1.
European dragon
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European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. Some depictions show dragons with feathered wings, crests, ear frills, fiery manes, ivory spikes running down its spine, others have no legs or multiple heads. In folktales, dragons blood often contains magical properties, keeping them alive for longer or giving them magical power, for example, in the opera Siegfried, dragons blood allows Siegfried to understand the language of the Forest Bird. The typical dragon protects a cavern or castle filled with gold, an evil dragon is often associated with a great hero who tries to slay it, and a good one is said to give wise advice. Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, possibly, the dragons of European and Mid-Eastern mythology stem from the cult of snakes found in religions throughout the world. Dragon is derived from the Latin word draco, as in the constellation, Draco, roman dragons evolved from serpentine Greek ones, combined with the dragons of the Near East, in the mix that characterized the hybrid Greek/Eastern Hellenistic culture. From Babylon, the muš-ḫuššu was a representation of a Near Eastern dragon. Johns Book of Revelation—Greek literature, not Roman—describes Satan as a dragon, flaming red, with seven heads. Much of Johns literary inspiration is late Hebrew and Greek, with the jaws facing into the wind, the silken body inflated and rippled, resembling a windsock. Several vague incarnations of evil in the Old Testament were given the translation draco in Jeromes Vulgate, to changes in meaning. Dragons in Greek mythology often guard treasure such as Ladon, a hundred headed dragon which guarded the tree of Herdias until he was slain by Heracles, likewise Python guarded the oracle of Delphi until he was likewise slain by Apollo out of revenge for Python tormenting his mother. The Lerneaen Hydra, a multiple headed serpentine swamp monster is said to be a dragon, being killed by Heracles later, but the matter if hes a true dragon or not is still over controversy. Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a huge lizard and this traces back to the continental dragon, commonly referred to as a fire-breathing dragon. The continental, like many other European dragons, has bat-like wings growing from its back and it has been speculated that accounts of spitting cobras may be the origin of the myths of continental dragons. In Western folklore, dragons are usually portrayed as evil, with the mainly in Asturian and Welsh folklore. This is in contrast to Asian dragons, who are depicted as more benevolent creatures. In the modern period, the European dragon is depicted as a huge fire-breathing, scaly and horned lizard-like creature, with wings. It is sometimes shown with feathered wings, crests, fiery manes, ivory spikes running down its spine, Dragons blood often has magical properties, for example, in the opera Siegfried it let Siegfried understand the language of the Forest Bird
2.
Monastery
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A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone. A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, a monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary. These may include a hospice, a school and a range of agricultural and manufacturing such as a barn. In English usage, the monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics, historically, a convent denoted a house of friars, now more commonly called a friary. Various religions may apply these terms in specific ways. The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, in England the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular, however, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster. Westminster Abbey was for a time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation. They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St Georges Chapel, in most of this article, the term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism, there is a more specific definition of the term. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara, viharas may be occupied by males or females, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple, in Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a monastery is called a wat, in Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung. A Christian monastery may be an abbey, or a priory and it may be a community of men or of women. A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order, in Eastern Christianity, a very small monastic community can be called a skete, and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra. The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the life of an anchorite. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha, mandir, koil, or most commonly an ashram, jains use the Buddhist term vihara
3.
