The Hieromartyr Pancratius, Bishop of Taormina

Life

This saint was born in Antioch at the time when the Lord Jesus walked as a man among men on earth. Having heard of the miracles of Christ, the parents of Pancratius desired to see the Lord, the wonderworker. Together with Pancratius they came to Jerusalem, where they saw Jesus, heard His words, and beheld His miracles. There Pancratius became acquainted with the Apostle Peter. After the Ascension of the Lord, both the parents and the son were baptized in Antioch. Pancratius withdrew to a certain cave in Pontus, where the Apostle Peter found him, and in agreement with the Apostle Paul, appointed him Bishop of Taormina in Sicily. In that city Saint Pancratius performed great miracles, destroyed idols, baptized the unbaptized and strengthened the baptized, and governed the Church of God well. A certain pagan duke, Aquilinus, hearing that the entire city of Taormina had become Christian, set out with an army against that city to destroy it. Holy Pancratius encouraged the faithful not to be afraid, and he himself went out of the city with his clergy, carrying in his hand the invincible weapon — the Precious Cross. When the army drew near the city, a certain darkness fell upon it and great fear seized it. A great confusion arose, so that the attackers turned upon one another and stabbed and cut each other with swords. Thus did the servant of God, Pancratius, save the city and his flock by his powerful prayer before the Lord. At last he too was slain by stoning at the hands of certain envious and malicious pagans, and he reposed in the Lord. His holy relics rest in Rome.

From the Hymn of Praise

Pancratius the saint, from his childhoodWarmed himself in the sunlight of Christ's holy face,And summer after summer passedBut that face remained in his memory.