Pantelejmondan: Guide to the Feast of Saint Panteleimon the Healer

Introduction

Pantelejmondan — the feast of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon — belongs among those feasts that require particular care and preparation from the host, for it falls in the middle of the Dormition Fast. On August 9 by the New Calendar (July 27 by the Julian), Orthodox families whose patron saint is this wonderworking physician from Nicomedia open their doors to guests and prepare a rich fasting feast table. A fasting feast is not a meagre feast — it is a challenge to creativity and a mark of respect for tradition, a demonstration that it is possible to celebrate with solemnity and dignity without meat or dairy. Saint Panteleimon — whose name in Greek means “the all-merciful” or “he who has mercy on all” — is especially dear to physicians, nurses, and all who work in healthcare, for he himself was a healer of bodily and spiritual diseases.

When It Is Celebrated

Pantelejmondan is celebrated on August 9 by the Gregorian (New) Calendar, corresponding to July 27 by the Julian (Old) Calendar. This feast falls precisely in the middle of the Dormition Fast, which lasts from August 1 to August 14 and concludes with the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos (the Great Dormition, Velika Gospojina).

The Dormition Fast is one of the four main fasting periods of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and in its strictness it resembles the Great Lent — meat, milk, cheese, eggs, and animal fats are forbidden. Fish is permitted on Saturdays and Sundays of the Dormition Fast, as well as on the feast of the Transfiguration (August 19 by the Gregorian Calendar). Since Pantelejmondan falls on August 9, fish is generally permitted (unless it falls on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday of a particular year when the fast is stricter).

Practical advice: Before preparing the feast table, the host should check on which day of the week Pantelejmondan falls in the specific year and consult the priest or the church typikon about whether fish is permitted or not.

History and Tradition

Saint Panteleimon was born in the late third century in Nicomedia (present-day İzmit in Turkey), then one of the chief cities of the Roman Empire. His father Eustorgius was a distinguished pagan, and his mother Euvula a fervent Christian who from childhood introduced her son to the faith of Christ. His mother died while Panteleimon was a child, and his father sent him to study medicine — a profession held in exceptional esteem in the Roman Empire.

The young Panteleimon proved an outstanding student of medicine. He studied under the famous physician Euphrosynus, who treated even the Emperor Maximian himself. Talented and diligent, he quickly gained a reputation and could count on a brilliant career as a court physician. However, God’s Providence led him to an old Christian priest named Hermolaus, who lived in seclusion and prayed to God.

Hermolaus recognized a good soul in the young physician and began to teach him the Christian faith. The decisive moment of conversion came when Panteleimon came upon a child on the street who had been bitten by a snake — the child was dead. Panteleimon prayed to Christ, and the child was revived, while the snake died. This miracle fully converted him. He received holy baptism from Hermolaus and was given the name Panteleimon (before baptism his name was Pantoleon).

From that moment, Panteleimon began to heal in the name of Christ, without payment. He was an anargyr — one who takes no silver for his service. He healed the poor who could not pay, healed prisoners in their dungeons, and attributed the power of healing solely to Christ, not to his medical knowledge. This quickly brought him into conflict with colleague physicians who reported him to Emperor Maximian as a Christian.

The Emperor, who persecuted Christians, summoned Panteleimon to trial. Despite attempts to turn him from his faith — he was even offered the position of court physician if he would renounce Christ — Panteleimon remained unmoved. He underwent numerous tortures: he was thrown into the sea with a stone around his neck (but walked on the water), thrown to lions (but the lion and lioness licked him), the wheel to which he was bound shattered, and molten lead did not harm him. All these events, accompanied by miracles, led to the conversion of many Roman soldiers and onlookers.

Finally, on July 27, 305 AD (by the Julian Calendar), Panteleimon was executed by the sword. According to tradition, the sword bent at the first blow, and the saint himself told the executioner to continue — not to stop him on his way to Christ. From his wounds flowed blood mingled with milk, and the oleander tree to which he had been bound blossomed at that moment.

