Saint Phocas

For bishop, see Phocas the bishop of Sinope
Saint Phocas

Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II
Died ~303 AD?[1]
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine relics were claimed by Vienne and Antioch
Feast September 22; July 23; March 5
Patronage gardeners; sailors; hospitality; agricultural workers; boatmen; farm workers; farmers; fieldhands; gardeners; husbandmen; mariners; market-gardeners; sailors; watermen

Saint Phocas, sometimes called Phocas the Gardener or Phocas of Sinope (Greek:Φωκᾶς), is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His life and legend may have been a fusion of three men with the same name: Phocas of Antioch, Phocas the bishop of Sinope, and Phocas the Gardener.[2]

Christian tradition states that he was a gardener who lived at Sinope, on the Black Sea, who used his crops to feed the poor and also aided persecuted Christians. During the persecutions of Diocletian, he provided hospitality to the soldiers who were sent to execute him. The soldiers, not knowing that their host was their intended victim, agreed to his hospitality. Phocas also offered to help them find the person who they sought.

As the soldiers slept, Phocas dug his own grave and also prayed fervently. In the morning, when the soldiers awoke, Phocas revealed his identity.

The soldiers hesitated and offered to report to their commander that their search had been fruitless. Phocas refused this offer and bared his neck. He was then decapitated and buried in the grave that he had dug for himself.

Veneration

He is mentioned by Saint Asterius of Amasia (ca. 400). The name Phocas seems to derive from the Greek word for "seal" (phoke/φώκη), which may explain his patronage of sailors and mariners. A sailors' custom was to serve Phocas a portion of every meal; this was called "the portion of St. Phocas." This portion was bought by one of the voyagers and the price was deposited in the hands of the captain. When the ship came into port, the money was distributed among the poor, in thanksgiving to their benefactor for their successful voyage. He is mentioned in the work by Laurentius Surius. This tradition may be connected to a similar practice among sailors in the Black Sea of giving food offerings to an invisible sprite known as the Klabautermann.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ His date of death is sometimes given as 117 AD, and that he was killed during the reign of Trajan.
  2. ↑ Phocas of Sinope - The Oxford Dictionary of Saints - HighBeam Research
  3. ↑ Kirby, David, and Merja-Liisa Hinkkanen (2000). The Baltic and the North Seas. London: Routledge, p. 48–9. ISBN 0-415-13282-7.

St. Phocas is mentioned in W.H. Auden's poem Horae Canonicae Sext I Verse 6, 2nd line

External links

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