Relic
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In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Shamanism. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning remains, and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to leave behind, a reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics. In ancient Greece, a city or sanctuary might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the sanctuary of the Leucippides at Sparta claimed to display the egg of Leda. The bones were not regarded as holding a power derived from the hero, with some exceptions. Miracles and healing were not regularly attributed to them, rather, their presence was meant to serve a tutelary function, the bones of Orestes and Theseus were supposed to have been stolen or removed from their original resting place and reburied. Plutarch says that the Athenians were likewise instructed by the oracle to locate, the body of the legendary Eurystheus was also supposed to protect Athens from enemy attack, and in Thebes, that of the prophet Amphiaraus, whose cult was oracular and healing. As with the relics of Theseus, the bones are sometimes described in sources as gigantic. On the basis of their size, it has been conjectured that such bones were those of prehistoric creatures. The head of the poet-prophet Orpheus was supposed to have transported to Lesbos. The 2nd-century geographer Pausanias reported that the bones of Orpheus were kept in a stone vase displayed on a pillar near Dion, his place of death and these too were regarded as having oracular power, which might be accessed through dreaming in a ritual of incubation. The accidental exposure of the bones brought a disaster upon the town of Libretha, according to the Chronicon Paschale, the bones of the Persian Zoroaster were venerated, but the tradition of Zoroastrianism and its scriptures offer no support of this. In Hinduism, relics are less common than in other religions since the remains of most saints are cremated. The veneration of corporal relics may have originated with the movement or the appearance of Buddhism. In Buddhism, relics of the Buddha and various sages are venerated, after the Buddhas death, his remains were divided into eight portions. Afterward, these relics were enshrined in stupas wherever Buddhism was spread, some relics believed to be original remains of the body of the Buddha still survive, including the much-revered Sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. A stupa is a building created specifically for the relics, many Buddhist temples have stupas and historically, the placement of relics in a stupa often became the initial structure around which the whole temple would be based. Today, many also hold the ashes or ringsel of prominent/respected Buddhists who were cremated
4.
Martyr
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A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a belief or cause as demanded by an external party. This refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of the martyr by the oppressor, originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term is now often used in connection with people imprisoned or killed for espousing a political cause. Most martyrs are considered holy or are respected by their followers, becoming symbols of exceptional leadership, Martyrs play significant roles in religions. Similarly, martyrs have had effects in secular life, including specific figures such as Socrates, as well as in politics. In its original meaning, the martyr, meaning witness, was used in the secular sphere as well as in the New Testament of the Bible. The term, in this sense, entered the English language as a loanword. The death of a martyr or the value attributed to it is called martyrdom, the early Christians who first began to use the term martyr in its new sense saw Jesus as the first and greatest martyr, on account of his crucifixion. The early Christians appear to have seen Jesus as the archetypal martyr, the word martyr is used in English to describe a wide variety of people. However, the table presents a general outline of common features present in stereotypical martyrdoms. Examples of this are found in the Mahabharata, during the great war which commenced, even Arjuna was brought down with doubts, e. g. attachment, sorrow, fear. This is where Krishna instructs Arjuna how to carry out his duty as a righteous warrior, Martyrdom in Judaism is one of the main examples of Kiddush Hashem, meaning sanctification of Gods name through public dedication to Jewish practice. Religious martyrdom is considered one of the significant contributions of Hellenistic Judaism to Western Civilization. Frend, Judaism was itself a religion of martyrdom and it was this Jewish psychology of martyrdom that inspired Christian martyrdom. In Christianity, a martyr, in accordance with the meaning of the original Greek martys in the New Testament, is one who brings a testimony, in particular, the testimony is that of the Christian Gospel, or more generally, the Word of God. A Christian witness is a biblical witness whether or not death follows, however, over time many Christian testimonies were rejected, and the witnesses put to death, and the word martyr developed its present sense. Where death ensues, the follow the example of Jesus in offering up their lives for truth. The concept of Jesus as a martyr has recently received greater attention, analyses of the Gospel passion narratives have led many scholars to conclude that they are martyrdom accounts in terms of genre and style. Several scholars have concluded that Paul the Apostle understood Jesus death as a martyrdom
5.
Saint Christopher
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Saint Christopher is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian. There appears to be due to the similarity in names Decius. He may be the figure as Saint Menas. Therefore, he is the saint of travelers, and small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket. There are several associated with the life and death of Saint Christopher which first appeared in Greece and had spread to France by the 9th century. The 11th-century bishop and poet, Walter of Speyer, gave one version, according to the legendary account of his life Christopher was initially called Reprobus. He was a Canaanite,5 cubits tall and with a fearsome face, while serving the king of Canaan, he took it into his head to go and serve the greatest king there was. He went to the king who was reputed to be the greatest, on thus learning that the king feared the devil, he departed to look for the devil. He came across a band of marauders, one of whom declared himself to be the devil, but when he saw his new master avoid a wayside cross and found out that the devil feared Christ, he left him and enquired from people where to find Christ. He met a hermit who instructed him in the Christian faith, Christopher asked him how he could serve Christ. When the hermit suggested fasting and prayer, Christopher replied that he was unable to perform that service, the hermit then suggested that because of his size and strength Christopher could serve Christ by assisting people to cross a dangerous river, where they were perishing in the attempt. The hermit promised that service would be pleasing to Christ. After Christopher had performed this service for time, a little child asked him to take him across the river. During the crossing, the river became swollen and the child seemed as heavy as lead, so much that Christopher could scarcely carry him, when he finally reached the other side, he said to the child, You have put me in the greatest danger. I do not think the world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were. The child replied, You had on your shoulders not only the whole world, I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work. Christopher later visited Lycia and there comforted the Christians who were being martyred, brought before the local king, he refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. The king tried to win him by riches and by sending two beautiful women to tempt him, Christopher converted the women to Christianity, as he had already converted thousands in the city
6.
Denis
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According to Christian tradition, Saint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris and he was martyred, with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after 250 AD. Denis is said to have picked his head up after being decapitated, walked ten kilometres, while preaching a sermon of repentance the entire way and he is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France, and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name Denis derives from the ancient name Dionysius, gregory of Tours states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii dates from c. 600, is attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. There Denis was appointed first Bishop of Paris, the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian community at Lutetia. Denis and his companions were so effective in converting people that the non-Christian priests became alarmed over their loss of followers, at their instigation, Roman Governor arrested the missionaries. After a long imprisonment, Denis and two of his clergy were executed by beheading on the highest hill in Paris, which was likely to have been a holy place. Of the many accounts of martyrdom, this is noted in detail in the Golden Legend. The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was marked by a shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica. Another account has his corpse being thrown into the Seine, veneration of Saint Denis began soon after his death. Her Vita Sanctae Genovefae attests the presence of a shrine near the present basilica by the close of the fifth century, dagobert I, great-grandson of Chlothar I had the first Royal Basilica built. The Merovingian tradition was originally to bury kings as Clovis and Chlothildis in Paris, yet Chilperic I had his own mother Dowager Queen Aregunda at Saint Denis. His grandson was clearly following a family tradition, aregundas tomb was discovered in 1959 and her burial items can be seen at Saint-Germain-en-Laye museum. A successor church was erected by Fulrad, who became abbot in 749/50 and was linked with the accession of the Carolingians to the Merovingian throne. In time, the Saint Denis, often combined as Montjoie, Saint Denis. became the war-cry of the French armies. The oriflamme, which became the standard of France, was the banner consecrated upon his tomb and his veneration spread beyond France when, in 754, Pope Stephen II, who was French, brought veneration of Saint Denis to Rome
7.
Saint Blaise
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Saint Blaise, was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia. According to the Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron combs and he is the patron saint of wool combers. In the Latin Church his feast falls on 3 February, in the Eastern Churches on 11 February, marco Polo reported the place where Meeser Saint Blaise obtained the glorious crown of martyrdom, Sebastea, the shrine near the citadel mount was mentioned by William of Rubruck in 1253. However, it appears to no longer exist, from being a healer of bodily ailments, Saint Blaise became a physician of souls, then retired for a time to a cavern where he remained in prayer. As bishop of Sebastea, Blaise instructed his people as much by his example as by his words, from all parts, the people came flocking to him for the cure of bodily and spiritual ills. He is said to have healed animals and to have been assisted by animals, in 316, the governor of Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia Agricolaus began a persecution by order of the Emperor Licinius and Saint Blaise was seized. After his interrogation and a severe scourging, he was hurried off to prison, the legendary Acts of St. Blaise were written 400 years later. The Acts of St. Blaise, written in Greek, are medieval, when the bishop of the city died, he was chosen to succeed him, with the acclamation of all the people. His holiness was manifest through many miracles, from all around, people came to him to find cures for their spirit and their body, even wild animals came in herds to receive his blessing. In 316, Agricola, the governor of Cappadocia and of Lesser Armenia, having arrived in Sebastia at the order of the emperor Licinius to kill the Christians, arrested the bishop. As he was being led to jail, a mother set her only son, choking to death of a fish-bone, at his feet, and the child was cured straight away. Regardless, the governor, unable to make Blaise renounce his faith, beat him with a stick, ripped his flesh with iron combs, and beheaded him. According to the Acts, while Blaise was being taken into custody, touched at her grief, he offered up his prayers, and the child was cured. Consequently, Saint Blaise is invoked for protection against injuries and illnesses of the throat, in many places on the day of his feast the blessing of St. At the same time the following blessing is given, May Almighty God at the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, preserve you from infections of the throat, then the priest makes the sign of the cross over the faithful. As the governors hunters led Blaise back to Sebastea, on the way, at the command of Blaise, the wolf restored the pig to its owner, alive and unhurt. When he had reached the capital and was in prison awaiting execution, in the West there was no cult honoring St. Blaise prior to the eighth century. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Blaise became one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages and his cult became widespread in Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries and his legend is recounted in the 14th-century Legenda Aurea
8.
