St Pancratius of Taormina

  

 

On July 22, the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Pancratius of Taormina.

Saint Pancratius of Taormina should be distinguished from another saint of the same name — Pancratius of Rome, a 4th-century martyr, after whom the famous London railway station St Pancras is named.

Saint Pancratius of Taormina belongs to the number of the apostolic disciples. He came to faith in Christ in Antioch — a great center of early Christianity, from where the Apostles and their disciples went forth to preach the Gospel in different lands.

Under the influence of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, he departed from the East for Italy and began preaching Christ in Sicily.

His preaching was accompanied by the destruction of pagan temples — likely not only in a spiritual sense, but also literally. The pagans, who had not known the power of Christ’s grace, could not explain what was happening otherwise than by attributing to the saint the work of unknown forces.

They believed that Pancratius possessed a power connected with the might of Mount Etna, and they saw in the preacher not a servant of God, but a man endowed with an extraordinary authority over the elements. 

But Saint Pancratius proclaimed not secret knowledge or magical power, but faith in the one Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth. In the end, like the majority of the Apostles and their disciples, he was martyred by the pagans.

The very name Pancratius comes from the Greek word Pantokrator — “Almighty,” “Ruler of All.” Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the name preserved in the Church’s tradition was not only his personal name, but also a title given to him by the pagans, who were astonished by the firmness of his faith and his trust in the power of the One God.

The memory of Saint Pancratius of Taormina reminds us of the first generations of Christian preachers through whom the Church of Christ was built. Almost two thousand years before the age in which we imagine ourselves to be pioneers in preaching, they were already there. It was not we who brought this light — this light had already been kindled by the apostolic men. This teaches humility and heals us from the absurd zeal often found among the newly converted.

For Western Christians, Saint Pancratius is a reminder that the faith in Italy, Gaul, and other lands came from an East that often appears to them as strange or even barbaric.

The liturgical texts in honor of Saint Pancratius call him “the Shining Star,” a witness to the light of the Gospel. 

The light from the East — Saint Pancratius.