Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia, tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. Finally, he was beheaded.
The first reference to Blaise is the medical writings of AĆ«tius Amidenus (c. AD 500) where his aid is invoked in treating patients with objects stuck in the throat.
Marco Polo reported on the place where "Messer Saint Blaise obtained the glorious crown of martyrdom", Sebastea
As bishop of Sebastea, Blaise instructed people as much by his example as by his words, and his great virtues and his sanctity were attested by many miracles. People were said to flock to him for cures of bodily and spiritual ills. He is said to have healed animals, who came to him on their own for his assistance, and in turn to have been helped by animals.
In 316 the governor of Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia, Agricola, began a persecution of him by order of the Emperor Licinius, and Blaise was seized. After his interrogation and a severe scourging, he was imprisoned and subsequently beheaded.
The legendary Acts of St Blaise were written 400 years after his death. According to the Acts, as the governor's men led Blaise back to Sebastea, on the way, they met a poor woman whose pig had been seized by a wolf. At the command of Blaise, the wolf restored the pig to its owner, alive and unhurt. 8.7
Also, according to the acts. Blaise was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. Although the Edict of Toleration (311), granting freedom of worship in the Roman Empire, was already five years old, persecution still raged in Armenia. Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears.
As the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone.
Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia, tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. Finally, he was beheaded.
Prayer to Saint Blaise
- "St. Blaise, pray for us"
- "Saint Blaise, you accepted the will of God as it was expressed through the acclamation of the people to become their shepherd"
- "I invoke thy powerful intercession. Preserve me from all evils of soul and body"
- "Through the intercession of Saint Blase, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness"
Why pray to Saint Blaise?
- Saint Blaise is a model of faith and trust in God's mercy
- Saint Blaise is a special physician of souls who can help people confess their sins
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