Erasmus of Formia
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Saint Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo, was a Christian saint and martyr, according to Christian tradition, who died c. He is venerated as the saint of sailors and abdominal pain. St Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, the Acts of Saint Elmo were partly compiled from legends that confuse him with a Syrian bishop Erasmus of Antioch. There appears to be no basis for his passio. Erasmus was Bishop of Formium, Italy, during the persecution against Christians under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian Hercules, he left his diocese and went to Mount Libanus, where he hid for seven years. However, an angel is said to have appeared to him, on the way, he encountered some soldiers who questioned him. Erasmus admitted that he was a Christian and they brought him to trial at Antioch before the emperor Diocletian, after suffering terrible tortures, he was bound with chains and thrown into prison, but an angel appeared and helped him escape. He passed through Lycia, where he raised up the son of an illustrious citizen and this resulted in a number of baptisms, which drew the attention of the Western Roman Emperor Maximian who, according to Voragine, was much worse than was Diocletian. Maximian ordered his arrest and Erasmus continued to confess his faith and they forced him to go to a temple of the idol, but along the saint’s route all the idols fell and were destroyed, and from the temple there came fire which fell upon many of the pagans. That made the emperor so angry he had Erasmus enclosed in a full of protruding spikes. When he was recaptured, he was brought before the emperor and beaten and whipped, then coated with pitch and set alight, thrown into prison with the intention of letting him die of starvation, St Erasmus managed to escape. He was recaptured and tortured some more in the Roman province of Illyricum, finally, according to this version of his death, his stomach was slit open and his intestines wound around a windlass. This version may have developed from interpreting an icon that showed him with a windlass, Saint Erasmus may have become the patron of sailors because he is said to have continued preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him. This prompted sailors, who were in danger from sudden storms and lightning, the electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a sign of his protection and came to be called Saint Elmos Fire. Pope St Gregory the Great recorded in the 6th century that the relics of Erasmus were preserved in the cathedral of Formia, when the old Formiae was razed by the Saracens in 842, the cult of Erasmus was moved to Gaeta. He is currently the patron of Gaeta, Santeramo in Colle, there is an altar to St Erasmus in the north transept of St Peters Basilica. A copy of Nicolas Poussins Martyrdom of St Erasmus serves as the altarpiece, besides his patronage of mariners, Erasmus is invoked against colic in children, abdominal pain, intestinal ailments and diseases, cramps and the pain of women in labour, as well as cattle pests. The Golden Legend – e-text adapted from Wynken de Wordes edition of 1527, Saint of the Day, June 2, Erasmus of Formia at SaintPatrickDC. org
9.
