Saint Hypatius, Bishop of the city of Gangra, in Paphlagonia, was one of the three hundred and eighteen fathers who participated in the First Ecumenical Council, convened during the reign of Constantine the Great in the city of Nicaea. Here, together with the others, he denounced Arius as a heretic.
Saint Hypatius had the power to heal various ailments and cast out demons. In one village he turned the bitter water from a mountain spring into sweet water, and in another place, at his prayer, a spring of warm healing water flowed from the ground.
With the help of prayer, Hypatius also managed to kill a terrible snake, which during the reign of Constantius had settled in front of the entrance to the treasury and would not let anyone pass. He ordered a large furnace to be lit outside the city. He took his saintly staff and, with God's help, led the snake as a prisoner. He led it through the city to the place where the furnace was lit and ordered it to enter. The snake threw itself inside and burned, and all those present believed in the miraculous power of the elder.
When the saint returned to his see, followers of the teachings of Novatus ambushed him in a narrow passage between a mountain precipice and the shore of a swamp, armed with knives and stakes. As he approached, they suddenly attacked him, severely wounded him, and threw him from the high bank into the mud of the swamp. The murderers hid his body in a nearby cave.
The farmer who owned the cave discovered the saint's mortal remains and informed the townspeople. Everyone gathered and buried Hypatius with honors.