Holy mina helps in some way. Orthodox prayers. How did it happen that Saint Mina became the patron saint of Heraklion
Holy warrior Mina, “ask for world peace”
Saint Mina belongs to the rank of the so-called holy warriors, along with Saints George the Victorious, Demetrius of Thessalonica, Artemios, Theodore Tiron, and Theodore Stratelates. This is one of the most revered and beloved saints not only in Russia, where he is not very well known in modern times, but also in Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, where many churches and monasteries are dedicated to him, where believers often call upon him. their prayers and receive first aid. They pray to Saint Mina for healing from muteness, diseases of the eyes and legs.
The Holy Great Martyr Mina, an Egyptian by birth, was a warrior and served in the city of Cotuan under the centurion Firmilian during the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian (284-305). When the co-rulers began the most severe persecution of Christians in history, the saint did not want to serve the persecutors and, leaving his service, retired to the mountains, where he labored in fasting and prayer.
Once, in the main city of the Cotuan region, a holiday was held in honor of the pagan gods, to which, according to custom, many people gathered. By this day, blessed Mina descended into the city. He entered the place where the horse lists were held, climbed to the dais and before everyone confessed the true God and denounced the worship of soulless idols, for which he was thrown into prison, and during interrogation he answered: “I am called Mina and come from Egypt. I was once a warrior. "But, seeing the torture to which you pagans subject Christians, I left my military dignity and secretly lived as a Christian on the mountain. Now I have come to confess before everyone that my Christ is the true God, so that He too will confess me in His Kingdom."
After refusing to return to the pagan faith, Mina was subjected to terrible torture: four warriors stretched the saint’s body and beat him without mercy with ox sinews, then hung him on a tree and whittled him with iron claws, after which they scorched him with burning candles. With the words: “I was and am and will be with Christ” on his lips, Mina was beheaded with a sword by one of the soldiers of the local ruler Pyrrhus, and his long-suffering body was thrown onto the fire. This happened in 296 or 304 (according to different sources). When the flames went out, the secret Christians, having collected the parts of the relics remaining from the burning, wrapped them in a clean shroud and anointed them with aromas, transferred them to the city of Alexandria, where they laid them in a temple that later received the name of St. Menas.
Tradition conveys the last prayer of the saint as follows: “Lord my God, I thank You for making me worthy to become a partaker of Your passion. Now I pray to You, accept my soul and make me worthy of Your heavenly kingdom. And grant me the grace to help in Your name all those who call on me.” The Lord gave his faithful son the grace of miracles. The Alexandrian Archbishop Timothy recorded only a few of them.
Take her by the leg
There is such a legend.
Near the church of the holy martyr, along with many others, there were a lame and a dumb man, waiting to receive healing. At midnight, when everyone was sleeping, Saint Mina appeared to the lame man and said to him:
- Approach the dumb woman silently and take her leg.
The lame man answered this to the martyr:
- God's saint, am I a fornicator that you command me to do this?
But the saint repeated his words to him three times and added:
– If you don’t do this, you won’t receive healing.
The lame man, fulfilling the saint’s command, crawled and grabbed the dumb leg. She, having awakened, began to scream, indignant at the lame man. Sey, frightened, stood up on both legs and quickly ran. Thus, both of them felt their healing: the dumb woman spoke, and the lame man ran quickly, like a deer; and both healed people gave thanks to God and the holy martyr Mina.
Saint Mina belongs to the rank of the so-called holy warriors, along with Saints George the Victorious, Demetrius of Thessalonica, Artemios, Theodore Tiron, and Theodore Stratelates. This is one of the most revered and beloved saints not only in Russia, where he is not very well known in modern times, but also in Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, where many churches and monasteries are dedicated to him, where believers often call upon him. their prayers and receive first aid. They pray to Saint Mina for healing from muteness, diseases of the eyes and legs.
The Holy Great Martyr Mina, an Egyptian by birth, was a warrior and served in the city of Cotuan under the command of the centurion Firmilian during the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian (284−305). When the co-rulers began the most severe persecution of Christians in history, the saint did not want to serve the persecutors and, leaving his service, retired to the mountains, where he labored in fasting and prayer.
Once, in the main city of the Cotuan region, a holiday was held in honor of the pagan gods, to which, according to custom, many people gathered. By this day, blessed Mina descended into the city. He entered the place where the horse lists were held, climbed to the dais and before everyone confessed the true God and denounced the worship of soulless idols, for which he was thrown into prison, and during interrogation he answered: “I am called Mina and come from Egypt. I was once a warrior. But, seeing the torture that you pagans inflict on Christians, I left my military dignity and secretly lived as a Christian on the mountain. Now I have come to confess before everyone that my Christ is the true God, so that He too will confess me in His Kingdom.”
After refusing to return to the pagan faith, Mina was subjected to terrible torture: four warriors stretched the saint’s body and beat him without mercy with ox sinews, then hung him on a tree and whittled him with iron claws, after which they scorched him with burning candles. With the words: “I was and am and will be with Christ” on his lips, Mina was beheaded with a sword by one of the soldiers of the local ruler Pyrrhus, and his long-suffering body was thrown onto the fire. This happened in 296 or 304 (according to different sources). When the flames went out, the secret Christians, having collected the parts of the relics remaining from the burning, wrapped them in a clean shroud and anointed them with aromas, transferred them to the city of Alexandria, where they laid them in a temple that later received the name of St. Menas.