Saint Barbara
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Saint Barbara, Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in the 3rd century in the Greek city Nicomedia, present-day Turkey or in Heliopolis of Phoenicia, present-day Baalbek, there is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the original recension of Saint Jeromes martyrology. Her name can be traced to the 7th century, and veneration of her was common, especially in the East, from the 9th century. Because of doubts about the historicity of her legend, she was removed from the General Roman Calendar in the 1969 revision, Saint Barbara is often portrayed with miniature chains and a tower. Many of the thirteen miracles in a 15th-century French version of her turn on the security she offered that her devotees would not die without making confession. Having secretly become a Christian, she rejected an offer of marriage that she received through him, dioscorus, in pursuit of his daughter, was rebuffed by the first shepherd, but the second betrayed her and was turned to stone and his flock changed to locusts. Dragged before the prefect of the province, Martinianus, who had her cruelly tortured, during the night, the dark prison was bathed in light and new miracles occurred. Every morning her wounds were healed, torches that were to be used to burn her went out as soon as they came near her. Finally she was condemned to death by beheading and her father himself carried out the death-sentence. However, as punishment for this, he was struck by lightning on the way home, Barbara was buried by a Christian, Valentinus, and her tomb became the site of miracles. Williams of the Anglican Community of the Resurrection, the name of Saint Barbara was known in Rome in the 7th century, her cult can be traced to the 9th century, at first in the East. Since there is no mention of her in the earlier martyrologies and her legend is included in Vincent of Beauvais Speculum historiale and in later versions of the Golden Legend. Various versions, which include two surviving plays, differ on the location of her martyrdom, which is variously given as Tuscany, Rome, Antioch, Baalbek. Saint Barbara is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and her association with the lightning that killed her father has caused her to be invoked against lightning and fire, by association with explosions, she is also the patron of artillery and mining. Her feast on December 4 was included in the Tridentine Calendar, in 1729, that date was assigned to the celebration of Saint Peter Chrysologus, reducing that of Saint Barbara to a commemoration in his Mass. In 1969, because the accounts of her life and martyrdom were judged to be entirely fabulous, lacking clarity even about the place of her martyrdom, but she is still mentioned in the Roman Martyrology, which, in addition, lists another ten martyr saints named Barbara. A small part of St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Bloomingdale and her feast day for Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans is December 4. Saint Barbara became the saint of artillerymen
10.
Vitus
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Saint Vitus /vaɪtəs/, according to Christian legend, was a Christian saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303, Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of medieval Roman Catholicism. Saint Vitus Day is celebrated on 15 June, in places where the Julian Calendar is used, this date coincides, in the 20th and 21st centuries, with 28 June on the Gregorian Calendar. In the late Middle Ages, people in Germany and countries such as Latvia celebrated the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue and this dancing became popular and the name Saint Vitus Dance was given to the neurological disorder Sydenhams chorea. It also led to Vitus being considered the saint of dancers. Vitus is considered the saint of actors, comedians, dancers. He is also said to protect against lightning strikes, animal attacks, various places in Austria and Bavaria are named Sankt Veit in his honour. According to the legend, Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia were martyrs under Diocletian, the earliest testimony for their veneration is offered by the Martyrologium Hieronymianum. The fact that the note is in the three most important manuscripts indicates that it was also in the exemplar of these, which appeared in the fifth century. It is easily possible that it is the same martyr Vitus in both cases, according to J. P. Kirsch, the testimony to the public veneration of the three saints in the fifth century proves that they are historical martyrs. There are, nevertheless, no accounts of them, nor of the time or the details of their martyrdom. According to this legend, which has no apparent historical value and he resisted his fathers attempts, which included various forms of torture, to make him turn away from his faith. He fled with his tutor Modestus and Modestuss wife Crescentia, who was Vituss nanny and he was taken from there to Rome to drive out a demon which had taken possession of a son of the Emperor Diocletian. This he did, and yet, because he remained steadfast in the Christian faith, by a miracle an angel brought back the three to Lucania, where they died from the tortures they had endured. Three days later Vitus appeared to a distinguished matron named Florentia, the veneration of the martyrs spread rapidly in Southern Italy and Sicily, as is shown by the note in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum. Pope Gregory the Great mentions a monastery dedicated to Vitus in Sicily, the veneration of St. Vitus, the chief saint of the group, also appeared very early at Rome. Pope Gelasius I mentions a shrine dedicated to him, and at Rome in the century the chapel of a deaconry was dedicated to him. In 756 AD, it is said that the relics of St. Vitus were brought to the monastery of St-Denis by Abbot Fulrad and they were later presented to Abbot Warin of Corvey in Germany, who solemnly transferred some of them to this abbey in 836
11.
