Life
The Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon is one of the most beloved saints of the Orthodox Church, venerated by the faithful as a heavenly physician who heals both bodily and spiritual ailments. He was born in the city of Nicomedia in Asia Minor toward the end of the third century, in the family of a distinguished pagan nobleman named Eustorgios. His mother Eubula was a devout Christian who took pains to instill the seeds of faith in young Pantoleon (his name before martyrdom), but died early. After her death his father directed the boy toward a pagan upbringing.
The young Pantoleon was gifted and showed unusual talent for medicine, which attracted the attention of the distinguished court physician Euphrosynos, with whom he continued his studies. He quickly became one of the most capable young physicians in Nicomedia and attracted the notice of Emperor Maximian. However, an encounter that would change his life was awaiting him — the encounter with an old Christian named Hermolaus. Walking home from his medical practice, Pantoleon met Hermolaus, who spoke with him about Christ and the Christian faith. Something in these conversations responded to what his Christian mother had planted in his soul; Pantoleon returned to Hermolaus repeatedly, until he resolved to be baptized. Hermolaus baptized him and gave him the Christian name Panteleimon, meaning “All-Merciful.”
After baptism, the young physician changed his practice: he began to heal the sick without payment, distributing all he received as gifts freely to the poor and to those in prison. His miraculous healings through prayer in the name of Christ attracted great attention. Many pagans were converted to the Christian faith when they saw how Panteleimon healed a blind man and raised a child who had been killed by a snake — in the name of Jesus Christ alone.
His denunciation to the Emperor was inevitable. Maximian first tried to dissuade Panteleimon, arguing that he could have a brilliant career as a court physician; when persuasion failed, he ordered that the physician who had abandoned the pagan gods be tortured to death. The torments were prolonged and varied: Panteleimon was beaten, his flesh was burned with torches, he was drowned in the sea with a millstone, thrown to the wild beasts, stretched on the wheel — but every time the Risen Christ appeared to him and healed him. The wild beasts lay down at his feet. The soldiers who witnessed these miracles converted and were martyred alongside him.
Around the year 305 Panteleimon was finally beheaded. The tradition records that at the moment of his death, milk rather than blood flowed from his wound, while the olive tree to which he was tied burst into flower and bore fruit. The holy relics of Panteleimon were scattered throughout the Christian world, and Athos became the central place of his veneration — the Athonite Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon bearing his name.
Tropar (Tone 3)
O holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon, intercede with the merciful God that He grant our souls forgiveness of sins.
Kontakion (Tone 5)
Having imitated the Merciful One and having received from Him the grace of healings, O Victorious and Great Martyr Panteleimon, by thy prayers heal our illnesses and drive away the continual temptations of the enemy from those who cry out to thee with faith: save us, O Lord.
About the Feast
Pantelejmondan — popularly also called “Ljetni Sveti Nikola” (“the Summer Saint Nicholas”) or simply “Pantelejmon” — is celebrated on July 27 by the New (Gregorian) calendar, corresponding to July 20 by the Old (Julian) calendar, in the fullness of summer heat. It is one of the more widespread patron feasts in Serbia, especially among families in the regions of Šumadija, Zlatibor, and Mačva, and also in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Saint Panteleimon is the patron of physicians, pharmacists, and the sick, and many families connected to the medical profession celebrate him. In hospitals and clinics in Serbia there are chapels dedicated to him, and on this day many medical establishments hold a festive Divine Liturgy followed by a gathering at which the healing mission of medicine as a calling given by God is remembered.
The feast table on Pantelejmondan falls in the summer, when the post-Apostolic period has ended, so there is no longer a mandatory Lenten regime. Roast lamb, stuffed peppers with tomatoes, Serbian bean soup, and fresh summer vegetables are typical dishes. The slava bread and koljivo are indispensable, as at every patron feast. In some families a big melon or watermelon stands in the middle of the table on this day as a distinctive seasonal contribution to the celebratory table.
In the folk tradition this feast is connected with summer healing herbs — people collect medicinal plants, especially mint, St. John’s wort, and yarrow, on this day and afterward, since folk wisdom connects these plants with healing. The people say that on Pantelejmondan the grass is most full of healing power and that the herbs dried on this day are especially effective throughout the year.