Monday, 23 February 2009

St Zozimus and St Sabatius - beekeeper patrons

St Ambrosius (c340), as an infant, had a swarm of bees leaving a drop of honey in his mouth, which lead to the unusual sweetness in his lyrics. St Ambrosius is the best known patron saint in the world of beekeeping.

But its St Zozimus and St Sabatius who are 'protectors of beekeepers'.

When they setup the monastery (1436) on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, they were left with a huge headache - where to get the candle wax from? St Zozimus walked to Egypt to collect a handful of bees with a queen. He carried them back in a 'skep walking stick'. This was the beginning of apiculture in the Ukraine.

Image from http://www.beekeeping.com.ua/.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well searched, says dad, who knows all about that story.He also was very interested in the the webside about beekeeping in Oekrïane.

Kris said...

Waw, this is not Zozimus and Sabatius but Zizomus and Subitius!!Hi hi!I didn t know about those two clever fellows...
Have a good audax : keep going after 120 km!Stop at 4 o clock for a tasteful snack( honey for example...)