A person who is caressed by material wealth does not need religion, and he forgets about God. But God remembers his child. Everyday troubles befall a person, illnesses come. One must come to terms with God's providence. But this does not mean that you need to sit idly by. It is necessary to fight trouble, relying on holy help. Repentance and prayers will support you in difficult times. Prayer to Panteleimon the healer - these are the words with which during illness they ask for intercession before the Almighty Creator.
Nicomedia doctor
In the town of Nicomedia in Asia Minor in 275, a boy was born into the noble family of Eustorgius and Evvula. The child was named Pantoleon. The mother raised the child in the Christian faith, but the woman died early. The church celebrates the memory of the saint on March 30. The father sent the boy to study at the school of the local Aesculapius Euphrosynus.
Healer of souls and bodies
The young man was distinguished by good manners and eloquence, and easily and with pleasure learned the secrets of medical art. The Roman Emperor Maximian wanted to appoint a young healer as a court physician.
Once Pantoleon was invited to visit the Christian presbyter Ermolai. During the conversation, the future saint outlined to the handsome doctor the main truths of the new faith. From that time on, the young man came to the priest’s house every day and listened to stories about Jesus Christ.
One day, the young man discovered a boy on the road who had died from the bite of a poisonous snake. Full of compassion, the healer began to pray to the Savior and promised to accept Christianity if the deceased child was resurrected. The healer Panteleimon’s prayer for recovery worked a miracle, and the child rose to his feet.
After this incident, Ermolai performed the rite of Holy Baptism over Pantoleon. The young man spent seven days with a spiritual teacher, comprehending the postulates of the sacred Gospel. At home, the newly converted Christian began to tell his parent about the Son of God. The old pagan was soon also baptized.
The preacher dedicated his life to helping people in need. He treated the sick free of charge, came to prison and provided medical and spiritual assistance to prisoners. The competing doctors, left without income, wrote a denunciation to the emperor.
Christian feat
The persecutor of Christians, Maximian, demanded that Pantoleon renounce his faith. and sacrifice to idols. In response, the passion-bearer offered prayers to the Savior and, in front of the emperor’s eyes, healed the paralytic, whom the pagan priests could not save from his illness. In a rage, the ruler ordered the execution of the cured man, and sent the rebellious confessor of the new teaching to be tortured.
The body of the great martyr was stretched on a wheel, torn with iron claws, immersed in boiling tin, and drowned in the sea. But the Nicomedia saint remained alive and unharmed. The Savior helped Pantoleon overcome torture and strengthened his faith.
Then the executioners take their victim to the circus to be torn to pieces by wild animals. But lions and panthers fawned at the feet of God's saint and licked his hands. The spectators jumped up from their seats and began to glorify the Christian God.
Finally, the emperor ordered the execution of the healer who did not want to renounce Jesus. The martyr was tied to an olive tree. However, the sword with which the warrior struck became soft and did not harm the prisoner sentenced to death. The legionnaires refused to continue the execution.
At this time, the Savior appeared to the saint again and named the healer Panteleimon. For the glory of God, the passionate healer demanded that the soldiers carry out Maximian’s decree. When the head was cut off, milk spilled out of the wound along with blood, and the tree blossomed and became covered with fruits.
They wanted to burn the body of the executed man, but the fire did not touch him. Christians buried Panteleimon in land that belonged to the scholastic Adamant.
Orthodoxy has honored the memory of the martyr doctor since ancient times. Since the 4th century, churches have been erected in the name of the great martyr, into which pieces of the relics of God's ascetic are delivered. In the altar of the cathedral church of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Afrn, the main relic is still kept - the honest head of the righteous.
In Rus', the holy healer was revered on a par with Nikolai Ugodnik. The helmet of the Kyiv prince Izyaslav, named Panteleimon in baptism, was decorated with an image of the great martyr. The Russian fleet won victories over the Swedes in the naval battles of Gangauze in 1714 and Grengam in 1720, which took place on the days of the saint’s memory.
Panteleimon is considered not only the protector of the sick, but also the patron of warriors. This is due to the interpretation of the names of the righteous:
- The pagan name is interpreted as “lion in everything.”
- The Christian name means "all-merciful" in Greek.
There are almost no churches on Russian soil that do not have the icon of the Great Martyr Panteleimon. The image of the saint has distinctive features. The healer is depicted as a beardless young man wearing a blue or green shirt. A red or brown cloak is gathered at the chest. The left hand holds a box with medicines, in the right hand there is a medical spoon in the shape of a cross.
