Saint Panteleimon is widely known as a Christian doctor who suffered martyrdom for his faith. Through the power of prayer, he miraculously restored hopeless patients to health, and even brought a child back to life after a deadly snake bite.
Yet, Panteleimon’s healing was not limited to prayer alone. He also employed his skills as a physician, treating a wide range of illnesses in the Roman Empire with the medicinal knowledge of his time. What diseases did the holy healer combat, and what remedies did he use? How did the teachings of the medical school he followed inspire his interest in Christianity? What might a typical day in his life have looked like? And why is the Great Martyr Panteleimon revered in Russia as the patron saint of the military?
Join us as we explore the daily life of this extraordinary physician and saint.
Who Became a Doctor in the Roman Empire and Why
Pantaleon, later known as Saint Panteleimon, was born in 275 in the ancient city of Nicomedia (modern-day northern Turkey), then part of the Roman Empire. His father, Eustorgius, was a pagan nobleman, while his mother, Eubula, was a devout Christian who is also venerated as a saint. Eubula raised her son in the Christian faith, but she passed away when Pantaleon was still young. After her death, he was placed in a pagan school and, upon reaching adolescence, began studying medicine under the renowned physician Euphrosyne.
What would Pantaleon’s training have been like? It certainly wouldn’t resemble our modern understanding of medical education. As Olga Alexandrovna Jarman, a senior lecturer in the history of medicine at St. Petersburg Paediatric Medical University, explains: “Ancient doctors can be divided into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of slave doctors, who belonged to their masters but were considered an intellectual class among slaves, receiving a solid education. These slave doctors could sometimes earn or buy their freedom, moving into the second group, which comprised poorer or middle-class individuals. For these doctors, medicine was a way to make a living and support their families. Finally, there were the Roman elite, the top two per cent of the population. Boys from this social stratum received an exceptional education, and some chose to explore medicine, not as a trade, but as an intellectual pursuit. For them, medicine was either a leisure activity, as it was for Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a Roman aristocrat known for his medical work De Medicina, or it served as a stepping stone in their court careers, as in the case of St. Caesarius, brother of St. Gregory of Nazianzus.”
Pantaleon belonged to this third, noble group.
How the Physician Pantaleon Became a Christian
At the age of twenty-seven, the young Pantaleon began his medical career at the Emperor’s court. A talented and educated physician, he was introduced to the Roman Emperor Maximian, who was residing in Nicomedia at the time, and retained him as a court physician, or archiater. These physicians were responsible for the health of the emperor and his family, overseeing public sanitation, and helping to combat epidemics. They also provided free medical care to the poor. As Olga Jarman explains, the position of archiater was often a stepping stone in a political career, and such physicians, being well-educated, could easily transition to other roles, such as managing the state treasury or even serving as the minister of finance, as was the case with St. Caesarius.
While serving at the imperial court, Pantaleon met the presbyter Hermolaus, one of the survivors of the 302 massacre in the Nicomedia Cathedral, where twenty thousand Christians were burned alive for refusing to worship idols at Emperor Maximian’s command. Hermolaus, who had escaped the flames, lived in seclusion but noticed the young physician passing by his window frequently. One day, he called Pantaleon over and began a conversation about the Christian faith. “What are you studying?” Hermolaus asked. Pantaleon replied, “I am studying the teachings of Asclepius, Hippocrates, and Galen.”
According to Olga Jarman, this episode hints that Pantaleon may have been a follower of the Methodist school of medicine. Unlike Hippocrates’ theory, which centred on the balance of bodily fluids—blood, phlegm, and yellow and black bile—the Methodist school focused on the movement of small particles through bodily channels. Disease, they believed, resulted from stagnation, and treatment involved promoting movement through baths, walks in fresh air, and massages. Interestingly, many adherents of this school were regarded as “godless” because they did not believe in pagan deities.
“Asclepiades of Bithynia, one of the founders of the Methodist school, advocated walking as a treatment,” says Jarman. “Pantaleon’s long walks, during which he met Hermolaus, could be seen as following this practice, rather than travelling in a palanquin as many others would have.” His rejection of pagan gods, typical of Methodists, might have made him more receptive to the Christian message.
Perhaps it was with this in mind that Hermolaus began to teach Pantaleon the basics of the Christian faith. During one of these daily conversations, Pantaleon encountered a tragic scene—a child who had just been bitten by a deadly snake, referred to in the hagiography as an echidna, lay lifeless on the road. Moved by pity, Pantaleon prayed to God, and miraculously, the child was resurrected, while the snake exploded into pieces.
Following this miracle, Pantaleon was baptised by Hermolaus. He then dedicated himself to healing the poor and prisoners, including Christians, offering his services free of charge, and always calling upon God for help.
One Day in the Life of St. Panteleimon
As a Christian, Pantaleon healed the sick through the power of prayer, yet he remained dedicated to the art of medicine. What might a day in his medical practice have looked like?