Tradition conveys the saint’s last prayer as follows: “Lord my God, I thank You for making me worthy to become a partaker of Your passion. Now I pray to You, accept my soul and make me worthy of Your heavenly kingdom. And give me the grace to help in Your name all those who call on me.”. The Lord gave his faithful son the grace of miracles. The Alexandrian Archbishop Timothy recorded only a few of them.
Take her by the leg
There is such a legend.
Near the church of the holy martyr, along with many others, there were a lame and a dumb man, waiting to receive healing. At midnight, when everyone was sleeping, Saint Mina appeared to the lame man and said to him:
- Approach the dumb woman silently and take her leg.
The lame man answered this to the martyr:
- God's saint, am I a fornicator that you command me to do this?
But the saint repeated his words to him three times and added:
- If you don’t do this, you won’t receive healing.
The lame man, fulfilling the saint’s command, crawled and grabbed the dumb leg. She, having awakened, began to scream, indignant at the lame man. Sey, frightened, stood up on both legs and quickly ran. Thus, both of them felt their healing: the dumb woman spoke, and the lame man ran quickly, like a deer; and both healed people gave thanks to God and the holy martyr Mina.
Troparion to the Great Martyr Mina, tone 4
Yako Bezplotny interlocutor
and the passion-bearer of the same monk,
having come together by faith, Mino, we praise you,
ask for peace
and great mercy to our souls.
Prayer to the Great Martyr Mina
Oh, passion-bearing holy martyr Mino! Looking at your icon and remembering the goals you have given to everyone who flows to you with faith and reverence, we bow down on the knee of our hearts, with all our souls we pray to you, be our intercessor before the Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ for our infirmities, accompanying and comfort us during our sorrows, giving us the memory of our sins, help us in the misfortunes and troubles of this world and in all the troubles that befall us in this vale of sorrow. Amen.
“I was with Christ, I am and I will be” 
Many miracles of Saint Menas are known both in Greece and Cyprus. So in 1826, during the Greek Revolution, the Turkish inhabitants of Heraklion on Crete attempted to kill Christians. And then one day they decided to quench their thirst for blood on Easter Day, when the Christians of the city were gathered for a service in the Cathedral of the Holy Great Martyr Mina. Easter then fell on April 18th. To confuse the authorities, the conspirators set fires at various points in the city away from the cathedral. And when the Easter liturgy had already begun and the Holy Gospel was being read, angry crowds of Turks surrounded the temple, ready to immediately begin to implement their disgusting plan.
But suddenly a horseman with a drawn sword appeared between them, galloping around the temple and driving away the Turks. There was a commotion in the pitch darkness. The bloodthirsty barbarians fled in fear. The horseman was mistaken for the first of the procrites and it was decided that he had been sent by the ruler to pacify the rebellion. As it turned out later, the first procritus did not leave home at all on Easter night. It was clear to everyone that this was a miraculous intervention of the city’s heavenly patron. Thus Saint Mina put to shame the evil barbarian intention and saved the inhabitants of Heraklion. The Turks passed on the news of the miracle from mouth to mouth and were filled with fear and reverence for the saint. Some Muslims who were near the temple of St. Mina that Easter night began to annually bring gifts to the temple of St. Mina on the day of his memory.
In Cyprus, Saint Mina is one of the most beloved saints by the people, he is called upon to help with many everyday needs. In former times, when malaria epidemics were not uncommon here, Saint Mina was considered the only healer. In Cyprus they believe that Saint Mina can heal any disease, so he is especially revered. Many churches are dedicated to him in different parts of the island - in Lapitho, Geri, Drimo, Neo Chorio, Polemi, Pendalya, Strubi; There is a convent where part of the relics of St. Menas, brought from Alexandria, is kept.
The monastery of St. Mina is located in the mountainous region of Lefkara, near the road connecting Kato Drys and Vavla. It stands on the banks of the Maronio River in a grove of olive and carob trees.
The monastery was founded in the last years of Venetian rule on the island (1489−1571), about which there is an entry in 1562 in the margins of the Codex of the Paris and National Library. The monastery operated even after the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottoman Empire in 1571.
The Russian pilgrim, monk Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky (1701−1747), wrote in his diary: “I began my pilgrimage to Cyprus in October 1734. On November 11, the day of remembrance of the holy martyr Mina, I went to venerate in one of the monasteries dedicated to this saint, where there is an annual celebration, and many gather from nearby towns and villages, and the sick are healed from many diseases thanks to the miraculous icon of the saint. This monastery is poor and small, with only a few monks. It is located in high mountains in an open and pleasant valley; the monastery is surrounded by a large number of forest trees. The monastery consists of a quadrangular wall and has small cells. There is no running water, but there are springs. The monks subsist partly by alms, but mainly by their labor - ploughing, sowing, viticulture.”
The monastery's temple, a one-nave basilica, was erected on old foundations in 1754 on the initiative and at the expense of Abbot Parthenius and Metropolitan Macarius the First of Kita (1737−1776). A high-ranking official of the Ottoman Empire, a secret Christian, made a large donation for the construction of the temple. After his death, the monks buried him in the monastery courtyard, and the Turkish authorities were told that they buried him in a place called "Turk's Tomb", not far from the monastery. The monastery continued to operate until the early decades of the 19th century, with eight monks still remaining there in 1825. Then the monastery fell into disrepair and was abandoned. The Kiti metropolis rented out the monastery buildings to local residents, as a result of which they eventually fell into a pitiful state.
Monastic life on the island resumed at the beginning of the 20th century. The Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ was created in Kaimakli in the 1910s. and St. Anthony in Deryneia in the 1930s. A few years later, in 1949, the convent was revived in the monastery of St. George Alamanu, which was empty at that time. By 1960, the number of its nuns had increased to 60 people. On March 29, 1965, a group of eight sisters of this monastery was sent to restore the abandoned monastery of St. Mina.
They had to work hard: the temple was repaired, the chapels of St. Stylian (consecrated in October 1974) and Saints Ignatius and George (consecrated in September 1993) were erected, new cells, workshops, a library were built, the territory was landscaped, flower beds were laid out and planted fruit trees and vegetable crops. Since 1977, the monastery has been managed by Abbess Cassian. The sisters' confessor since 1969, theologian and church writer Archimandrite Leonty Hadzhikostas, regularly serves in the monastery church.
To celebrate the memory of St. Mina on November 11/24, pilgrims flock to the monastery from all over Cyprus, and today from further afield, in particular Russia and Ukraine. They venerate the relics of the great martyr and the icon on which Saint Mina is depicted with Christ on his chest, because he did not change his faith in Christ and his words: “I was with Christ, am and will be.”
The name Mina and the dates of veneration of the saints Mina (new century)
(MINEAUS, MINAI, MIN. - lunar, monthly (Greek), compare - Mena, Greek goddess of the moon (option - Selene, see Selinius).
18.01 - Venerable Mina is venerated.
2.03 - discovery of the relics of the martyr Min Kallikelad. Being from Athens, Saint Mina received an excellent education and was famous for his eloquence, which is why he received the name Kallikelad (Red-Speaking). Under Emperor Maximin, he suffered martyrdom with the saints Hermogenes and Evgraf - around 313. Under the Emperor of Constantinople, Basil the Macedonian (867 - 886), at the direction of the martyr himself, who appeared in a dream to a pious man, his relics were found by the military leader Marcian.
25.04 - martyr Mina.
3.07 - Saint Mina, Bishop of Polotsk.
25.07 - martyr Mina.
7.09 - Saint Mina, Patriarch of Constantinople.
23.10 - Venerable Martyr Mina of Zograf.
11.11 - martyrs Mina and Menaeus.
November 24 - Great Martyr Mina of Cotuan.
23.12 - martyr Mina.
Staraya Russa. Church of the Great Martyr Mina (XIV century) 
A small four-pillar cubic building. Almost the entire height of the walls has preserved ancient masonry made of red shell rock. In terms of its appearance, size and shape of bricks, decor and architectural and structural features, the church probably dates back to the 15th century, and possibly to the 30-40s of the 15th century. The church had a sub-church, and the temple itself was located on the second floor. The asp is decorated with vertical cords and arches. In the 15th century The church was covered behind the doors, which was quite rare in the Novgorod land during this period.
In 1874 the temple was rebuilt; a refectory was added and a stone bell tower was built.
According to legend, the Swedes went blind there when, having no shelter in the devastated and destroyed city, they rode into the temple on horseback. The Swedish military leader sent blind men to Sweden as proof of miracles happening in Russian Orthodox churches.
In 1751, the temple was restored through the efforts of Archbishop Stefany Kalinovsky and parishioners. Currently the church is in a sad state.
The poet Evgeny Kurdakov dedicated the following heartfelt lines to the Old Russian Church (“Poems”, Veliky Novgorod, 2000):
There is a Mina church in Staraya Russa.
There, by the overgrown pond,
She stands, quiet, deserted,
Forgotten by everyone forever.
….
I don’t know if they pray to temples
Abandoned, but only here
I was blown by a strange wind,
As if sent down from heaven.
And I felt not for a moment,
What's left for us from everything
This is the good news of patience
Yes, like Rus', a forgotten temple, -
Which are in silent shame
They're about to disappear into nowhere...
There is a church of Mina in Staraya Russa, -
There, by the overgrown pond.
In the photographs: Great Martyr Mina, icon; Monastery of St. Menas in Cyprus; a gilded reliquary with the relics of Saint Menas; Church of the Great Martyr Mina in Staraya Russa.
Prepared Stanislav Minakov
The holy martyr Mina was an Egyptian by birth; he professed the Christian faith, and served in the army located in the Cotuan region, under the command of the thousand-commander Firmilian. At that time, two wicked kings Diocletian and Maximian reigned together in Rome. These kings issued a decree throughout all countries commanding that all Christians who did not worship idols should be tortured and killed. According to this decree, believers in Christ everywhere were forced to make sacrifices to idols. Then blessed Mina, not wanting to see such a disaster and the veneration of soulless idols, left his military rank and went to the mountains, to desert places, wanting to live better with animals than with people who do not know God. Saint Mina wandered for a long time in the mountains and deserts, studying the Law of God, cleansing his soul with fasting and prayer and serving day and night to the One True God. Quite a lot of time passed like this.
One day, in the main city of the Cotuan region, an unholy festival was held, to which many pagans gathered. In honor of their wicked gods, they performed various games, spectacles, horse races and wrestling competitions, which were watched by residents of the entire city from specially constructed high places. Blessed Mina, having foreseen the Holy Spirit about this holiday, was kindled by zeal for God and, leaving the mountains and deserts, came to the city. Having entered the middle of the place where the spectacles were taking place, the martyr stood on a raised platform so that he could be seen by everyone, and exclaimed in a loud voice: “Those who did not seek Me found me; I have made myself known to those who did not ask about me” (Rom. 10:20).
When Saint Mina exclaimed thus, all those present at the spectacle fixed their gazes on him and fell silent, amazed at his courage. The prince of that city, named Pyrrhus, who was present at the spectacle, ordered the saint to be taken and asked him:
Saint Mina loudly exclaimed aloud to the whole people:
I am a slave of Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and earth.
The prince asked the saint again:
Are you a foreigner or a local resident? Where did you get such courage that you dared to shout like that in the middle of a spectacle?
When the prince said this, and the saint had not yet had time to respond to his words, some of the soldiers who were near the prince recognized Mina and cried out:
This is Mina, a warrior who was under the command of Firmilian, the commander of a thousand.
Then the prince said to Saint Mina:
Were you really the warrior they say you are?
The saint answered:
Yes, it’s true, I was a warrior and was in this city, but seeing the wickedness of people seduced by demons and worshiping idols and not the True God, I left my military rank and left the city so as not to be a participant in the lawlessness and destruction of these people . Until this day I have wandered in the deserts, avoiding contact with wicked people, the enemies of my God; Now, having heard that you organized an unholy holiday, I was filled with zeal for my God and came here to expose your blindness and preach to you the One True God, who created heaven and earth with His word and provides for the entire universe.
Hearing such words, the prince ordered the saint to be taken to prison and guarded until the morning, and all that day he himself took part in the festival and spectacles.
The next day, in the morning, the prince sat down at the judgment seat and, having ordered Saint Mina to be brought from prison, tried in every possible way to persuade him to idolatry: both promising gifts and threatening him with torment. When he could not persuade the saint to wickedness with his words, he began to force him to do so, ordering four soldiers to strip and stretch the saint and beat him without mercy with ox sinews, so that blood flowed in a stream from the martyr’s wounds. One man present, named Pigasius, said to Saint Mina:
Have pity on yourself, man, and fulfill the prince’s command before your body is completely destroyed. I advise you: worship the gods only for a while in order to get rid of this torment, and then again serve your God, who will not be angry with you for this retreat if you only make a sacrifice to idols once and turn to them for a short time, for the sake of need, to get rid of this severe torment.
But the saint answered this with anger:
Depart from me, worker of iniquity, I have already offered a sacrifice of praise and will offer it again only to my God, who provides me with His help and so strengthens me in patience that these torments seem very light and joyful to me, and not heavy.
The torturer, amazed at the patience of the martyr, ordered that Saint Mina be subjected to even greater torment. The saint was hanged on a tree and his body was planed with iron claws, and the tormentor, mocking the saint, said to him:
Do you feel any pain, Mina, or is this torment very pleasant for you, and do you want us to increase it even more?
But the holy martyr, although he suffered greatly, nevertheless answered the prince with firmness:
You will not defeat me, tormentor, with these short-term torments, for I am helped, invisible to you, by the warriors of the King of Heaven.
The prince ordered the servants to torment the saint even more and tell him:
Profess no other king here than the Roman emperors.
The martyr answered this:
If you knew the true King, you would not blaspheme the One I preach, for He is the true King of heaven and earth, and besides Him there is no other. But you blaspheme Him without knowing it, and compare with Him your corruptible kings, created from dust, to whom He gave royal dignity and royal power, since He is the Lord of all created things.
Then the prince said to the saint:
Who is this who gives power to kings and rules over everyone?
The martyr answered the prince:
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lives forever, to whom everything obeys, both in heaven and on earth; This one raises kings to thrones and reigns, gives power and rules.
The torturer said to Saint Mina:
Don't you know that the Roman emperors are very angry with all those who profess the name of Christ and command that such people be killed?
The martyr answered:
“The Lord reigns: let the nations tremble! He sits on Cherubim: let the earth shake” (Ps. 99:1). If your kings are angry with Christ and with the Christians who profess His name, then what does this matter to me? I do not pay attention to their anger, for I am a servant of my Christ, and I have only one desire to be a confessor of His all-holy name until death and that I may enjoy His sweet love, from which no one can tear me away: “Who will separate us from the love of God: Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?” (Rom. 8:35).
After this, the tormentor ordered to strongly rub the saint’s wounds with a handkerchief made of hair. And when they did this, the holy martyr said:
Now I take off my skin and put on the robe of salvation.
In addition, the tormentor ordered to scorch the saint with lighted candles, but even when they burned the entire body of the saint, he remained silent.
Then the prince asked him:
Do you feel this fire, Mina?
The saint answered: “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). He for Whom I suffer helps me, and therefore I do not feel the fire with which you scorch me, and I am not afraid of your many different torments, for I remember the Gospel words of my Lord: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but fear Him more who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Then the prince said to the martyr:
Where do you get such eloquence? You have been a warrior all along, how come you can speak like a person who has read many books?
The saint answered this to the prince:
Our Lord Jesus Christ told us: “And you will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, to testify before them and the Gentiles. When they betray you, do not worry about how or what to say; for at that hour it will be given to you what to say” (Matthew 10:18–19).
The prince asked the saint:
Did your Christ know that you would endure such torment for Him?
The martyr answered:
Since He is True, He also has knowledge of the future. He knew and knows everything that is; and everything that has to be is known to Him, and He knows in advance all our thoughts.
The prince, not knowing what to answer to this saint, said to him:
Leave it. Mina, your idle talk and choose one of two things: either be ours, and we will stop torturing you, or be Christ’s, and we will kill you.
I was Christ's, and am, and will be Christ's.
The prince said:
If you wish, I will let you go for two or three days so that you can think carefully and give us the last word.
But the saint answered:
Not for two or three days, but for many years I have been confessing the faith of Christ, but I have never even had the thought of renouncing my God, therefore even now it is not appropriate for me to think about this. Don’t expect, prince, to hear anything else from me, but here is my last word: I will not renounce my God, I will not sacrifice to your demons, and I will not bow my knees to soulless idols.
Such a firm answer from the martyr greatly angered the prince, and he ordered that hooks, tridents and various iron nails be scattered on the ground, and the bound holy martyr be dragged along them. But this one, as if dragged along soft flowers, even more strongly condemned the polytheism of the pagans and laughed at the madness of people seduced by demons. And the prince ordered the dragged saint to be beaten with tin rods. And so Saint Mina was tortured for a long time.
At this time, one of the soldiers who was present, named Iliodor, said to the tormentor:
Prince, doesn’t your lordship know that Christians are insane and are not afraid of torment, enduring it as if they were like soulless stones or trees, and consider death a sweet drink. Do not trouble yourself any more, but order this embittered Christian to be put to death as soon as possible.
And the prince immediately pronounced the following sentence on the saint: “We command that the evil warrior Mina, who fell into Christian wickedness and did not want to listen to the royal command and make a sacrifice to the gods, be beheaded with a sword, and let his body be burned in front of all the people.”
The soldiers took the holy martyr Mina and took him outside the city, where they cut off his head, and having lit a large fire, they threw the long-suffering body of the holy martyr into it. Some of the believers, when the fire went out, came to this place and collected the parts of the saint’s relics that remained from the burning, and, wrapping them in a clean shroud, anointed them with aromas. After a little time, they brought these holy remains to their home city of Alexandria, where they buried them in an honest place. Subsequently, a church was built in this place in the name of the holy martyr, and through prayers to the saint, many miracles were performed in it.
After the death of the wicked and God-hating Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian, the pious Constantine the Great ascended the royal throne, during whose reign faith in our Lord Jesus Christ greatly increased. At this time, some Christ-loving people of the city of Alexandria, having found the place where the honest remains of the holy glorious martyr of Christ Mina were laid, built a church on this place in his name.
It happened that a pious merchant from the land of Isauria arrived in Alexandria to purchase goods. Hearing about the many miracles and healings taking place in the church of St. Mina, he said to himself:
I will go and venerate the honorable relics of the holy martyr and give gifts to his church, so that God may have mercy on me through the prayer of His sufferer.
Having thought this, he went to church, taking with him a bag filled with gold. Arriving at the Pomeranian lake and finding a conveyance, he sailed to a place called Losoneta. Having come ashore here, the merchant was looking for somewhere to spend the night, for evening had already come. Therefore, entering a certain house, he said to the owner:
Friend, do me a favor and let me into your house to spend the night, for the sun has set and I am afraid to go further alone, since I have no one to accompany me.
Come in, brother,” the owner of the house answered him, “and spend the night here until the day comes.”
The guest accepted the invitation and, entering the house, went to bed. The owner, seeing a bag of gold on the traveler, was tempted and, at the instigation of an evil spirit, planned to kill his guest in order to take his gold for himself. Rising at midnight, he strangled the merchant, cut his body into pieces, put them in a basket and hid them in the inner room. After the murder, he became very agitated and looked around, looking for a hidden place to bury the murdered man.
When he was thinking about this, the holy martyr Mina appeared to him on horseback, like a warrior riding from the king. Having entered the gates of the murderer's house, the martyr asked him about the murdered guest. The murderer, pleading ignorance, said to the saint:
I don't know what you're saying, sir, I didn't have anyone.
But the saint, getting off his horse, went into the inner room and took the basket, carried it outside and said to the murderer:
What is this?
The murderer was greatly frightened and fell unconscious at the feet of the saint. The saint, having put together the cut members, and having prayed, raised the dead man and said to him:
Give praise to God.
He stood up, as if awakening from sleep, and realizing that he had suffered from the householder, glorified God and bowed with gratitude to the warrior who had appeared. And the saint, taking gold from the murderer, gave it to the resurrected man, saying:
Go your way in peace.
Then turning to the murderer, the saint took him and beat him severely. The killer repented and asked for forgiveness. Then the martyr granted him forgiveness for the murder and, having prayed for him, mounted his horse and became invisible.
There lived a man in Alexandria named Eutropius. This Eutropius promised to donate a silver dish to the church of St. Menas. Therefore, calling upon the goldsmith, he ordered him to make two dishes, and on one to write: the dish of the Holy Great Martyr Menas, and on the other to write: the dish of Eutropius, citizen of Alexandria. Zlatar began to do as Eutropius ordered him, and when both dishes were finished, the dish for Saint Mina turned out much more beautiful and brilliant than the other. Having written the names of Saints Mina and Eutropius on the dishes, the goldsmith gave them to Eutropius.
One day, Eutropius, sailing across the sea on a ship, ate both new dishes at dinner, and seeing that the dish intended as a gift to Saint Mina was much more beautiful than his dish, he did not want to give it as a gift to the saint, but ordered the servant to serve himself dishes on it, and I planned to send the dish with my name as a gift to the Church of St. Mina. At the end of the meal, the servant took a dish with the name of the martyr, and, coming to the edge of the ship, began to wash it in the sea. Suddenly horror attacked him and he saw a man come out of the sea, who took the dish from his hands and became invisible. The slave, greatly struck with fear, rushed after the dish into the sea. Seeing this, his master also became frightened and, weeping bitterly, began to say:
Woe to me, the accursed one, that I wanted to take the dish of Saint Menas for myself: thus I destroyed both the dish and my servant. But You, Lord my God, do not be angry with me to the end and show Your mercy to my servant. Here, I make a promise: if I find the body of my servant, I will order the same dish to be made, and I will bring it as a gift to Your holy saint Mina, or I will give the money the dish costs to the saint’s church.