On Memorial Day, August 9, the glorification of the Great Martyr takes place in all churches of the Christian world. Panteleimon.
“Help cure my illness”
When bodily illnesses occur, an akathist is read to Panteleimon the healer about the health of a sick person. Such a prayer is a very strong protection against illness if done in church in front of a holy image.
Unchurched people are faced with church terms that are not used in everyday life, and the meaning of some words is unclear.
- Akathist - church singing of praise in honor of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God or a specific saint. Consists of thirteen kontakia and twelve ikos.
- Kontakion is a short part of an akathist telling about an episode from the life of a saint.
- Ikos is an extended glorification of an event told in the previous kontakion. Kontakion is a theme that is developed by ikos. Ikos is never sung separately, but only after the corresponding kontakion.
- Troparion is a small chant glorifying the feat of a saint or revealing the essence of a church holiday.
Prayer to the great martyr and healer Panteleimon:
“The great saint of Christ, passion-bearer and all-merciful doctor Panteleimon. Be merciful to the servant of God (name), hear my cry and groans, beg the Heavenly Physician of our bodies and souls, Jesus Christ, to heal me from this oppressive illness. Accept the unworthy prayers of the most sinful of men.
Turn to me with your gracious visit. Do not disdain my ulcers and anoint my wounds with the oil of your mercy. Grant me health in body and soul for the rest of my days with God’s grace, to live in repentance and pleasing the Lord, and to accept a peaceful end to life. Pleaser of God, beg Christ the Savior to grant through your intercession the health of my body and the salvation of my soul. Hallelujah."
After the person recovers, a thanksgiving prayer service is ordered in the church, at which the troparion to Panteleimon the healer is read. At home, a short text of the prayer is read:
“Holy healer and servant of God Panteleimon! You are worthily called all-merciful, for you accepted the grace to heal illnesses and pray for us. So we, unworthy ones, glorify you before your icon for your mercies sent to us. We thank you and our Lord for the good deeds that have come to us. Accept this small gratitude and prolong our life, and give your help. Thanks, glory and worship to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit from now on and forever and ever. Amen".
And the miracle happened
From ancient times to this day, church books have recorded testimonies of people who were cured after prayerful appeals to the great martyr:
When a person is overcome by sores, this means that God is shouting to him: “Repent!” To repent means to change oneself. The patient will have to study his life and way of thinking, identify harmful passions and sins. A change in mental state occurs with God's help with the assistance of holy saints. To repent means to heal yourself.
Holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon, merciful imitator of God! Look with mercy and hear us, sinners, praying earnestly before your holy icon. Ask us from the Lord God, Who stands with the Angels in heaven, for the forgiveness of our sins and transgressions: heal the mental and physical illnesses of the servants of God, now remembered, those present here and all Orthodox Christians who flow to your intercession: for here we are, through our sins We are fiercely possessed by many ailments and are not imams of help and consolation: we resort to you, for you have given the grace to pray for us and heal every ailment and every disease; Grant therefore to all of us, through your holy prayers, health and well-being of souls and bodies, advancement of faith and piety, and everything necessary for temporary life and salvation, for, having been granted great and rich mercies by you, let us glorify you and the Giver of all good things, wondrous in the saints, God ours, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer 2, read privately on behalf of the sick person
O great saint of Christ, passion-bearer and merciful physician, Panteleimon! Have mercy on me, a sinful slave, hear my groaning and cry, propitiate the heavenly, supreme Physician of our souls and bodies, Christ our God, may He grant me healing from the illness that oppresses me. Accept the unworthy prayer of the most sinful man above all, visit me with a gracious visit, do not disdain my sinful wounds, anoint me with the oil of your mercy and heal me; Yes, healthy in soul and body, I will be able to spend the rest of my days, by the grace of God, in repentance and pleasing to God and will be worthy to receive a good end to my life. Hey, servant of God! Pray to Christ God, that through your intercession he may grant me health to my body and salvation to my soul. Amen.
Troparion, tone 3
Passion-bearing saint and healer Panteleimon,/ pray to the Merciful God,/ that forgiveness of sins// will grant to our souls.
Kontakion, tone 5
This imitator of the Merciful, / and receiving healing grace from Him, / the passion-bearer and martyr of Christ God, / with your prayers heal our spiritual ailments, / driving away the ever-fighting temptations from those who cry out truly // save us, Lord.
