Saint Phocas, sometimes called
Phocas the
Gardener or
Phocas of Sinope, 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.
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
St. Asterius (ca.
400). Phocas is the Greek word for "
seal", 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.
Notes
- Phocas of Sinope - The Oxford Dictionary of Saints
- HighBeam Research
- Kirby, David, and Merja-Liisa Hinkkanen (2000). The Baltic
and the North Seas. London: Routledge, p. 48–9. ISBN
0415132827.
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