The Eastern Orthodox Church is observing the feast of Saint Panteleimon the All-Merciful on August 9. It is also a tradition in some regions, including Moldova and parts of Romania, to celebrate on this day Pintilie the Traveler, a feast symbolizing the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. This Saint, who had Nicomedia in Asia Minor as his homeland, was a doctor and was referred to reverently as "a glorious physician". Before becoming a Christian – though his mother was a pious Christian from her ancestors – the Saint went by the name of Panteleon. Because of the compassion he showed for the souls and bodies of all, he was renamed Panteleimon, meaning "all-merciful". Being a skilled physician, his healing powers were attributable to his faith in God rather than to medicine. It was also his faith that drew the anger of Roman Emperor Maximilian, an idolater, and caused his martyrdom, which ended in 304 AD (on 9 August as per the Eastern Orthodox calendar), when the Saint was beheaded. It was said that not blood but milk flowed from the severed head of the martyr. In some regions, Saint Panteleimon’s feast coincides with the feast of Pintilie the Traveler, when reaping is over and, according to tradition, the summer "travels away".