ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY
Saints celebrated on the 7th of February
SAINT PARTHENIUS, BISHOP OF LAMPSACUS
Saint Parthenius, bishop of Lampsacus (Hellespont) in Mysia (now Lapsak on the Dordanelles Straits), flourished in the fourth century. In his time Christianity had already gained a firm footing in the area as a whole. In the Greek church books he is called "the admirable and great shepherd, the miraculous high priest of the Church of Christ, the jubilant of the Hellespont, the support of the faithful, etc."
Parthenius was the son of Christodulus, deacon at the church in Miletopolis. Although without a scholarly education, Parthenius possessed a great deal of biblical knowledge. His occupation was fishing in the nearby lake (Lake of Maniyas). He made his living from it.
The grace of Christ increased in him day by day. Although he carefully concealed his piety, the good works he performed on the sick and the afflicted made him known to all the people. At the age of eighteen he began to work stunning miracles and cast out devils by invoking the name of Christ. As time went on, Bishop Philetus ordained him a priest. As such he one day met a man whose eye had been ripped out by an encounter with a furious bull. The unfortunate man had the eye still with him; he was carrying it in his hand. Parthenius put the eye back in its proper place and moistened it with water. In the space of three days the man made a full recovery, enjoying vision in both eyes. Parthenius also healed a woman from cancer by signing her forehead with the cross. Moreover, he protected the population by killing a raging dog by making the Sign of the Cross over it.
Years later, Archbishop Ascholius (Achillius) of Cyzicum consecrated Parthenius bishop of Lampsacus. This city was still largely pagan. As bishop, with the permission of the Emperor Constantine, he cleansed the temples of the idols, completely tore down some and also built a magnificent church in honour of the divine Saviour. The reputation of his miracles spread so widely that no stranger left the city without having visited the bishop to receive his blessing. Unique of its kind is the tale of an exorcism, in which the saint commanded the evil spirit to take possession of himself, which the latter was unable to do: "How shall I enter the dwelling place of God?" the demon wailed and instead drifted out of sight, heading for deserted and uninhabited places. On another occasion, a possessed person asked him for help, but Parthenius refused to come to his assistance, because he recognised that God had let this disease come upon him because of the man's grave sins against his parents. When the parents themselves, however, pleaded with the bishop to help their son, he healed him. Apart from prayer and the Sign of the Cross, blessed oil and water are mentioned as the means he used to bring about a myriad of cures.
By way of explanation we add that in Lampsacus, where Parthenius was bishop, the pagan abominations in the service of impurity were particularly great because, according to mythology, Venus had given birth to Priapus here. In fact, it required a holy bishop, endowed with special power against evil spirits, to introduce the holy ministry of Jesus Christ here. The example of faith and virtue he set for his subjects continued for centuries, as did his intercession in every kind of suffering, especially against demonic influences. He is depicted as a bishop slaying a mad dog with the Sign of the Cross, or healing a man who had been run over by a chariot. (II. 38-42).
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Parthenius may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
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