Saint Mercurius

Family in the act of tyrannicide, Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut, United States Some accounts state that Philopater was born in Eskentos in Cappadocia. However, others refer to Rome as his place of birth. Mercurius was the son of Yares, an officer in the Roman army. One day, while Yares was hunting in the forest with his father, the two were attacked by an animal. The animal jumped on Yares' father, causing Yares to faint. While Yares was unconscious, he had a vision with a brilliant light and a voice saying:Yares, I am your God who loves you. I know that you have a good heart and that you hate the pagan idols. I want to inform you that your son, Philopatyr, will become like a tree bearing good fruits, and because of him, I will bless you and your wife. Philopatyr will be my witness and will defy all prejudice in my name. Yares, his wife, and his son were baptized shortly after. All three were given new names. Yares became Noah, his wife became Saphina, and Mercurius became Philopater. News of their baptism spread quickly in the city and the prince ordered them to be arrested and thrown to wild animals. However, the animals did not harm them and the prince decided to release Noah and his family. When barbarians attacked Rome, Decius went out to fight them but became afraid when he saw how many there were. Mercurius then came to him and said, "Do not be afraid, because God will kill our enemies and will bring us victory." After several days of fighting, the Archangel Michael appeared to Mercurius holding a shining sword. Mercurius took the sword from the archangel, hence the name Abu Sayfain —- "the father of two swords": a military sword and a divine sword. Mercurius declared himself a Christian, saying, "I do not worship anyone except my Lord and my God, Jesus Christ." The emperor tried to persuade him to give up his faith but failed. He then ordered Mercurius to be stripped of his rank and tortured. Fearing a revolt because the people loved Mercurius, the emperor had him bound in iron fetters and sent him to Caesarea. Mercurius was beheaded on 4 December 250 AD. He was only 25 years old. ==Other traditions==

and Saint Eustratius, with Mercurius and Thomas the Apostle in the roundels (from the Harbaville Triptych) After the end of the first persecution, the place of Mercurius's burial was revealed. Mercurius appeared to a poor man in the city and told him that he was "Mercurius, the Martyr of the Lord" and that "my body is buried in Cappadocia Gardens, under the old house on the way to the royal palace. My body looks as white as snow, because Jesus was present at the time of my martyrdom." The next morning, the man went to dig under the old house. He began to smell the scent of perfume, seeing the body of Mercurius. The news spread quickly and many people came to take a look at the blessed body. They moved it temporarily to the local church until they built a new church bearing his name where Mercurius' body was buried with respect and devotion. depicting St. Mercurius Abu-Sifin, Hosios Loukas Monastery, Boeotia, Greece A few years later, the Catholicos of Armenia and the Chief bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, visited Egypt and met with the Patriarch of Alexandria, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The latter asked him if Egypt could have part of the relics of Saint Mercurius to be placed in the church that bears his name in Egypt. On 9 Paoni (16 June), part of the blessed relics of Saint Mercurius were transferred to Egypt. According to one tradition, Basil once prayed before an icon on which Mercurius was portrayed as a soldier carrying a spear. He asked God not to permit the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) to return from his war against the Persians and resume his oppression of Christians. The image of the holy Great Martyr Mercurius depicted on the icon became invisible, only to reappear later with a bloodied spear. Julian the Apostate, on his Persian campaign, was mortally wounded by the spear of an unknown Saracen soldier. According to local folklore, after Tamav Irini prayed for Abu Sefein's intercession, he appeared, in one way or another, to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian locals claim him to have become a crypto-christian to this day. == See also ==