Romans typically rose early, and Pantaleon likely began his day by receiving patients at his office, which could have been located either at his father’s country estate or in Nicomedia itself. According to Hippocrates’ treatise On the Physician, a doctor’s office needed to be comfortable, shielded from harsh winds or direct sunlight, and kept meticulously clean. It was here that Pantaleon likely received the sick, performed minor operations, and prepared medicinal remedies.
Patients who were seriously ill or impoverished may have stayed at the office until they recovered. Pantaleon likely had assistants, most probably servants, who helped by cleaning and maintaining the instruments as well as preparing ingredients for medicines.
Prioritising a Healthy Lifestyle
Pantaleon may have prioritised a healthy lifestyle in his treatments, advising patients to follow a prescribed diet, which involved not only food restrictions but also a structured daily routine with obligatory physical activity.
The Use of Medicines
In addition to lifestyle recommendations, Pantaleon’s treatments included medicines made from plant, mineral, and animal ingredients. Medicinal herbs such as crocus, Euphrasia officinalis (eyebright), inula, and common parsley were commonly used. Physicians like Pantaleon may have collected these herbs themselves, as St. Cosmas and St. Damian did, or purchased them from traders. Minerals, such as copper oxide, were used in ointments applied to wounds. These ointments, known as plasters, often contained animal fat, minerals, and plant resins, which acted as natural antiseptics.
Pantaleon also prepared collyria, or eye ointments, which are mentioned in the New Testament (see Rev 3:18). One popular recipe for ‘white collyrium’ may have been used by Pantaleon to treat trachoma, an eye disease that caused blindness in antiquity. This ointment was made from a mixture of plants and minerals, such as calamine, zinc salt, gum arabic, and poppy juice. The dry substance was rolled into sticks and, when needed, ground into powder, mixed with egg white, and applied to the affected eye.
Surgical Interventions
Pantaleon’s medical practice also likely included surgical procedures. Surgery was used to treat boils, ulcers, varicose veins, and other conditions. His surgical toolkit probably included knives, needles for removing cataracts, tweezers, and probes, along with gold, silver, copper, or hair threads to close wounds. Bloodletting, another common practice at the time, involved making a small incision in the patient’s body and attaching a bronze vessel, akin to modern vacuum jars, to draw blood.
While Pantaleon primarily received patients in his office, after his baptism, he also began visiting the sick in prisons, as noted in his hagiography. Carrying a medicine chest, called a panarion, he would go with a servant to care for the imprisoned, continuing his mission of healing.
Why St. Panteleimon is the Patron Saint of Warriors
Pantaleon’s exceptional medical skills and his selfless assistance to the poor aroused the envy of other physicians, who reported him to Emperor Maximian. When the emperor learned that Pantaleon was a Christian, he had him arrested and, after failing to make him renounce his faith, subjected him to terrible tortures. Pantaleon’s body was torn with iron hooks, burned with fire candles, stretched on a wheel, and thrown into boiling tin. When he was cast into the arena with wild beasts, they licked his wounds rather than attacking him. Even when a soldier tried to strike him with a sword, the weapon melted like wax in his hands.
Before the saint’s execution, a voice from Heaven called Pantaleon by a new name, “Panteleimon,” meaning “all-merciful,” a sign of divine grace. The Great Martyr Panteleimon was martyred on 27 July (9 August, New Style) 305, one day after the execution of his teacher, the Holy Priest-Martyr Hermolaus. His veneration began almost immediately after his death, with the first churches in his honour being built in the fourth century. Soon, his name became known across the Christian world. In Russia, he was revered not only as a healer but also as a patron saint of warriors.
There are several reasons why the Great Martyr Panteleimon became associated with warriors. First, the name Pantaleon, meaning “in all things like a lion,” naturally resonated with soldiers. Additionally, as a court physician, part of his duties included treating military commanders and members of the emperor’s personal guard, the Praetorians.
It is also known that Prince Izyaslav Mstislavovich of Kiev, the grandson of Vladimir II Monomakh, was named Panteleimon at his baptism. He wore an image of the saint on his helmet, and after surviving a battle in 1151 through the saint’s intercession, devotion to St. Panteleimon grew throughout Russia. He eventually became the patron saint of the Russian army, and under Peter the Great, the navy as well. On St. Panteleimon’s feast day in 1714, the Russian fleet defeated the Swedes at the Battle of Gangut, and in 1720, they triumphed again at Grengam. In commemoration, the Panteleimon Church was built in St. Petersburg.
Over time, St. Panteleimon also became venerated as a patron of the sick. Pilgrims seeking healing flocked to the Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, where his relics are preserved. To this day, the faithful pray to the Great Martyr Panteleimon for healing from physical and mental ailments.
Translated by The Catalogue of Good Deeds
Source: https://foma.ru/kak-lechil-svoih-pacientov-velikomuchenik-panteleimon.html
Dear St Panteleimon, pray for me!