Venerable (Monastic) Byzantine

Venerable Pardus of Palestine

died sixth century

Also known as Pardus the Hermit

A Roman teamster who became a monk after a child was accidentally killed by his camels, withdrawing to Mount Arion to live in repentance.

Feast Day

December 15

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Pardus the Hermit, of Palestine

Life

Pardus was a Roman who lived in Palestine and, in his youth, worked as a teamster driving camels. According to the synaxarion, his monastic life began in the aftermath of an accident: while he was traveling to Jericho, a boy fell beneath the legs of his camels and was trampled to death. Though the death was accidental, Pardus was so shaken by it that he abandoned his trade, took monastic vows, and withdrew to Mount Arion. He is commemorated on December 15.

The account of his life centers on a struggle with the guilt he carried over the boy's death. Regarding himself as a murderer who deserved to die, he sought to provoke his own end. The tradition relates that he entered the den of a lion and goaded the beast with a spear so that it would tear him apart, but the animal would not touch him. He then removed his clothing and lay down in the path the lion took to reach water; the lion simply leaped over him. From the animal's refusal to harm him, Pardus concluded that God had forgiven him.

Having taken this as a sign of divine pardon, he returned to his dwelling on Mount Arion and lived out the remainder of his life there as a hermit, in fasting and prayer. He is reckoned among the desert ascetics of the Holy Land and is said to have died in the sixth century.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

sixth century Accident near Jericho While Pardus was traveling to Jericho as a camel driver, a boy was accidentally trampled to death beneath his camels.
sixth century Withdrawal to Mount Arion Shaken by the boy's death, Pardus abandoned his trade, took monastic vows, and withdrew to Mount Arion.
sixth century Repose After living as a hermit in fasting and prayer, Pardus died in the sixth century; he is commemorated December 15.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Lion and the Sign of Forgiveness

The episode of the lion is the defining feature of Pardus's life as it is handed down. It belongs to a recognizable pattern in the monastic literature of the Judean and Palestinian deserts, in which a beast that might be expected to kill instead spares or even serves a holy ascetic. In Pardus's case the motif is turned toward the theme of penance: the saint actively seeks death at the lion's claws as a self-imposed punishment, and the lion's unwillingness to harm him is read as a verdict of mercy rather than a marvel of taming.

The synaxarion preserves two successive attempts — provoking the lion within its den, and then exposing himself defenseless along its path to water — each of which the animal declines. Only after both does Pardus accept that his guilt has been remitted and cease seeking his own death.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints