Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr

Blaise was bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, today Sivas in Turkey, and died a martyr early in the 4th century, probably about 316 under the emperor Licinius. Little is known for certain; his Acts are late.

According to them, he lived in a cave where wild animals came to him, and when the governor’s soldiers took him to prison, a mother brought him her son, who was choking on a fish bone, and the boy recovered. After being torn with iron combs, he was beheaded. From this story comes the custom, still kept on his feast, of blessing throats with two crossed candles. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of German tradition.