When the ship landed on the shore, Eutropius got off the ship and began to look along the edge of the sea, thinking of finding the body of his servant thrown out by the sea and giving it burial. While he was looking intently, he saw his slave emerging from the sea with a dish in his hands. Frightened and delighted, he cried out in a loud voice:
God bless! truly great are you, holy martyr Mina!
Hearing his cry, everyone on the ship went ashore, and seeing the slave holding the dish, they were filled with amazement and glorified God. When they began to ask the slave how he, having fallen into the sea, remained alive and how he came out of the water unharmed, he answered:
As soon as I threw myself into the sea, the noble man and the other two took me and walked with me yesterday and today and brought me here.
Eutropius, taking the slave and the dish, went to the church of St. Mina and, having bowed and leaving as a gift the dish promised to the saint, left thanking God and glorifying His holy saint Mina.
One woman, named Sophia, went to worship at the temple of St. Menas. A warrior met her on the road and, seeing that she was walking alone, decided to dishonor her. She strongly resisted, calling on the holy martyr Mina for help. And the saint did not deprive her of his help, but punished the one who wanted to abuse her, but kept her unharmed. When the warrior, having tied a horse to his right leg, wanted to do violence to the woman, the horse flew into a rage and not only prevented his master’s intentions, but also dragged him along the ground, and did not stop or calm down until he had dragged him to Church of St. Mina. Often rustling and raging, he attracted many people to this spectacle, for it was a holiday and there were a lot of people in the church. The warrior, seeing such a gathering of people and seeing that the horse was still in a rage and that he had no one to expect help from, was afraid that he might suffer something more terrible from his horse. Therefore, leaving behind shame, he confessed his wicked intention before all the people, and the horse immediately calmed down and became meek, and the soldier, entering the church and falling before the relics of the saint, prayed, asking forgiveness for his sin.
Near the church of the holy martyr, along with many others, there were a lame and a dumb man, waiting to receive healing. At midnight, when everyone was sleeping, Saint Mina appeared to the lame man and said to him:
Walk silently up to the mute woman and take her leg.
The lame man answered this to the martyr:
God's saint, am I a fornicator that you command me to do this?
But the saint repeated his words to him three times and added:
If you don't do this, you won't receive healing.
The lame man, fulfilling the saint’s command, crawled and grabbed the dumb leg. She, having awakened, began to scream, indignant at the lame man. Sey, frightened, stood up on both legs and quickly ran. Thus, both of them felt their healing - the dumb one spoke, and the lame one quickly ran like a deer; and both healed people gave thanks to God and the holy martyr Mina.
One Jew had a Christian friend. One day, while leaving for a distant country, he gave his friend a box containing a thousand gold pieces for safekeeping. When he slowed down in that country, the Christian decided not to give the gold to the Jew upon his return, but to take it for himself, which he did. The Jew, having returned, came to the Christian and asked to return his gold, which he gave to him for safekeeping. But he refused, saying:
I don't know what you're asking me? You didn't give me anything and I didn't take anything from you.
Hearing this answer from his friend, the Jew became sad and, considering his gold lost, began to say to the Christian:
Brother, no one knows this except God alone, and if you refuse to return the gold given to you for safekeeping, claiming that you did not take it from me, then confirm this with an oath. Let's go to the church of St. Mina and there you swear to me that you did not take the box with a thousand gold pieces from me.
The Christian agreed, and they both went together to the saint’s church, where the Christian swore to the Jew before God that he had not taken gold from him for safekeeping. After taking the oath, they left the church together, and as soon as they mounted their horses, the Christian’s horse began to go berserk, so that it was almost impossible to restrain it; he, breaking his bridle, rose on his hind legs and threw his master to the ground. When the Christian fell from his horse, the ring fell from his hand, and the key fell out of his pocket. The Christian got up, took the horse, pacified it and, mounting it, rode off with the Jew. After driving a little time, the Christian said to the Jew:
Friend, here is a convenient place, let’s get off our horses to eat bread.
Having dismounted their horses, they let them graze and began to eat themselves. After a little time, the Christian looked up and saw his slave standing in front of them and holding the Jew’s box in one hand, and in the other, a ring that had fallen from his hand. Seeing this, the Christian was horrified and asked the slave:
What does it mean?
The slave answered him:
A certain formidable warrior on horseback came to my mistress, and giving her a key with a ring, he said: send the Jew’s box as quickly as possible, so that no great misfortune happens to your husband. And I was given this to take to you, as you ordered.
Seeing this, the Jew was surprised by this miracle and, rejoicing, returned with his friend to the temple of the holy martyr Mina. Having bowed to the ground in the temple, the Jew asked for holy baptism, believing for the sake of this miracle, which he witnessed, and the Christian prayed to Saint Mina to give him forgiveness, since he had violated the divine commandment. Both of them received, at their request, one holy baptism, the other forgiveness of his sin, and each went home, rejoicing and glorifying God and glorifying His holy saint Mina.
Troparion of the Great Martyr Mina
For as an incorporeal interlocutor/ and a passion-bearer of the same occupant,/ having come together in faith, Mino, we praise you,/ ask for worldly peace// and great mercy for our souls.
Kontakion of the Great Martyr Mina
The armies snatched away the timely/ and imperishable manifestation of your Heavenly companion,/ the passion-bearing Mino,/ Christ our God, // Like the martyrs, the imperishable crown.