Greatness
We magnify you, the passion-bearing holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon, and we honor your honest suffering, which you endured for Christ.
Orthodox churches, cathedrals, and chapels are spread all over Mother Russia. Parishioners especially often ask for the gift of health. The disease spares no one: neither a successful businessman, nor a poor person, nor a heroine mother, nor a newborn baby.
Prayerful help of the saint
What and how can you ask the Great Martyr Panteleimon?
Great Martyr Panteleimon
He will come to the rescue:
- before and during the upcoming surgery;
- with the often overtaking feeling of weakness and fatigue;
- will help doctors recognize an illness that they cannot identify in a patient;
- during the weakness of the family and friends of the prayer book;
- will help intercede before the Heavenly Father for people with cancer problems;
- pray for healing for drug addicts and alcoholics;
- It will help if misfortunes overtake one family after another and relatives die.
How else can you pray for health:
After the great healer was canonized as a member of the Saints of the Russian Orthodox Church, the date of August 9 was set as the day of veneration of his blessed memory. Many churches and monasteries around the world were consecrated in his honor, and his life provides us with an example of true service.
The saint helps everyone without exception, regardless of social status and the presence of sins! Therefore, each of us, raising a prayer to Heaven, has the right to hope for a long, healthy and happy life!
Rules for prayer reading
- There must be an icon with the face of St. Panteleimon near the patient’s bed or hanging above his head.
- He needs to pray as often as possible, but sincerely and with faith in help.
- Both the sick person and his household can ask for recovery. After praying, it is advisable to give the sick person some holy water to drink.
- It is advisable to visit the church, pray before the Face of Christ and the holy healer, and light candles.
- To receive the assistance of the Church, you need to come to the temple and get blessed by the father-priest to read a prayer. Perhaps he will ask the reason for the anxiety, so it is worth telling the priest about the sick person for whom you are going to pray. The cleric will definitely pray for him.
Healer Panteleimon
You can order a prayer service for the health of the patient. To do this, take a special form from the church shop with the heading “Prayer service”. Write the name of the prayer service “For Health” and enter the names of the sick in the genitive case.
Prayers to the Saint
Troparion, tone 3
Passion-bearing saint and healer Panteleimon, pray to the Merciful God that He will grant remission of sins to our souls.
Kontakion, tone 5
O imitator of the Merciful and healing grace received from Him, passion-bearer and martyr of Christ God, with your prayers heal our spiritual ailments, driving away the ever-fighting temptations from those who cry out truly: save us, Lord.
Oh, holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon, merciful imitator of God! Look with mercy and hear us sinners, earnestly praying before your holy icon, ask us from the Lord God, who stands with the angels in heaven, for the forgiveness of our sins and transgressions: heal the mental and physical illnesses of the servants of God, now remembered, those present here and all Christians Orthodox, flocking to your intercession: behold, for our sin, we are fiercely possessed by many ailments and are not imams of help and consolation: we resort to you, for you have given the grace to pray for us and heal every ailment and every illness: grant therefore to all of us through your holy prayers, health and well-being of souls and bodies, advancement of faith and piety, and everything necessary for temporary life and salvation, for having been granted great and rich mercies by you, let us glorify you and the Giver of all blessings, wondrous in the saints of our God, the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Second prayer
O great servant of Christ and glorious healer, Great Martyr Panteleimon! With your soul in Heaven stand before the Throne of God and enjoy His Trinitarian glory, the body and face of the saint rested on earth in the Divine temples and various miracles were exuded by the grace given to you from above, look with your merciful eye on the people ahead, more honorable than your icon, tenderly praying and asking for healing from you help and intercession: extend your warm prayers to the Lord our God and ask our souls for forgiveness of sins. Behold, we, for our iniquity, do not dare to raise our hair to the heights of heaven, lower to raise the voice of prayer to His unapproachable glory in the Divine, with a contrite heart and a humble spirit for you, a merciful intercessor to the Lady and a prayer book for us sinners, we call upon you, as you have received Thou art the grace from Him to drive away illnesses and heal passions. We therefore ask you: do not despise us, unworthy, who pray to you and demand your help. Be a comforter to us in our sorrows, a physician to the ill-severely afflicted, a quick patron to those who are sick, a giver of insight to those who are ill, a ready intercessor and healer for those who are sick and infants in sorrows: intercede for everyone everything that is useful for salvation, as through your prayers to the Lord God you have received grace and mercy, let us glorify all the good Source and Giver of God, the One in the Trinity of Holy Ones, the glorified Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer three
