SAINT BLAISE

The saint Blaise was the heavenly patron of the great French theologian and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). The surname of the famous Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov (1935-2021) also comes from Saint Blaise. The name Agricola, the man who, according to hagiographers, judged and executed Saint Blaise, translates as “farmer.” As if reflecting the biblical story of Cain and his sacrifice of the fruits of the earth, and Abel and his sacrifice of animals, the story of Blaise seems to deliberately reinterpret Paul’s words about all creation suffering because it longs for redemption. It turns out that creation suffers until it joins in the service of the saints, through the naive, inoffensive and helpless help they give to them. Blaise and his animals together took their place in the glory of the messianic throne, for which, according to numerous apocalyptic images of the most ancient churches, history is a preparation.

1 On February 24, the Church commemorates the holy martyr Blaise of Sebaste. Blasius suffered for his faith in Christ under Emperor Licinius on February 3 (16), 316. Formally, Licinius was one of the co-authors of the Edict of Milan (313), which granted Christians religious tolerance, and therefore should not have killed Christians. Blaise survived the Great Persecution under Diocletian (303–313). The entire image of this saint was filled with peace. Perhaps that is why the Lord judged him to suffer for Christ in peacetime.

2 The memory of Saint Blaise is also a celebration in honor of the great Church of Sebaste. A church that, due to the exodus and extermination of the Christian population, has disappeared into historical oblivion. The city of Sebaste (now Sivas in Turkey), where he was bishop, is located in Cappadocia. At that time, it was the capital of the Roman province of Lesser Armenia, Rome’s outpost in that part of Asia Minor on the routes connecting the Empire with Iran and Mesopotamia. The famous teacher of asceticism Eustathius and the brother of Basil the Great, Peter of Sebaste, also served as bishops there. The saints Meletius of Antioch (+381) and Modestus of Jerusalem (+634) were natives of the city. In Sebaste, Irenarch and seven martyrs (+303), Athenogenes and ten of his disciples (+311), Atticus and his companions (+311), Severian (+320), Antiochus the Physician and Cyriacus (+313), who was supposed to be his executioner, but turned to faith in Christ at the last moment, but at the last moment converted to the faith, also suffered for Jesus. Blaise himself was in spiritual succession to the great martyr Eustratius of Sebaste (284–305), whom he considered his teacher. He was present during his martyrdom, strengthened him, preserved him, and fulfilled his will regarding the burial of him and his companions. Just four years after Blaise, the 40 Martyrs Sebaste (+320) confessed their faith. Blasius’ successor, the local bishop, found their incorrupt bodies according to instructions received in a vision. Before his election as bishop of Sebaste, Blaise was a physician. His ability to heal people and, most remarkably, animals, combined with his gift for prayer, earned him great reverence among all Christians. Like Blaise, they were tortured on the lake.

4 The four surviving versions of the martyrdom of Blasius are very similar. The information about him is consistent with other available historical and geographical data on ancient church history. The semantics and details of Blaise’s suffering are astonishing. The narrative of the beginning of his martyrdom is remarkable. The prefect named Agricola was a fanatical persecutor. Forcing Christians to renounce their faith, he subjected them to various tortures. Those who refused were killed with the sword, burned in fire, drowned in water, or fed to wild animals. It was for this purpose, to gather as many wild animals as possible, that he sent hunters to the Argean Mountains. Here, in a cave, Blaise hid from persecution. In this, he followed the rules of the Ancient Church, which forbade Christians from seeking persecution on their own.

5 The local mountains were deified by pagans. According to their beliefs, deities lived there.

“Blaise offered prayers to God and glorified His holy name. ‘Come out of here,’ they said, ‘and come with us to the city to the governor Agricola. Hearing this, the saint rejoiced: “All right, my children, executioners, let us go together. The Lord has remembered me. He appeared to me three times this night, saying, ‘Arise and offer me a sacrifice, as befits your rank as bishop.’”

So the executioners saw the saint performing the Eucharist, and before the entrance to his cave, a multitude of beasts were frolicking. At the sight of the Christian bishop, who in their understanding was desecrating the pagan sanctuary, their hatred knew no bounds.

5 Saint Blaise embodied the image of a biblical righteous man, prophet, good shepherd, martyr, and, most importantly, a saint who was extremely close to the everyday needs of everyone. Before his election as bishop, he was a physician. This grace of healing people, and, exceptionally, healing animals, combined with the gift of prayer, became the reason for the martyr’s great veneration among all Christians. In the West, he is revered as a helper in human ailments, particularly throat diseases. Thus, in German-speaking countries, on the day of his commemoration, a special ceremony called “Blasiussegen”, The Blessing of Saint Blaise” is performed, when all those in need are blessed with candles in the shape of St. Andrew’s Cross. In many Italian villages, processions in honor of the saint take place on the days of his commemoration. In the East, Blaise was mainly invoked by peasants for the blessing of livestock. The secularization of public life, urbanization, and “modernization” have gradually “dematerialized” his image, turning him into a fairy-tale character. Stopping this process—let’s call it the “cooling of the memory of holiness”—is a matter of theology and piety. Like the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, whose predecessor he became, Saint Blaise was frozen in the icy waters of Lake Sebaste.