Augustine Sokolovski
Today, May 26, the Church honors the memory of St. Pausicacus (+606). The saint was a physician, an unmercenary doctor, a monk, a miracle worker, and an exorcist, and later a bishop. At the turn of the 5th-6th centuries, when he served, he became the smile of God for the Church of his time, a true echo of biblical times.
Like his brother in the Communion of Saint, St. Akakios, whose memory, according to the calendar, is celebrated only 5 days before, Pausicacus is one of those “poor saints without doxology”, whose memory is just an outlandish name. To paraphrase the poet Viktor Tsoi (1962-1990) "a serial number in the calendar". “Holy, brotherly-loving beggar,” as Simeon the New Theologian (949–1022) once wrote about himself.
Such a mention of a rock musician in a text about saints should not be surprising. There is a lot of hidden theological content in the works of genuine poets. The Saints intercede for the Universe in God's Heavenly Host. Their names on the calendar, along with the date of the celebration, are like a serial number. The business of a Christian here on earth is to be able to decipher them to let them shine in commemoration, liturgy, and prayer. The saints here on earth, in the history of salvation and freedom, are the saving chords of the music of predestination from God.
Very little information about the life of the saint is contained in the ancient menologions. By the abundance of gifts, it seems that we are talking about different people, each of whom pleased God in a special way, determined by the Method of Grace.
Apamea of Phrygia was native city of Pausicacus. This ancient metropolis, on the site of which the city of Dinard now stands, in the southwest of modern Turkey, should be distinguished from the Syrian settlement of the same name on the Orontes River. In Roman times, Apamea, or Apamea Cibotus, was the largest trading center of Asia Minor after Ephesus and the church metropolis. Recall that the local Church of Ephesus was founded by John the Evangelist. She had an apostolic origin, but, over the centuries, she found herself in the shadow of Constantinople.
He was born into a Christian family. This, in particular, is evidenced by his very name. Pausicacus - translated from Greek means "Stopping Evil." For people brought up in the spirit of biblical piety, then it was obvious that the name of a saint is one of the saving properties of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. For, contrary to the claims of the Antichrist, who calls himself "Katechon" - in fact he slows down the Coming of Christ (cf. 2 Thess. 2:6-7) - only the Lord can restrain the Universe and the Church from evil.
Even though officially the Roman Empire was Christian, a significant part of the population remained pagan, and in the homeland of the saint, in Phrygia, both polytheism and many delusions and heresies traditionally flourished. By naming their child so, the parents thus expressed their Christian confession.
He was of noble origin. This allowed his parents to give him a medical education. However, he did not become a professional physician. With this opportunity, he practiced the art of medicine free of charge. In this he imitated the ancient unmercenary doctors, who, like Panteleimon, Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, and others, treated for free. In doing so, they bore a great testimony of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Unmercenary doctors are called upon during the sacrament of the anointing, in prayer for the sick, they, according to the orthodox liturgy of preparation for the eucharist, form a special rank among the saints.
The service of the Holy Unmercenaries was voluntary and was not defined by the Church or the authorities. At the time of Pausicacus, it seemed to many that the time for such a charismatic feat had irrevocably passed. Therefore, when information about the orthodoxy and ascetic lifestyle of the physician Pausicacus reached the ears of Patriarch Cyriacus (595-606), he was consecrated a bishop. The ecclesiastical pulpit at Sinada in southern Phrygia was then celebrated as a place of early martyrdom and had an ancient succession of bishops.
During his episcopacy, the saint continued to confess what he had preached before. This is very important at any elevation in a career, especially in the Church. Therefore, the Lord did not take away spiritual gifts from him. So, on one of his visits to the capital, Pausicacus healed the Emperor Mauritius (582-602) from a serious illness. His episcopate was not long, and soon he departed to the Lord.
There were times when it seemed to many that God forever took away His peace from the Universe. Mauritius was killed in 602. Soon the Iranian-Byzantine War (604–630) began.
During this last clash of two great Empires, the Orthodox Power was defeated for a long time, and Constantinople was almost taken. Egypt and Palestine were devastated, Christian blood flowed like a river, hundreds of monasteries perished, many shrines were destroyed, and even the Cross of the Lord from Jerusalem was captured. Empires fought for mutual attrition. As a result, both were eventually ruined. Soon the Arab conquests began, which the Orthodox East simply could not resist.
By that time, the saint had already left this world. He seemed to long for the impending oblivion, therefore the exact date of his departure and even the location of the relics remained forever hidden.