O glorious martyr and good warrior of the Heavenly King, the all-blessed Panteleimon, the most eminent imitator of the merciful God, having boldly confessed Christ on earth, and having endured manifold torments for Him, you have, unfadingly, received a crown in Heaven, where you enjoy eternal bliss, and with boldness before the Throne of the Trisolar Divinity stoishi ! All of us sinners resort to your Christ-like compassion for God, and we all diligently pray to you, our warm intercessor and representative: do not cease to look upon us who are in need and sorrowful circumstances, and with your prayerful help and healing power, always deliver us from cruel evils and all-destructiveness and all sorts of other troubles and illnesses. For you, holy one, have received the boundless grace of healing from our Savior Jesus Christ for your firm faith in Him, with a pure and immaculate life, sealed by martyrdom and your many-victorious death, in which, by the grace given by you, you were named by Christ Panteleimon, the same-named of mercy, having mercy on all those who come to you in sorrow and illness. For this reason, since you are a merciful helper and healer in everything, we call on you with faith: hear us and through your God-pleasing intercession give us everything useful in this life and necessary for eternal salvation. With your martyrdom, beg the merciful God to have mercy on us, sinners and unworthy, according to His great mercy, and deliver us from cowardice, flood, fire, sword and all righteous anger and reproach, prompting us in good time to cleansing and propitiatory repentance for our sins, for the sake of the multitude of His bounty, may He give us all a comfortable, quiet and God-pleasing life, and may His Angel protect us all from all enemies, visible and invisible, with His grace and invincible militia, in whose image we are protected and instructed, may we live in this world in repentance, purity and in doing godly deeds; May we be worthy, through your warm intercession, to achieve a Christian death that is painless, peaceful, and shameless, to get rid of the machinations of the airy princes of darkness and from eternal torment, and to be heirs of the endless, all-blessed Kingdom. Hey, servant of God! Do not cease to pray for us sinners, and through your intercession of temporary and eternal troubles, deliverance, we magnify you, our intercessor and prayer book, and we eternally glorify our common Master and Lord Jesus Christ, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship with His Beginning Father and the Most Holy Spirit , now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer four
Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, imitator of the merciful God! Look with mercy and hear us, sinners, praying earnestly before your holy icon. Ask us from the Lord God, who stands with the Angels in heaven, for the forgiveness of our sins and transgressions. Heal the mental and physical illnesses of the servants of God, now remembered, those present here, and all Orthodox Christians who flow to your intercession. Behold, because of our fierce sin, we are possessed by many ailments and are not imams of help and consolation, but we resort to you, as you have given the grace to pray for us and heal every ailment and every illness. Grant therefore to all of us through your holy prayers health and well-being of souls and bodies, advancement of faith and piety and everything necessary for temporary life and salvation. For, having been granted great and rich mercies by you, let us glorify you and the giver of all blessings, marvelous among the saints, our God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fifth prayer
O great saint of Christ, passion-bearer and much-merciful physician, Panteleimon! Have mercy on me, a sinful slave, hear my groaning and cry, propitiate the heavenly, supreme Physician of our souls and bodies, Christ our God, may He grant me healing from the illness that oppresses me. Accept the unworthy prayer of the most sinful man above all. Visit me with a gracious visit. Do not disdain my sinful sores, anoint me with the oil of your mercy and heal me: yes, healthy in soul and body, I can spend the rest of my days, by the grace of God, in repentance and pleasing God and will be worthy to receive the good end of my life. Hey, servant of God! Pray to Christ God, that through your intercession he may grant me health to my body and salvation to my soul. Amen.
Prayer of thanksgiving after healing from an illness
Holy Great Martyr, Healer and Wonderworker Panteleimon, all-round servant of God and constant prayer book of Orthodox Christians! You are worthily named Panteleimon, the all-merciful hedgehog, for having received from God the grace to pray for us and to heal illnesses, you richly give to everyone who comes to you, various healings and everything needed for temporary life and salvation: for this reason we are not worthy, having been granted Your mercy, again, before your holy icon, we resort to you, and glorifying you, as a sincere saint of God, our faithful prayer book and healer, we fervently thank you and the giver of all the good things of the Lord our God for the great blessings that you have given us from Him. Therefore, mercifully accept this small prayerful thanksgiving of ours, before imams give you anything other than what is due to you, and for the rest of our lives do not deprive us, weak and sinners, of your help and prayerful intercession with the Lord our God, to Him belongs all glory, thanksgiving and worship. , Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Brief history of life
The famous great martyr was born in Nicomedia into a pagan family and was named Pantoleon. In his adolescence he was sent to study, and after graduating from school he decided to learn the art of healing from the famous Nicomedia physician Euphrosynus.
