The Martyr Blasius of Caesarea, also known as Boukolos, was a native of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He lived in the third century and was a shepherd.
During the persecution of Christians, he voluntarily surrendered himself to his tormentors, who subjected him to cruel tortures. However, by the grace of God, he was healed of his wounds. Upon witnessing this miracle, the governor ordered the saint to be thrown into a cauldron of boiling water. Yet Blasius remained unharmed and spoke to the people, for the angels of God protected him. Many of the soldiers who had come to seize him also confessed themselves to be Christians. Wishing to prove that the martyr had remained unharmed only because the water had cooled, the governor himself leapt into the cauldron and died.
Saint Blasius converted many people to the Christian faith and afterwards peacefully departed to the Lord. His shepherd’s staff, planted in the ground, grew into a vast tree that sheltered the altar of the church built over his holy relics.
