Phocas's death and worldwide honor

The men were struck in their souls and froze at what they heard, reverencing the salt and the table and the host who showed such generosity in poverty. But he kept urging them to dare the killing and commanded them not to hesitate even a little, saying that the murder was not the work of their hands but the undertaking of those who had given the orders. He spoke, he persuaded, he suffered, and when his head was cut off he was offered as a sacrifice pleasing to God. From that time until now, we have him as a pillar and support of the divine churches throughout the world, and among the best of the martyrs he is the most illustrious, holding first place himself. He draws all people in a body to his lodging, and the highways are full of those hurrying from every country to the place of prayer. That magnificent church, which was allotted to hold the martyr's sacred body, is relief for the oppressed, a hospital for the afflicted, a table for the hungry. For Phocas now that he has died feeds more generously than Joseph did long ago while living in Egypt. Joseph exchanged grain for silver, but Phocas gives freely to those in need. So tribes of the poor and wandering run to the isthmus of Sinope as to a common storehouse. That is how it is there. And if somewhere else the martyr has established for himself through small relics a kind of colony of the mother city, that place too is wondrous and eagerly sought by all Christians, just as this sacred place among us is a lodging for those who celebrate. Precious before the Lord is the death of his holy ones (Psalm 116:15), and though the relics have been divided in many places, they preserve the martyr's complete renown everywhere. So too in the imperial city, the crown of Italy and queen of the world, the martyr has a public bodyguard and honor, and a splendid house adorned for beauty. The Romans honor Phocas no less than Peter and Paul. Therefore, as the account teaches, they eagerly acquired the martyr's head, choosing a judgment opposite to that of the abominable Herodias. She thirsted for righteous blood and demanded a precious head for insult, but they, for the sake of honor and their own benefit, worthily secured a martyr's head. Sailors and seafarers everywhere—not only those who cross the Black Sea, but also those who cut through the Adriatic Sea and are carried over the Aegean Sea, and all who sail the Atlantic Ocean and make their way among the eastern gulfs—have turned the customary chants with which they ease the labor of the voyage into a new praise of the martyr. Phocas is always on their lips in song, since he also gives clear signs of his help. For he has often been seen, now at night when a storm was expected, waking the helmsman who had nodded off at the rudder; at other times stretching the ropes and tending the sail and watching from the prow for the reefs.