Date and public holiday status
St Panteleimon’s Day falls on 27 July every year. Known in Bulgarian as Panteleymonovden, it is a church observance honouring St Panteleimon, the great martyr and healer.
It is not a public holiday: it is a normal working day in Bulgaria. The date also marks a name day for people named Panteley, Panteleymon, Pancho and related names.
The saint and healer
St Panteleimon was a physician from Nicomedia who lived in the late third century. He treated poor and sick people without payment, and many came to the faith because of his healings. He died as a martyr during the reign of Emperor Maximian.
He is honoured as a patron saint of doctors and the sick. He belongs to the saints known as the Holy Unmercenaries: healers who accepted no money for the help they gave.
Folk beliefs
In the Bulgarian folk calendar, the day is known as Panteley and is associated with the hottest days of summer. According to traditional belief, the sun then “stops” and begins to turn towards winter.
Another folk custom calls for women to refrain from working in the fields on this day, in the belief that doing so protects the crops from hail and fire.
Veneration in Bulgaria
St Panteleimon has been venerated in Bulgaria since the earliest centuries after the country’s conversion to Christianity. St Clement of Ohrid built the Monastery of St Panteleimon in Ohrid, where he worked and was buried.
Many hospitals and chapels bear St Panteleimon’s name. Doctors and pharmacists honour him as their heavenly patron alongside St John of Rila.