The Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon has long been revered by the Christian Church as a healer, protector and patron of the military. Orthodox Christians turn to him for help in curing diseases, and he protects soldiers from death in battle and keeps them unharmed. In different sources, you can find the spelling of the name of the saint through "y" - Panteleimon, but correctly - Panteleimon.
Saint Panteleimon was born in the 3rd century A. D. in the city of Nicomedia in the Roman province of Bithynia and was named by Pantoleon, which means "lion in everything." He came from a noble and wealthy family. His father was a pagan, and his mother professed Christianity and tried to introduce her son to the faith, but she died early when he was still a child.
Pantoleon graduated from a pagan grammar school, and then began to study the art of healing with the famous healer Euphrosynus in the city. On the way to his studies, the young man passed the secret shelter of Christian priests, one of whom - Ermolai - once invited Pantoleon to his place, told about Christianity and the power of healing the sick by the name of God. In his conversations with the elder, the young man remembered his mother's instructions, loved Christ and was established in the faith.
Soon he learned the power of the name of the Lord: when he saw a child on the road who had died from the bite of a viper, Pantoleon fervently prayed to God for his resurrection, and when the Lord performed a miracle, he finally believed and received holy baptism with the name Panteleimon, which means "all-merciful." After that, he led his father to the Christian faith, when, in front of his eyes, he healed a blind man with a prayer to Jesus Christ.
Panteleimon treated everyone who turned to him for help free of charge. He visited prisoners in prisons, helped the poor and the poor, widows and orphans. Having become a rich man after his father's death, he released his slaves, distributed all his property to the poor, and he himself continued to mercifully heal the sick in the name of Christ.
The glory of Panteleimon reached the Roman emperor Maximian, who wished to see him as his court physician. At the same time, the healer aroused envy and hatred among pagan doctors, and once they reported to the emperor that Panteleimon professes Christianity and heals people in the name of the Lord. Maximian demanded that the healer renounce the faith, offer sacrifice to pagan idols, but the young man remained adamant.
Saint Panteleimon was subjected to the most severe tortures: his body was torn with iron hooks, scorched with candles, immersed in boiling tin, wheeled, drowned in the sea and given to be torn apart by wild animals, but the Lord mercifully delivered the great martyr from suffering and left him unharmed in all tortures. Then Panteleimon was beheaded, and the body was thrown into the fire, but it remained intact by fire, and the Christians buried him.
The relics of Saint Panteleimon were transferred to Constantinople, and then were scattered throughout the world. Its honest head rests in the Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Holy Mount Athos in Greece, and particles of healing relics are found in many cities of Russia. His name is invoked in prayers for the sick and the weak, during the blessing of water and the sacrament of blessing of oil.
