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{{oriental}}[[Image:StMina.gif|frame|Coptic icon of St Mina Menas the Wonders MakerWonder-worker]]The holy, glorious and right-victorious [[Martyr]]Saint '''Menas''' (or ''Mina (''; 285-309 ADA.D.), who the [[Wonder-worker]], is called one of the most well known Egyptian saints in the blessed faithfulEast and the West, was martyred due to the many miracles that are performed through his [[intercession]]s. His [[feast day]] is celebrated on [[November 11]] (or in the [[Coptic]] church on [[Coptic Calendar|Hathor ]] 15 ([[November 24]]). His father, Eudoxius, was a native of the city of Nakiyos (Nikiu) in Egypt and was its Governor. His brother was envious of him and he brought charges against him before the Emperor. The Emperor transferred him to Africa and appointed him Governor over it. The people were pleased with him because he was merciful and God-fearing.

The Lord gave them this saint and they called him Mina==Life==Saint Menas was born in Egypt in 285 A.D., according to in the voice that his mother heard. When he grewcity of Niceous (Nakiyos or Nikiu), his parents taught him reading and writing and they reared him which lies in a Christian mannerthe vicinity of Memphis. When he was eleven years old, His parents were real [[ascetic]] Christians; his father departed at a good old age. Then his mother departed three years later. Saint Mina devoted his life to fasting, praying and to living a Christian life. Because of everyone's love towards him name was Audexios (or Eudoxius) and his father, they placed him in his fathermother's positionname was Aufimia (or Euphemia). In spite On the feast of thatSt. [[Theotokos|Mary]], he the mother who did not forsake his worshippinghave any children was praying in front of the [[icon]] of the Virgin with tears that God would give her a blessed son. A sound came to her ears saying "Amen," and thus she called her son Menas.

When His father, a ruler of one of the Emperor Diocletian had reneged Christianity and issued his orders to worship idolsadministrative divisions of Egypt, many were martyred for died when Menas was 14 years old. At the Name age of 15, Menas joined the Lord Christarmy. He was given a high rank because of his father's reputation and was stationed in Algeria. Saint Mina Three years later he left the army longing to devote his position and went whole life to [[Christ]]. He headed towards the desert, where he stayed many days worshipping God with all his heartto live a different kind of life.

One day After spending five years as a [[hermit]], he saw in a revelation the heavens open and [[angels]] crowning the martyrs crowned with beautiful glamorous crowns, and longed to join those martyrs. He While he was thinking about it, he heard a voice saying: "Blessed are you, Abba Menas, "He who toils because you have been called for the Name of the Lord Christ pious life from your childhood. You shall receive these be granted three immortal crowns." He returned to the city over which he was Governor and confessed the Name ; one because of the Lord Christ. Knowing that he belonged to a noble family, they tried to dissuade him from his faith and promised him honors and precious gifts. When he did not change his mindyour [[celibacy]], they threatened him and the Governor ordered him to be tortured. When the Governor failed to turn him away from his faith in the Lord Christ, he sent him to his brother so that he might influence him but he failed also. Finallysecond because of your asceticism, he ordered his head to be cut off with the sword, his body to be cast in the fire and his ashes to be scattered in the wind. The body remained in the fire third for three days and three nights, but it was not harmedyour martyrdom."

His sister came and gave Immediately he felt as if the soldiers a lot of money earth under him was vanishing, and they let her take the bodyhe was overwhelmed with great eagerness to be carried away to heavens. She put it in In a sack made mood of fronds and decided valor he hurried to go to Alexandriathe ruler, as her brother had previously advised herdeclaring his Christian faith. She embarked with her brother's body on one His sufferings attracted many of the ships pagans, not only to Christianity, but also to Alexandriamartyrdom.

During their trip, sea beasts came out of ==Relics==The saint's assassins tried to burn his [[relics]] but failed. The saint's body remained in the water fire for three days and attacked the passengers aboard the ship. They were frightened three nights, and screamed with fearwas not harmed. The Saint's His sister prayed to came and gave the Lord soldiers money and asked for they let her take the intercession of her brotherbody. While the passengers were in fear, fire went forth from She embarked with her brother's body and burned the faces on one of the beasts. They dived immediately into ships heading to Alexandria, where they placed the water and as they reappeared, saint's body in the fire burned them again. They finally dived and did not reappearchurch there.

