Saint Blaise

Life story

Blaise was bishop of Sebaste, today the city of Sivas in central Turkey, then part of Armenia. Almost everything known about him comes from an account written several centuries after his death, so beyond the fact that he was a bishop and a martyr, the remaining details belong to tradition. The year of his death is usually given as around 316, under Licinius, who ruled the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

According to tradition, he practised medicine before being chosen bishop. When persecution broke out, he left the city and lived in a mountain cave, where wild animals were said to gather around him. Hunters sent by the governor found him and led him back to the city. On the way he is said to have saved a child choking on a fishbone, which is the origin of his link with throat ailments. After being tortured he was beheaded; the traditional account says his flesh was torn with iron combs, which is why wool combers took him as their patron.

Devotion to Blaise reached the West from about the eighth century, and he was counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers. On his feast, 3 February, many places keep the custom of blessing throats with two crossed candles. The city of Dubrovnik in Croatia adopted him as its patron, where he is known as Sveti Vlaho. Although the details of his biography are hard to verify, his name stands in the Roman Martyrology.

Works and witness

• Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, now Sivas
• By tradition a physician before becoming bishop
• Martyred around 316 under Licinius
• Counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers
• His feast on 3 February is marked by the blessing of throats

Patron of

Dubrovnik, Wool combers

Saints from the same country

Saint Paul, Saint Luke, Saint George, Saint Nicholas

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Acta S. Blasii (Passio, later version)
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.