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Mar. 5th, 2010 01:08 amGerasimus (d. 475) Gerasimus was a merchant of Lycia in Asia Minor. He became a hermit in his native region, but in time moved on to Palestine. He was a Nestorian for a while, but got over it. Gerasimus ended up building a monastery with 70 additional cells for hermits in the Jordanian desert. He seems to be the origin point for the legend that connects St. *Jerome* to a lion. It was Gerasimus, not Jerome who is credited with pulling a thorn out of a lion's paw, the lion afterward becoming his companion. There's a tale that the lion was sent one day to take care of the monastery's donkey. Traders stole the donkey; Gerasimus accused the poor lion of eating it and ordered him to carry the monastic water supply in the donkey's place. But one day the thief came by again, leading the stolen donkey - the lion chased the guy off, and led the donkey home by its bridle. John Moschus tells the tale of how the holy abbot removed a thorn from the paw of a lion, which thereafter never left his side; when Gerasimus died, the lion stretched out on his grave, beat his head upon the ground, and would not leave (it died a few days later). I really like this story.
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Mark the Hermit (d. c. 400) Mark is reputed to have memorized the entire Bible. When he was about 40, he became a hermit in the Egyptian desert. One legend tells that a hyena came to him with her blind offspring, looking for a miracle. Mark prayed the whelp's sight back. The next day, the hyena brought a sheepskin to say thank you, only to be reproached for robbing poor people's flocks. He is said to have given the sheepskin to St. Athanasius.
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Phocas the Gardener (c320) Phocas is a famous early martyr of whom, like so many early martyrs, very little is actually known. Our first account of him tells us that Phocas was born at Sinope in Pontus (in Turkey) and that he lived as a rustic gardener outside a gate of that city, and that, though poor, he was generous in his hospitality. During an unspecified persecution, agents of the Roman state arrived at his house looking for him, whom they intended to slay as he was a known Christian. But they didn't know what he looked like. He offered them hospitality and promised that on the following day he would point out to them the man they sought. The agents accepted this offer and were hosted by the comdemned man, who served them dinner cooked by his own hand. While they slept he dug his grave. On the next day Phocas revealed his identity to his guests and asked them to slay him quickly. Overcoming their initial amazement, the agents rapidly complied by decapitating him. He is a patron of sailors, often seen by them at night when a storm has been expected.
The poor gardener or other small-farmer outside the city is familiar character in Hellenistic literature. And the association with sailors depends on the similarity of Phocas' name with the Greek word for seal (the mammal), 'phokos'.
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Phocas of Antioch (d. c. 320) Phocas of Antioch was a martyr of Antioch. Legend says he was suffocated in a steam-bath, which seems like an awfully odd way to kill off a Christian. According to the Roman Martyrology, anyone bitten by a venomous snake who puts his or her hand on the door of the basilica dedicated to this saint will be cured. This is probably the same man, although the stories of his life from various sources (obviously) differs greatly. But that still doesn't affect the snake-bite cure.
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Mark the Hermit (d. c. 400) Mark is reputed to have memorized the entire Bible. When he was about 40, he became a hermit in the Egyptian desert. One legend tells that a hyena came to him with her blind offspring, looking for a miracle. Mark prayed the whelp's sight back. The next day, the hyena brought a sheepskin to say thank you, only to be reproached for robbing poor people's flocks. He is said to have given the sheepskin to St. Athanasius.
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Phocas the Gardener (c320) Phocas is a famous early martyr of whom, like so many early martyrs, very little is actually known. Our first account of him tells us that Phocas was born at Sinope in Pontus (in Turkey) and that he lived as a rustic gardener outside a gate of that city, and that, though poor, he was generous in his hospitality. During an unspecified persecution, agents of the Roman state arrived at his house looking for him, whom they intended to slay as he was a known Christian. But they didn't know what he looked like. He offered them hospitality and promised that on the following day he would point out to them the man they sought. The agents accepted this offer and were hosted by the comdemned man, who served them dinner cooked by his own hand. While they slept he dug his grave. On the next day Phocas revealed his identity to his guests and asked them to slay him quickly. Overcoming their initial amazement, the agents rapidly complied by decapitating him. He is a patron of sailors, often seen by them at night when a storm has been expected.
The poor gardener or other small-farmer outside the city is familiar character in Hellenistic literature. And the association with sailors depends on the similarity of Phocas' name with the Greek word for seal (the mammal), 'phokos'.
---***---
Phocas of Antioch (d. c. 320) Phocas of Antioch was a martyr of Antioch. Legend says he was suffocated in a steam-bath, which seems like an awfully odd way to kill off a Christian. According to the Roman Martyrology, anyone bitten by a venomous snake who puts his or her hand on the door of the basilica dedicated to this saint will be cured. This is probably the same man, although the stories of his life from various sources (obviously) differs greatly. But that still doesn't affect the snake-bite cure.
