Parthenius came from Melitopolis.
February 7
Not verified yet
Bishop
Parthenius came from Melitopolis. As a boy he fished in his spare time, sold his catch, and gave the money to the poor. He became Bishop of Lampsacus and, with Constantine's permission, destroyed the pagan temples and idols in his city.
A story is told that when he ordered a demon out of a long-possessed man, the demon asked for somewhere to go. Parthenius offered himself: "Enter into me if thou canst." The demon cried that it could not live in a body kept holy for God, and fled.
Thin entry · the 1897 book gives only 167 words. We have not filled the gap with invented detail.
S. Parthenius , a native of Melitopolis, as a boy, occupied his leisure in fishing.
Give to people in need. The account records care for the poor.
Keep their day. Remember them on February 7 with a short prayer, and ask for their help.
S. Parthenius , a native of Melitopolis, as a boy, occupied his leisure in fishing. He sold the fish he caught, and gave the proceeds to the poor. He was afterwards ordained Bishop of Lampsacus, and having obtained from Constantine authority to overthrow the heathen temples and idols, he destroyed those in his city. The story is told of him that having ordered an evil spirit to leave a man who for many years had been possessed, the evil spirit asked first to be given an habitation. "I know thee," cried the demon, "thou wilt cast me out, and bid me enter into a swine." "Nay, verily," answered the saint, "I will offer thee a man to dwell in." Then the devil came out of the man, and the Bishop said, "Come now, thou foul spirit, I am the man. Enter into me if thou canst." Then the devil cried out that he could not abide in a tabernacle kept holy to God, and so fled away.
Feast: February 7
One short email a day for nine days. The day's prayer, a line from St. Parthenius of…'s story, and a nudge to keep going.
From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897), digitized text from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897), digitized text from Project Gutenberg. Public domain in the United States. Reproduced unedited, except for short bracketed notes in grey that we added to explain names and terms (“S.” is the old abbreviation for Saint). Some history and judgments reflect 19th-century scholarship.