When the ship arrived at the city of Alexandria, most of the people went out with the father, the Patriarch. They carried the holy body with reverence and honor and entered the city with a venerable celebration and placed it in the church, after they shrouded it in expensive shrouds. When the time of persecution ended, during the angel papacy of the Lord appeared to the Patriarch, [[Pope]] [[Athanasius of Alexandria. The angel informed him of ]], the believers loaded the Lordsaint's command which was to place the body of Saint Mina on a camel and headed towards the western desert (after an angel appeared to take it out of the city without letting anyone lead it, but Patriarch informing him to follow it from a distance until it stopped at a place do so). At the spot that the Lord had designated. They walked behind , the camel until they arrived at stopped and refused to move. There, near a place called Lake Bayadwater well, in they buried the district of Marioutsaint's body. There they heard a voice saying, "This That place is the place same as where [[St. Mina Monastery (Mariut, Egypt)|the Lord wishes saint's present-day Coptic Orthodox monastery]] is located at the body end of his beloved Mina to be placed." They lowered the body and placed it in a coffinLake Mariut, not far from Alexandria, then they situated it in a beautiful garden and many miracles happened through the bodyEgypt.

Later on, the Berbers of Pentapolis (the five cities) rose against the cities around Alexandria. The people were getting ready to face the Berbers, and the Governor governor decided to take the body of Saint Mina St. Menas with him to be his deliverer and his strong protector. He took the body secretly and through the saint's blessings of this Saint, he overcame the Berbers and returned victorious.

The governor decided not to return the St. Menas' body of the saint to its original place (in Mariut) and wanted to take it to Alexandria. On the way back, they passed by Lake BayadMariut, Saint MinaSt. Menas's original place. The camel carrying the body knelt down and would not move in spite of frequent beatings. They moved the body over another camel, but again this second camel did not move from its place. The Governor governor finally realized that this was the Lord's command. He made a coffin from decay-resistant wood and placed the silver coffin in it. He then returned it to its place and invoked Saint MinaSt. Menas's blessings, then returned before returning to his city.

When the Lord wanted to disclose the location of Saint Mina's holy bodyLater, He did it in this manner. There his burial place was revealed when a shepherd in the desert. One day a was feeding his sheep with mange slipped down into the water of a well near the place of the saint's body. The sheep then came out of the water and rolled over in the sand of that place, area and instantly a sick lamb fell on the sheep was healedground. When the shepherd saw this miracleAs it struggled to get on its feet again, he its scab was amazedcured. He took some of The story spread quickly and the sand and mixed it with water and smeared it over every sheep with mange, as well as sick who came to this spot recovered from whatever illnesses they had just by laying on those with other infirmities, and immediately they were healedthe ground.

The news During that time, the daughter of these miracles spread in all the countries until [[Zeno (emperor)|Zinon]], the Christ-loving Emperor at Constantinople heard of them. He had an only daughter and she (ruled 474-475, 476-491), was leprous. Her father sent her to the His advisers suggested that she should try that place where the Saint's body was , and she inquired from the shepherd how these miracles were happeningdid. At night St. She took some of Menas appeared to the sand, moistened it with water, smeared it on girl and informed her that his body and slept the night was buried in that place. In her sleep The following morning, she saw Saint Mina saying to her, "Arise early and dig bathed in this place, the well and you will find my body." When she woke up, she found herself curedwas healed. She began digging as she was told and she found the holy bodyrelated her vision about St. She sent word Menas to her fatherservants and that he cured her. Immediately, informing him of Zinon ordered the news. The Emperor rejoiced exceedinglysaint's body to be dug out, thanked the Lord and glorified His Name. He then sent men and money and built a church in that place and it was consecrated on the fifteenth day of the Month of Paonito be built there.