Monastery of the Great Martyr. Mines
The bus to Agia Marina, which runs along the wide road at the foot of the hill from the Holy Trinity Monastery, will take you to the ruins of a fifth-century BC structure, the Temple of Athea. From there you can walk up the road to a quiet monastery of St. Vmch. Mines. The local church, beautifully painted by the sisters, and the peaceful prayer landscape with the sea nearby are well worth the trip. The Greeks pray to the Holy Great Martyr Mina, in whose honor the monastery received its name, a warrior who served in the imperial army of ancient Egypt, for the return of missing people and things.
Life of the Great Martyr Mina
Great Martyr of the third century St. Mina was of Egyptian origin, but lived almost his entire life in Phrygia (part of what is now Turkey), serving in the Roman army. A devout Christian and an exemplary soldier, he became an officer and served long and honorably, fighting against marauding barbarian tribes on the Asian frontier of the Roman Empire. But eventually it became known that he was a Christian, and Emperor Maximian tortured him for refusing to carry out orders - those related to the persecution of his Christian brothers. He was beheaded, and his relics were subsequently transferred to his native Egypt. After his martyrdom through the intercession of the Great Martyr. Mina many miracles happened. One of the most famous happened these days in the town of El Alamein in Egypt.
Great Martyr Mina
The name El Alamein is derived from the Arabic form of the name of St. Mines. The dilapidated walls of the ancient temple of the Great Martyr have been preserved there. Mines on which frescoes depicting various miracles of the Saint are still visible. There is also an image of the Great Martyr. Mina, leading a caravan with camels, which he saved from death.
Miracle during the Battle of El Alamein - 1942
During World War II, Greece found itself in a difficult situation. Her troops fought bravely and very successfully against the Italian army, but were unable to resist the invasion of the German invaders, and Greece was occupied. The remnants of the Greek army fled. They reached Egypt - the homeland of St. Vmch. Mines, where they formed a Greek battalion as part of the Allied forces and continued to fight for the liberation of their country from the Germans.
Having captured North African lands, Hitler's troops led by Rommel reached El Alamein and camped here for the night. They were preparing to storm Alexandria. The hearts of the inhabitants of Alexandria trembled at the thought that the city would soon fall, and they would inevitably find themselves at the mercy of the invaders. For the Greeks, Rommel's victory in Egypt meant the loss of the remnants of their independent army.
But St. intervened in the course of events. Vmch. Mine. He stood up for the Egyptians, Greeks, Orthodox, Copts and even Muslims who honored his memory, and, thanks to his intercession, they won the Battle of El Alamein in 1942. This victory became one of the most famous events of the entire World War II.
At midnight, a few hours before the start of the battle, a crowd of believers clearly saw how the martyr. Mina emerged from his dilapidated church, leading a caravan of camels - exactly as depicted in the ancient fresco. The enemy sentries did not see him, and he walked unhindered into the very middle of the German camp. The invincible German army was attacked by an unaccountable, outwardly unconditional panic, the reasons for which are still speculated by secular historians, who have never found any reasonable explanation for this event. Gripped by fear and confusion, Rommel's troops fled under the onslaught of the Allied forces. The Allies pursued them and captured many. Out of gratitude and reverence for the miracle, the allies gave this piece of land to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. A new church was built here and a monastery was founded in honor of St. Great Martyr Mina.
Monastery of Chryssaleondis.
If you pass a small village at the foot of the monastery of St. Nektarios and follow the road around the mountain, in an hour and a half you will find yourself at the walls of the secluded ancient women’s monastery “Chryssaleondis”. She comfortably hid in a hollow among the Aegina hills, immersed in the greenery of pine trees and olives. This is one of the quietest Greek monasteries. There used to be a monastery here, but several decades ago it was transferred to nuns.
The icon of the Mother of God “Chryssaleondis”, painted eight hundred years ago, is kept here. Glowing with deep purple and gold, the icon of the “Golden Queen” has been revered by the inhabitants of Aegina for centuries as miraculous. The saint often came here to pray. Nectarius of Aegina.
/p>Saint Mina belongs to the rank of the so-called holy warriors, along with Saints George the Victorious, Demetrius of Thessalonica, Artemios, Theodore Tiron, and Theodore Stratelates. This is one of the most revered and beloved saints in Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, where many temples and monasteries are dedicated to him, where believers often call upon him in their prayers and receive immediate help.
Saint Menas was born around 250 into a pagan family in Egypt. As a young man, he served in the Roman army in the Asia Minor region of Phrygia near the modern settlement of Kiutahia under the control of the thousand commander Firmilian. In 296, by order of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian (284-305), who initiated fierce persecution, Firmilian had to transfer his army to Ververia in North Africa to persecute local Christians. Mina, having learned about the purpose of the campaign, hated military service. He left his military rank and went to the mountains, where he spent time in contemplation of God, fasting and prayer. So many years passed, his heart grew stronger in faith.
Once, in the main city of the Cotuan region, a holiday was held in honor of the pagan gods, for which, according to custom, many people gathered. By this day, blessed Mina descended into the city. He entered the place where the horse lists were held, climbed to the dais and before everyone confessed the true God and denounced the worship of soulless idols, for which he was thrown into prison, and during interrogation he answered: “I am called Mina and come from Egypt. I was once a warrior. But, seeing the torture that you pagans inflict on Christians, I left my military dignity and secretly lived as a Christian on the mountain. Now I have come to confess before everyone that my Christ is the true God, so that He too will confess me in His Kingdom.”