The young man’s abilities were amazing, and upon hearing about them, Emperor Maximilian called him to court.
At that time, the great martyrs who survived the massacre of Christians in the local church in 303 lived in Nicomedia. They often saw Pantoleon passing by their home. One day, one of the presbyters, Ermolai, called him to his refuge and told him about God, Christians and faith, after which the future saint began to visit the preacher every day.
Life of Panteleimon
Soon he was baptized with the name Panteleimon and brought his father, a furious pagan, to the faith of Christ.
The saint dedicated his entire life to suffering, sick and wretched people. He healed everyone who turned to him for help. He often visited prison cells and treated prisoners for wounds and all kinds of ailments.
People's rumors about the merciful doctor spread throughout the city and the townspeople began to make requests for the gift of health only to Panteleimon.
Envious doctors reported to the emperor that the newly minted Orthodox doctor had lured all the patients to his side. Maximilian began to force Panteleimon to abandon his activities and sacrifice to idols.
But the saint, in response to the governor’s demand, healed a paralytic man before his eyes and glorified Christ. He greatly angered the city ruler and was sentenced by him to severe torture.
How and how prayers heal
When a person falls ill with a serious illness, he is overcome by fear and panic, which further intensifies the course of the disease.
Interesting about Orthodoxy:
But prayer to Saint Panteleimon for healing gives the necessary protection and strength for recovery. Traditional methods of therapy cannot be denied.
Important! Diseases are sent from Above for a reason. They are a test of the strength of the Christian faith. The power of faith is capable of defeating even the most terrible illnesses, considered incurable.
Prayer must be sincere; during prayer, you must focus on reading the prayer text and understand the meaning of each spoken phrase.
You can make a petition both in church and at home. You can pray at home in any position - seriously ill people are allowed to lie in bed with an icon in their hands.
Advice! Before starting prayer, it is necessary to offer gratitude to the Heavenly Father for joys and difficulties, and to repent of the sins committed.
Watch a video about praying to Healer Panteleimon.
Prayer
O great servant of Christ and glorious healer, Great Martyr Panteleimon! With your soul in Heaven stand before the Throne of God and enjoy His Trinitarian glory, rest in your holy body and face on earth in Divine temples and perform various miracles by the grace given to you from above. Look with your merciful eye on the people ahead and most honestly praying to the icon and asking you for healing help and intercession. Extend your warm prayers to the Lord our God and ask our souls for forgiveness of our sins. With faith we call on your name, holy and righteous Panteleimon. For you have received grace from the Lord God to drive away illnesses and heal passions. We therefore ask you: do not despise us, unworthy, who pray to you and demand your help. Be a comforter to us in our sorrows, and a physician to us in the ills of the fiercely afflicted. Those who are attacked are a quick patron. To the ailing eyes - the giver of insight. For those in sorrow, he is the most ready intercessor and healer. Intercede for everyone everything that is useful for salvation. Because through your prayers to the Lord God we have received grace and mercy, let us glorify all the good Source and Giver, the One God, glorified in the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Greatness
We magnify you, / the passion-bearing saint, the great martyr and healer Panteleimon, / and we honor your honest suffering, / which you endured for Christ. Prayer
O great Christ-pleaser and glorious curative-servant, the great martyr Panteleimon! Thou shalt shower upon the heavenly throne of God, and enjoy thy Triopostas His glory, and with the same body and holy countenance upon the earth in Divine temples, rest the various miracles of exaltation, and this given above grace. Grant your merciful eye to the impending people and the honesty of the icon, praying mercifully and begging for your healing help and intercession. Pray to our Lord our warm prayers and ask our souls to leave our trespasses. With faith we call on your name, holy righteous Panteleimon. For thou hast received the grace of the Lord God - to cast away the ailments and the passion to heal. We beg you: do not despise us, unworthy, praying to you and your help requiring. Woe to us in mourning a comforter, in the sicknesses of the cruel, suffering doctor. Attacked - fast patron. Ochm is not healthy - the insight of the giver. In grief, those who are staying are the most prepared representative and healer. Execute everything to everyone, it "s useful to salvation. Let us glorify all the good Source and Daradoter, the One God, in the Trinity of the Holy One, the and Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and for ever and ever. Amen.