==Historical significance=====St. Menas in Mariut===When [[Arcadius ]] and [[w:Honorius (emperor)|Honorius ]] reigned(383–408 and 393-423), they also ordered that a large city to be built thereand named after the saint. Multitudes of people came to that church asking for the intercession of the blessed Saint Mina<ref>[http://www. The Lord had honored him with many signs and wonders that appeared from his pure bodystmina-monastery. When the Arabs came to Egypt, they attacked the city and the church was destroyed, only ruins remainedorg/abu_mena. When His Holiness, the late Pope Abba [[Cyril VI of Alexandria htm Abu Mena (CopticAbu Mina)|Kyrillos VI]] was ordained Patriarch </ref> Sick people from all over the See world would visit the city and were healed by the intercession of Saint MarkSt. Menas, he took interest in building a large [[Saint Mina Monastery in Mariut|monastery]] in the region of Mariout in Miracle-maker. That is evident from the numerous little clay bottles on which his name of Saint Minaand picture are engraved. He spent a great deal of money in establishing it. There are now many churches These were discovered by archeologists in diverse countries around the monasteryMediterranean world, such as Heidelberg, Germany; Milan, Italy; Dalmata, Yugoslavia; Marseille, France; Dengela, visited by many Orthodox worshippers who go there to receive blessings Sudan; and to prayJerusalem. He also bought one hundred acres (400Visitors from these cities and others would buy these bottles,000 m²) of land and built a fence around it. In this monasteryusually containing oil or water for blessing, he ordained a number of monks who had a high degree of scientific and religious educationtake them back to their relatives.

==Source==* The historian Edith L. Butcher recorded that destruction started to take place in the city, and its inhabitants were degraded after the Arab conquest. During the period after Haroun El-Rasheed ([http://www[Islam|Muslim]] ruler), the Berbers attacked the city and burned a large portion of it.copticchurchAt the time of El-Mamoun (Muslim ruler), he ordered that the entire city be taken down, and then he used its numerous marble pillars to build his palace and mosques.net/classes/synexIt is only in the 20th century that international missions began to search for the city and the church (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).php?sa=1&month=3&day=15&btn=View St Mina the Wonders' Maker]

===The New Cathedral of St. Menas===As soon as Pope [[Cyril VI (Atta) of Alexandria|Cyril (Kyrillos) the Sixth]] was installed on St. [[Apostle Mark|Mark]]'s Throne, he began to put the foundations of a great monastery close to the remains of the old city. Thus, the old monastery of St. Menas was resurrected, and the Copts were able to visit it once again and to be blessed by the saint. What is even more interesting is that Pope Kyrillos VI stated in his will that his body should not be buried in the new famous Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo, but in the monastery of his personal friend and intercessor, St. Menas the Miracle-maker. ==Reference==*<references /> ==Sources==* [http://www.stmina-monastery.org/stmina.htm St. Mina] ([[Coptic]])* [http://www.stmina-monastery.org/inotherchurches.htm Beyond the Coptic Orthodox Church] (Coptic)  ==External Linklinks==* [http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=103277 Martyr Menas of Egypt] ([[OCA]])* [http://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints/285 Menas of Egypt] ([[GOARCH]])* [http://www.westsrbdio.org/prolog/my.html?month=November&day=11 The Holy Great-martyr Menas] (''[[Prologue of Ohrid]]'')* [http://www.comeandseeicons.com/m/inp09.htm Icon of St. Menas of Egypt]* [http://www.stmina-monastery.org/ St. Mina Monastery in Mariut on the Web] (Coptic)* [[w:Saint Mina|Saint Mina]]. Wikipedia.* Great [[Synaxarion|Synaxaristes]]: {{el icon}} ''[http://www.synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/1149/sxsaintinfo.aspx Ὁ Ἅγιος Μηνᾶς ὁ Μεγαλομάρτυρας «ὁ ἐν τῷ Κοτυαείῳ»].'' 11 Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. [[Category:Martyrs]][[Category:Saints]][[Category:Ante-Nicene Saints]][[Category:Byzantine Saints]][[Category:Egyptian Saints]][[Category:Wonderworkers]][[Category:4th-century saints]] [[el:Μηνάς, Άγιος]] [[ar:مارمينا العجائبي]]