Patricius of Prusa

St. Patricius of Bursa was bishop of the Bithynian city ​​of Prusa, today's Bursa in Turkey . His lifetime is unknown. The legend underlying his canonization, martyrdom , is presented in detail in the Martyrologium Romanum . There it is listed under April 28 as a day of remembrance. The Greek Menae mark May 19 as a day of remembrance.

The legend sees his death in connection with the hot medicinal springs in the region around Prusa, which were already used in ancient times . After a Roman proconsul named Julius visited the springs, refreshed himself and is said to have sacrificed to the gods Aesculap and Salus , he asked Patricius to do the same, which he refused. Among the remarks by Patricius, which justified his refusal and mainly contained Christian discussions, there is also a statement, quoted for the first time by Alexander von Humboldt in a lecture in 1823, on the geothermal basis of hot springs, which has since attracted some interest in the history of science:

“But there is also fire and water under the earth…; what is below is called that of the abysses, and some of this wells up, as if poured up through pipes, for the use of the human race. The thermal baths are of this kind, some of which, because they are further away from the fire, are colder by the careful arrangement of God against us, while others, closer to it, flow hot ... "

As a punishment for his - according to Roman religious feeling - heretical statements, Patricius was thrown into the hot springs, but survived and was finally beheaded. With him, the unknown martyrs Acatius, Menander and Polyenus died.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Patricius, p. (8) . In: Johann E. Stadler , Franz Joseph Heim, Johann N. Ginal (Eds.): Complete Lexicon of Saints ... , Volume 4 (M – P), B. Schmid'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (A. Manz), Augsburg 1875, pp.  698-699 .