Magnification
We exalt thee, / passionately holy, great martyr and medicinal Panteleimon, / and we honor your honest suffering, / for Christ, // you have endured.
On August 9, the Russian Orthodox Church remembers the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon.
Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon- a saint whom everyone knows, who at least once came to the threshold of the temple in illness and suffering, who prayed for loved ones struggling with a serious illness. This righteous man from the distant first centuries of Christianity became close and dear to many believers.
Who was he and how does his work continue to live on in the present Church?
The healer Panteleimon was born in the city of Nicomedia into the family of a noble pagan Eustorgius and was named Pantoleon. His mother Evvula, a Christian, wanted to raise her son in the faith, but died when the future great martyr was still young.
His father sent Pantoleon to an elementary pagan school, after graduating from which the young man began to study the art of medicine from the famous physician Euphrosynus in Nicomedia and became known to Emperor Maximian (284-305), who wanted to see him at his court.
Once a young man saw a dead child on the street, bitten by an echidna that was still nearby. Pantoleon began to pray to the Lord Jesus Christ for the resurrection of the deceased and the killing of the poisonous reptile. He firmly decided that if his prayer was fulfilled, he would become a follower of Christ and accept Baptism. The child came to life, and the echidna scattered into pieces in front of Pantoleon.
After this miracle, Pantoleon was baptized by Saint Hermolai with the name Panteleimon (all-merciful). Talking with Eustorgius, Saint Panteleimon prepared him for the adoption of Christianity, and when the father saw how his son healed a blind man by invoking the Name of Jesus Christ, he believed in Christ and was baptized together with the blind man who had received his sight.
Myrrh-streaming icon of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon. Greece
After the death of his father, Saint Panteleimon dedicated his life to the suffering, sick, poor and poor. He treated everyone who turned to him free of charge, healing them in the Name of Jesus Christ. He visited prisoners in prison, especially Christians, with whom all prisons were overcrowded, and treated them for their wounds. Soon the rumor about the gracious doctor spread throughout the city. Leaving other doctors, the residents began to turn only to Saint Panteleimon.
Out of envy, the doctors reported to the emperor that Saint Panteleimon was treating Christian prisoners. Maximian persuaded the saint to refute the denunciation and sacrifice to idols, but Saint Panteleimon confessed himself to be a Christian and, in front of the emperor’s eyes, healed the paralytic in the Name of Jesus Christ. The fierce Maximian executed the healed man who had glorified Christ, and betrayed Saint Panteleimon to the most severe torment.
During all the tortures, the great martyr remained unharmed and boldly denounced the emperor. In the end, the executioners refused to continue the execution, but the Great Martyr Panteleimon ordered that the emperor’s order be carried out, saying that otherwise they would not have a part with him in the future life. The soldiers said goodbye to the saint with tears, kissing him. When the martyr's head was cut off, milk flowed from the wound. The olive tree to which the saint was tied became covered with fruit at the moment of his death. Many present at the execution believed in Christ. The body of the saint, thrown into the fire, remained undamaged in the fire and was buried by Christians († 305).
The holy relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon were dispersed in pieces throughout the Christian world: his venerable head is now in the Russian Athos Monastery in the name of the Great Martyr Panteleimon. The name of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon is invoked when performing the sacrament of the Blessing of Unction, the blessing of water and in prayer for the weak.
Among Western Christians, he is considered the patron saint of doctors. The connection between these two patronages of the saint is clearly visible from the fact that warriors, who receive wounds more often than others, need a doctor-healer the most. That is why Christians waging spiritual warfare also resort to this saint with a request to heal ulcers of the soul and mental disorders.
The Great Martyr Panteleimon is revered in the Orthodox Church as a formidable saint, the patron saint of warriors. This side of veneration reveals his first name Pantoleon, which means “lion in everything.” The second name given to him at Baptism, Panteleimon, that is, “all-merciful,” is revealed from the veneration of the great martyr as healer.
