He boldly entered the town and proclaimed the truth of Christianity, denouncing the false gods and idols worshipped by the pagans. This courageous act led to his arrest and imprisonment by the authorities.
Despite facing cruel tortures and temptations to renounce his faith, Saint Menas remained steadfast and loyal to Christ. His unwavering devotion eventually led to his martyrdom, as he was beheaded outside the city.
Saint Menas’ relics were hidden by his friends and later brought to Egypt, where they were enshrined in a church dedicated to him. He is revered as a powerful intercessor and miracle-worker, known for healing the sick, delivering the possessed, and protecting those in times of war.
We pray to Saint Menas for his help in finding lost objects and for his intercession in times of need. May we be inspired by his courage and faithfulness to stand firm in our beliefs, even in the face of persecution. Amen.
He descended into the town and openly declared his faith in Christ the Living God. He denounced idolatry and paganism as falsehood and darkness. Pyrrhus, eparch of that town, asked Menas who he was and where he was from.
The saint replied: “My fatherland is Egypt, my name is Menas. I was an officer, but witnessing the worship of idols, I renounced your honors. I now come before you all to proclaim my Christ as the true God, that He may proclaim me as His servant in the Heavenly Kingdom.” Hearing this, Pyrrhus subjected St. Menas to severe tortures. They flogged him, scraped him with iron claws, burned him with torches, and tortured him by various other means, and finally beheaded him with the sword. They threw his body into a fire so that Christians would not be able to retrieve it, but Christians recovered several parts of his body from the fire nevertheless.
They reverently buried those remains, which were later transferred to Alexandria and buried there, where a church was built over them. St. Menas suffered in about the year 304 A.D. and went to the Kingdom of Christ. He was and remains a great miracle-worker, both on earth and in heaven. Whoever glorifies St. Menas and invokes his help with faith, receives his help. The saint has often appeared as a warrior on horseback, arriving to help the faithful or punish the unfaithful.