Saint Pantaleon
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Though there is evidence to suggest that a martyr named Pantaleon existed, some consider the stories of his life and death to be purely legendary. St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote regarding this incident, He studied medicine with such success, envious colleagues denounced him to the emperor during the Diocletian persecution. The emperor wished to save him and sought to persuade him to apostasy, Pantaleon, however, openly confessed his faith, and as proof that Christ is the true God, he healed a paralytic. Notwithstanding this, he was condemned to death by the emperor, according to the later hagiography, Pantaleons flesh was first burned with torches, whereupon Christ appeared to all in the form of Hermolaus to strengthen and heal Pantaleon. Then a bath of molten lead was prepared, when the apparition of Christ stepped into the cauldron with him, the fire went out, Pantaleon was now thrown into the sea, loaded with a great stone, which floated. He was thrown to beasts, but these fawned upon him. He was bound on the wheel, but the ropes snapped, an attempt was made to behead him, but the sword bent, and the executioners were converted to Christianity. Pantaleon implored Heaven to forgive them, for which reason he received the name of Panteleimon. It was not until he desired it that it was possible to behead him, upon which there issued forth blood. The vitae containing these miraculous features are all late in date, the Eastern tradition concerning Pantaleon follows more or less the medieval Western hagiography, but lacks any mention of a visible apparition of Christ. The saint is depicted as a beardless young man with a full head of curly hair. Pantaleons relics, venerated at Nicomedia, were transferred to Constantinople, armenians believe that the Gandzasar Monastery in Nagorno Karabakh contains relics of St. Pantaleon, who was venerated in eastern provinces of Armenia. At the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen near Staffelstein in Franconia, St. Pantaleon is venerated with his hands nailed to his head, relics of the saint are to be found at Saint Denis at Paris, his head is venerated at Lyon. A Romanesque church was dedicated to him in Cologne in the 9th century at latest, in France, he was depicted in a window in Chartres Cathedral. In southern France there are six communes under the name of Saint-Pantaléon. Though there are individual churches consecrated to him elsewhere, there are no communes named for him in the north or northwest of France, a phial containing some of his blood was long preserved at Ravello. On the feast day of the saint, the blood was said to become fluid, paolo Veroneses painting of Pantaleon can be found in the church of San Pantalon in Venice, it shows the saint healing a child. Another painting of Pantaleon by Fumiani is also in the same church and he was depicted in an 8th-century fresco in Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome, and in a 10th-century cycle of pictures in the crypt of San Crisogono in Rome
12.
Saint Eustace
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Saint Eustace, also known as Eustachius or Eustathius in Latin, St. Esthak in India, or Sh. Staka in Albania, is revered as a Christian martyr and soldier saint, Legend places him in the 2nd century AD. A martyr of that name is venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church and he is commemorated by the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church on September 20. According to legend, prior to his conversion to Christianity Eustace was a Roman general named Placidus, while hunting a stag in Tivoli near Rome, Placidus saw a vision of a crucifix lodged between the stags antlers. He was immediately converted, had himself and his family baptized, like Job, Eustace lamented but did not lose his faith. He was then restored to his former prestige and reunited with his family. However, the Catholic Church rejects this story as completely false, the opening part of this legend, up to Eustaces martyrdom, is a variant of a popular tale in chivalric romance, the Man Tried By Fate. Except for an exemplum in Gesta Romanorum, all such tales are highly developed romances, a distant Indian origin for elements in the Eustace legend has been proposed. The veneration of Eustace originated in the Byzantine church, in the West, an early-medieval church dedicated to him that existed in Rome is mentioned in a letter of Pope Gregory II. An early depiction of Eustace, the earliest one noted in the Duchy of Burgundy, is carved on a Romanesque capital at Vézelay Abbey, the story of Eustace was popularized in Jacobus de Voragines Golden Legend. As with many saints, there is no evidence for Eustaces existence. Elements of his story have been re-attributed to other saints, notably the Belgian Saint Hubert, Saint Eustaces feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is September 20, as is indicated in the Roman Martyrology. However, his feast is observed by Roman Catholics who follow the pre-1970 Roman Calendar. Eustace became known as a saint of hunters and firefighters. He is one of the saints of Madrid, Spain. The island of Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands is named after him, the dAfflitto, one of the oldest princely families in Italy, claim to be direct descendants of Saint Eustace. The novels The Herb of Grace by British author Elizabeth Goudge and it has also inspired the film Imagination. The saints cross-and-stag symbol is featured on bottles of Jägermeister, a German alcoholic digestif and this is related to his status as patron of hunters, a Jägermeister was a senior foresters and gamekeeper in the German civil service until 1934, prior to the drinks introduction in 1935