Panteleimon “gives life,” that is, “creates alive,” he is like a life-giver, a life-creator. What amazing, almost scary, comparisons! After all, there is only One who creates alive... Panteleimon repeats the miracles of Christ - for “he who believes in me will do greater things than these” (John 14:12)
“Thou hast reposed, rejoicing, to the ultimate desire, where thou hast dwelled, most blessed, thou hast truly been vouchsafed to receive the blessed end, who art with thy Lord unto endless ages.” Now Panteleimon can do everything he aspired to, and nothing will stop him from this. He is free, like Christ, he can visit all those who suffer, and not just the inhabitants of Bithynia.
Lawrence, Vassa and Provian, servants of the great martyr, wrote a narrative about the life, suffering and death of the great martyr. The memory of Saint Panteleimon has been revered by the Orthodox East since ancient times. Already in the 4th century, churches were erected in the name of the saint in Armenian Sebastia and Constantinople. The blood and milk that flowed during the beheading of the saint were kept until the 10th century and were given healing to believers.
The venerable relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon were scattered in pieces throughout the Christian world. There are especially many of them on Holy Mount Athos. His honest and multi-healing head is kept in the Russian Athos Monastery of St. Panteleimon, in the cathedral church dedicated to his name.
In Nicomedia, on the eve of July 27 - the day of remembrance of the holy great martyr - a solemn religious procession is held with the miraculous icon of the saint. Thousands of people - Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox - Armenians, Catholics, and even Mohammedans come here and bring hundreds of sick people who receive healing through the prayers of the saint. The church book “Kondak,” kept in the Nicomedia Metropolis, records two thousand autographs of Greeks, Turks, Italians and Armenians who received healing through the prayers of the Great Martyr Panteleimon.
The veneration of the holy martyr in the Russian Orthodox Church has been known since the 12th century. Grand Duke Izyaslav, in Holy Baptism Panteleimon, had the image of the great martyr on his battle helmet and through his intercession he remained alive in the battle of 1151. Under the command of Peter I, Russian troops won two naval victories over the Swedes on the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Panteleimon: in 1714 at Gangauze (Finland) and in 1720 at Grengam (a small harbor on the Åland Islands).
The name of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon is invoked when performing the Sacrament of Anointing, blessing of water and prayer for the weak. His memory is especially solemnly celebrated in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. The cathedral in his name was built in 1826 according to the type of ancient Athos temples.
In the altar, in a precious ark, the main shrine of the monastery is kept - the head of the holy great martyr Panteleimon. 8 days before the holiday, the forefeast begins. On these days, after Vespers, prayer canons are sung in 8 voices; it is noteworthy that for each day there is a special canon. On the day of the holiday, a solemn all-night vigil is held and thousands of guests and pilgrims participate in the divine service.
Based on the handwritten Athos service, the choruses on the 9th song of the canon to the Great Martyr are printed. According to ancient tradition, pilgrims of the Russian Orthodox Church annually travel to Greece and to Holy Mount Athos on the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon. “Christ gives you rich goodness, giving us treasures of healing, and giving you all-merciful will to everyone who mourns, and a quiet refuge, and an intercessor, and a protector.” (From the canon to Saint Great Martyr Panteleimon)
TO THE GREAT MARTYR PANTELEMON
Troparion, tone 3
Passion-bearing saint and healer Panteleimon, / pray to the merciful God, / that forgiveness of sins / will grant to our souls.
Kontakion, tone 5
This imitator of the Merciful / and receiving healing grace from Him, / passion-bearer and martyr of Christ God, / with your prayers heal our spiritual ailments, / driving away the ever-fighting temptations from those who cry out truly: / save us, Lord.
Greatness
We magnify you, / the passion-bearing saint, the great martyr and healer Panteleimon, / and we honor your honest sufferings / which you / endured for Christ.
Prayer to Saint Panteleimon
Oh, great saint of Christ, passion-bearer and merciful physician Panteleimon!
Have mercy on me, a sinful slave, hear my groaning and cry, propitiate the Heavenly, Supreme Physician of our souls and bodies, Christ our God, may He grant me healing from the illness that oppresses me. Accept the unworthy prayer of the most sinful man above all. Visit me with a gracious visit. Do not disdain my sinful ulcers, anoint them with the oil of your mercy, and heal me; May I, healthy in soul and body, be able to spend the rest of my days, by the grace of God, in repentance and pleasing to God and be worthy of receiving a good end to my life. Hey, servant of God! Pray to Christ God, that through your intercession he may grant health to my body and salvation to my soul. Amen
