Memorial Day of the Hieromartyr Pankratius, Bishop of Tauromenia

The Holy Church celebrates the day of remembrance of the Hieromartyr Pankratius, Bishop of Tauromenia on February 22 and July 22 The Hieromartyr is one of the early Christian saints, who in his youth was fortunate enough to see the Savior Christ during his earthly life The parents of the future Bishop of Tauromenia lived in Antioch, but decided to visit Jerusalem when they heard about a miracle-working preacher named Jesus Upon arrival in the holy city, Father Pankraty believed in Christ as the son of God, and met his closest disciples, including the Apostle Peter Pankraty grew up next to his family, learned about the Resurrection of the Lord and was baptized After the death of his parents, the young man commits a strange act for those around him; he renounces the family estate and becomes a hermit living in the desert There he is met by Peter, bringing the word of God to the people Pancratius began to accompany the apostle and soon, by the decision of Peter, he became the bishop of the Sicilian city of Tauromenia Upon arrival in Sicily, the miraculous deeds of Pancratius begin When he appeared, pagan temples began to collapse on their own, stone idols crumbled into pieces, and ailments were healed Residents of the city, listening to the bishop's sermons, converted to Christianity, and soon almost the entire city was baptized But hostile pagans lived around Tauromenia They were outraged by the activities of the Bishop of Tauromenia, and they decided to go to war against Christians Pankratiy, as best he could, strengthened the spirit of his flock and alone went out to the enemy with faith in his heart and a cross in his hand Turmoil began in the ranks of the attackers, the pagans began to fight each other, cut and stab their like-minded people But when they came to their senses and realized who they were fighting with, their eyes seemed to see clearly The survivors approached the saint with a request to baptize them After what happened, the glory of the Bishop of Tauromenia spread even further; every believer in the city was proud of his bishop But the pagans did not forget about their shame; they waylaid Pankratius and stoned him to death The martyrdom of Pankratius ended his earthly life, which became a shining example of true faith The holy relics of the martyr are kept in Rome, representing a wonderful source of help for good Christians In folk tradition, the day of remembrance of Pankratius was not marked with any special celebration, because winter supplies were already running out The peasants were engaged in ordinary chores, for example, weaving bast shoes, and noticed special weather signs of this day: - The frosty week after February 22 foreshadowed a warm March - A sign of snowfall was a crimson sunset - Dark nights without stars spoke of the imminent end of winter - Forest noise and sticking snow also indicated warming