medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (27. July) is the feast day of:
Pantaleon (d. c. 305) The cult of Pantaleon is already attested in the
fifth century. In the East he belongs among the saintly physicians who
cared for their patients without payment; in the West he is numbered among
the fourteen Holy Helpers. Pantaleon was the son of a senator, and
secretly practised Christianity. His success as a physician was so great
that other doctors denounced Pantaleon to the emperor as a Christian. He
was arrested and tortured. Legend tells that it was almost impossible to
kill the saint. When they went to drown him, the sea withdrew from its
banks; wild animals in the arena turned their noses up at him; the sword
with which he was supposed to be beheaded refused to be sharpened. When he
was finally beheaded, it was not blood but milk that flowed from
Pantaleon's body.
The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (3rd-5th cents.) There is a legend that
seven young Christian men of Ephesus hid in a cave to escape the Decian
persecution (c. 250). They awakened during the reign of the eastern
emperor Theodosius II (d. 450), attested to their faith, and fell asleep
again. The story first appears in an account by the Syrian monk Jacob of
Sarug (452-522); Gregory of Tours (538-594) translated it into Latin.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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