After refusing to return to the pagan faith, Mina was subjected to terrible torture: four warriors stretched the saint’s body and beat him without mercy with ox sinews, then hung him on a tree and whittled him with iron claws, after which they scorched him with burning candles. With the words: “I was and am and will be with Christ” on his lips, Mina was beheaded with a sword by one of the soldiers of the local ruler Pyrrhus, and his long-suffering body was thrown onto the fire. This happened in 296. When the flames went out, the secret Christians, having collected the parts of the relics remaining from the burning, wrapped them in a clean shroud and anointed them with aromas, transferred them to the city of Alexandria, where they laid them in a temple that later received the name of St. Menas.
Tradition conveys the last prayer of the saint as follows: “Lord my God, I thank You for making me worthy to become a partaker of Your passion. Now I pray to You, accept my soul and make me worthy of Your heavenly kingdom. And give me the grace to help in Your name all those who call on me.” The Lord gave his faithful son the grace of miracles. The Alexandrian Archbishop Timothy recorded only a few of them.Many miracles of Saint Menas are known both in Greece and Cyprus. So in 1826, during the terrible times of the Greek Revolution, the Turkish inhabitants of Heraklion on Crete attempted to kill Christians. And then one day they decided to quench their thirst for blood on Easter Day, when the Christians of the city were gathered for a service in the Cathedral of the Holy Great Martyr Mina. Easter then fell on April 18th. To confuse the authorities, the conspirators set fires at various points in the city away from the cathedral. And when the Easter liturgy had already begun and the Holy Gospel was being read, angry crowds of Turks surrounded the temple, ready to immediately begin to implement their disgusting plan.
But suddenly a horseman with a drawn sword appeared between them. He rode his horse around the temple and drove the Turks away. There was a commotion in the pitch darkness. The bloodthirsty barbarians fled in fear. The horseman was mistaken for the first of the procrites and it was decided that he had been sent by the ruler to pacify the rebellion. As it turned out later, the first procritus did not leave home at all on Easter night. It was clear to everyone that this was a miraculous intervention of the city’s heavenly patron. Thus Saint Mina put to shame the evil barbarian intention and saved the inhabitants of Heraklion. The Turks passed on the news of the miracle from mouth to mouth and were filled with fear and reverence for the saint. Some Muslims who were near the temple of St. Mina that Easter night began to annually bring gifts to the temple of St. Mina on the day of his memory.
In Cyprus, Saint Mina is one of the most beloved saints among the people; he is called upon to help with many everyday needs. In former times, when malaria epidemics were not uncommon in Cyprus, Saint Mina was considered the only healer of malaria patients. In Cyprus they believe that Saint Mina can heal any disease, so he is especially revered. Many churches are dedicated to him in different parts of the island - in Lapitho, Geri, Drimo, Neo Chorio, Polemi, Pendalya, Strubi; There is a convent where part of the relics of St. Menas, brought from Alexandria, is kept.
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The monastery continued to function after the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottoman Empire in 1571. In the 18th century, the monastery was small, had its own farm and livestock - bulls, cows and goats, as stated in Code A, dating back to 1727, of the Metropolis of Kitia. On November 11, 1734, the Russian pilgrim-monk Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky (1701-1747) visited the monastery on the day of its patronal feast day. In his diary he wrote: “I began my pilgrimage to Cyprus in October 1734. On November 11, the day of remembrance of the holy martyr Mina, I went to worship in one of the monasteries dedicated to this saint, where there is an annual celebration, and many gather from nearby towns and villages, and the sick are healed of many diseases thanks to the miraculous icon of the saint. This monastery is poor and small, with only a few monks. It is located in high mountains in an open and pleasant valley; the monastery is surrounded by a large number of forest trees. The monastery consists of a quadrangular wall and has small cells. There is no running water, but there are springs. The monks subsist partly by alms, but mainly by their labor - ploughing, sowing, and viticulture.”
The monastery's temple, a one-nave basilica, was erected on old foundations in 1754 on the initiative and at the expense of Abbot Parthenius and Metropolitan Macarius the First of Kita (1737-1776). A high-ranking official of the Ottoman Empire, a secret Christian, made a large donation for the construction of the temple. After his death, the monks buried him in the monastery courtyard, and the Turkish authorities were told that they buried him in a place called "Turk's Tomb" not far from the monastery. The monastery continued to operate until the early decades of the 19th century, with eight monks still remaining there in 1825. Then the monastery fell into disrepair and was abandoned. The Kiti metropolis rented out the monastery buildings to local residents, as a result of which they eventually fell into a pitiful state.
Monastic life on the island resumed at the beginning of the 20th century. Then the Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ in Kaimakli in the 1910s and St. Anthony in Deryne in the 1930s were created. A few years later, in 1949, the convent was revived in the monastery of St. George Alamanu, which was empty at that time. By 1960, the number of its nuns had increased to 60 people.On March 29, 1965, a group of eight sisters of this monastery was sent to restore the abandoned monastery of St. Mina. They had to work hard: the temple was repaired, the chapels of St. Stylian (consecrated in October 1974) and Saints Ignatius and George (consecrated in September 1993) were erected, new cells, workshops, a library were built, the territory was landscaped, flower beds were planted and fruit trees were planted. and vegetable crops. Since 1977, the monastery has been managed by Abbess Cassian. The sisters' confessor since 1969, theologian and church writer Archimandrite Leonty Hadzhikostas, regularly serves in the monastery church.
To celebrate the memory of Saint Mina on November 11 (24), pilgrims from all over Cyprus flock to the monastery. They venerate the relics of the great martyr and the icon on which Saint Mina is depicted with Christ on his chest, because not once in his life did he change his faith in Christ and the words: “I was with Christ, am and will be.”