Saint Panteleimon is venerated as the patron of physicians, nurses, hospitals, and all who work in healing. In Russia, Greece, Serbia, and all Orthodox countries, many hospitals, clinics, medical faculties, and chapels bear his name.

The Feast Table — What to Prepare

A fasting feast requires careful planning to ensure the table is abundant and delicious while the fasting rules are respected. The foundation is the same as at every feast: the slavski kolač and žito. The rest of the table is entirely fasting.

Cold starters:

• Olives, pickled peppers, tomato salad
• Fasting pie (with spinach, leek, or courgette without cheese)
• Roasted peppers with garlic and oil
• Turšija — pickled cabbage, cucumbers, carrots

Soups and broths:

• Fasting vegetable soup (carrot, celeriac, parsnip, leek)
• Bean or lentil soup
• Beans — prebranac or cooked (with onion, peppers, and tomatoes)

Main dishes:

• Baked carp or cod (if fish is permitted that day)
• Fasting sarma — sour cabbage rolls with rice and vegetables
• Vegetable moussaka (courgettes, aubergine, potatoes)
• Rice-stuffed peppers (fasting)
• Green bean stew
• Rosemary-roasted potatoes in the oven

Sweets:

• Fasting pie with apples or sour cherries
• Fasting pastries (with walnuts, with honey, halva)
• Fruit — in August everything is at its best: watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, grapes

An August feast has the advantage that fruit is in full season — the table can be decorated and refreshed with fresh seasonal fruit that also adorns the feast table.

The Feast Liturgy and Rites

On Pantelejmondan, a special celebration takes place in hospital chapels and the chapels of medical institutions. In Serbia there are hospitals and clinics with chapels dedicated to Saint Panteleimon, where on that day the Holy Liturgy is served, sometimes in the presence of physicians, medical staff, and patients who are able to attend.

The regular order of the feast in the home:

1. Morning Liturgy in church — the host attends and receives Holy Communion
2. Blessing of the slavski kolač in church or the priest’s visit to the home
3. The rite of breaking the slava — the bread is held, censed, and turned with prayer
4. The bread is broken (not cut with a knife) and anointed with wine
5. The host and guests are seated for the meal; the feast follows

The troparion of Saint Panteleimon sung at the feast:

“O holy passion-bearer and merciful one, grant us aid and healing, as we have thee as our intercessor; deliver us from all infirmities, praying to Christ our God…” (from the church service)

Preparing the Feast — Step by Step

One week ahead:

• Check with the parish or priest whether fish is permitted on that day
• Make a list of fasting dishes according to family tradition
• Order the slavski kolač or plan to bake it

Three days ahead:

• Purchase provisions (beans, rice, vegetables, fish if permitted)
• Cook the beans and freeze, or keep in the refrigerator

The day before:

• Bake the fasting pie and pastries
• Cook the žito and leave to cool
• Prepare the cold starters

Morning of the feast:

• Attend the Liturgy in church
• Bring the slavski kolač for blessing
• Upon returning home, finish cooking the warm dishes

Note for hospitals and institutions: Medical establishments that celebrate Panteleimon’s day typically organize the Liturgy in the institution’s chapel in the morning, followed by a modest celebration for staff on duty.

Greeting and Visiting

The greeting is: “Srećna vam slava Svetog Pantelejmona!” or simply “Srećan vam Pantelejmondan!” The host responds: “I tebi hvala, bog da te poživi!”

Suitable gifts for Pantelejmondan:

• An icon of Saint Panteleimon
• A bottle of good wine (even if the host does not drink during the fast, it will be kept for after the Dormition Fast)
• Fasting pastries or fruit
• Flowers (summer: sunflower, roses, lily)

The special quality of Pantelejmondan is that in Serbia it is also celebrated by many physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers as “their own” professional patron saint. It is not unusual for hospital and clinic staff to gather around a small feast table, break the slavski kolač, and say a prayer for the patients and healthcare workers who guard lives. This institutional dimension of Pantelejmondan makes it unique in the Serbian Orthodox calendar — few saints are celebrated both in the home and in the workplace.