderly priest under whose influence Pantaleon, “leaving behind the art of physical medicine, felt within himself the calling to become a spiritual physician.”
Together with his companions, Hermolaus was martyred by order of Emperor Maximian.
The Virgin Eupraxia
The Greek form of her name is Eupraxia. She is the last of the universally recognized Christian virgin saints commemorated by our Church.
Those mentioned before her lived during the centuries of persecution. All of them endured terrible sufferings and, with only a few exceptions, ended their lives in martyrdom.
With Eupraxia begins the line of exceptional and devout women who voluntarily subjected themselves to deprivation, hardship, and ascetic discipline, becoming models of dedication and love of God.
Eupraxia was blessed to have a devout Armenian mother who was, if anything, an even greater saint. She inherited both her mother’s name and her spirit.
Her parents belonged to a wealthy and noble family and were related to the emperors Theodosius. Eupraxia was born in A.D. 381 during the reign of Theodosius the Great and died during the reign of Theodosius the Younger (408–450).
Her father died when she was barely five years old.
She and her mother moved to Egypt, where they lived with great devotion, frequently visiting a convent in the Thebaid.
Deeply impressed by the pure atmosphere of the convent, Eupraxia, with her mother’s encouragement, decided to enter the monastery.
Her mother, confident that her beloved child was now in safe hands, devoted herself completely to charitable works until her death, helping the poor, the unfortunate, and the sick wherever she went.
When the emperor learned of the death of Eupraxia’s mother, he invited the younger Eupraxia to Byzantium with the intention of arranging her marriage to a high-ranking nobleman.
The virgin asked the emperor to release her from earthly riches, since she had already become the bride of the Heavenly Bridegroom. At the same time, she asked that her entire princely inheritance be converted into money and distributed among the poor, and that the servants and officials of their household be compensated and set free.
The emperor granted Eupraxia’s requests and allowed her to continue her virginal life in the monastery.
Under the guidance and care of the abbess, Eupraxia progressed in Christian perfection and asceticism.
After reaching the age of twelve, she ate only once a day. Several years later, she began eating only once every two days, until eventually she made it her practice to eat only once a week.
Although of princely birth, she loved performing all the ordinary duties of the monastery: sweeping, cleaning, carrying water, and other simple tasks.
She endured powerful inner spiritual struggles, all of which she overcame through fasting and prayer.
There were also those who envied her, but she lovingly forgave them and prayed for their conversion.
Miracles were also performed through her.
Thus, through a life of ascetic discipline and prayer, she perfected herself spiritually. At the age of thirty, she peacefully departed to God and was buried in her monastery beside her mother.
We Armenians commemorate them on the fourth Thursday following the Feast of the Holy Cross.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
~ Proverbs 4:20-27 ~
My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
~ Jeremiah 15:19-20 ~
Therefore thus says the Lord: If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord.
~ 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 ~
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
~ Holy Gospel of St. Matthew 9:35-10:1 ~
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.