Saint Palmer

Saint Palmer
Stained-glass window of St. Palmer from St. Palmer Orthodox Church in Galava Province, Ebrary
Born	c. 442 Ocresa, Ebrary
Died	514 Oiniún, Ruaidhrígh, Kingdom of Rídearg, Cordic Gotneska (present-day Gotneska)
Venerated in	Orthodox Church Aroman Church Catholic Church Amendant Churches
Feast	2 April Saint Palmer's Day
Attributes	Holding a shamrock, deer, crops
Patronage	Gotneska; Vugo; architects; bookkeepers; invoked against crop diseases

Saint Palmer (Fragran: Palmarius; Götaish: Maolómhair; Ebrarese: Palmerio) was an Aromano-Ebrarian Christian missionary and bishop in present day Gotneska. He is the patron saint of Gotneska and is venerated in the Orthodox Church, Aroman Church, Catholic Church (with special veneration present in Catholic churches in Gotneska), and various Amendant Churches. Palmer is credited with introducing Christianity to Gotneska and is likely partly responsible for the Christianization of other Northern Argic peoples.

Life

Palmer was born in Ebrary in the coastal village of Ocresa, a small self-governing polis within the sphere of influence of the city-state of Ceres. He was born to a Fragan-speaking family of Aroman origin, with his parents likely being Aroman-born colonists. His father is recorded in Palmer's writings as being a deacon and a craftsman of some sort. Palmer was kidnapped by pagan pirates from Gotneska at the age of 14 and subsequently spent 7 years in slavery in Gotneska.

During his time in slavery, Palmer became deeply religious. Eventually, he fled and escaped inland back to Ebrary. On his journey back to his home, Palmer had a vision where the Archangel Michael tasked him with becoming a priest and returning to Gotneska and spreading the gospel. At some point after his return to Ebrary, he became a Christian priest, and it is likely he spent some time visiting Ceres.

Upon returning to Gotneska in either 472 or 473, Palmer with vigor baptized many formerly-pagan converts into the Christian faith. He also had a hand in planting or founding many churches. Later sources claim that Palmer almost single-handedly converted the populace of Gotneska to Christianity, although historians believe that these accomplishments have been inflated and the full conversion of Gotneska was not completed for some generations. However, there is no doubt that Palmer was instrumental in the spread of Christianity in Gotneska and the rest of Argis.

Legends

It is during his time in Gotneska that legend holds he tamed a herd of wild deer with his prayers, and cured crops of a blight which threatened a village with famine.

Writings

Three short writings of Saint Palmer's are extant, and were written in Fragran:

• Confession of St. Palmer, a short autobiographical work concerning his early life, time in captivity, return to Ebrary, and some portion of his missionary work in Gotneska.
• Letter to the Bishop of Ceres, a letter to the then-bishop of Ceres detailing some information of his ministry around Gotneska.
• 2nd Letter to the Bishop of Ceres, a letter to the aforementioned bishop of Ceres with some more anecdotes concerning his ministry.