Saint Mercurius

Saint Mercurius
Mosaic of Saint Mercurius inside theHosios LoukasMonastery, Greece.
Great martyr
Born	224/225 Eskentos,Cappadocia (Roman province)orRome (modern-dayTurkeyorItaly)
Died	December 4, 250 (aged 25–26)
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches
Canonized	pre-congregation
Feast	25 November inCatholic Church 25 November inEastern Church 25Hathor(4-5 December) / 9Paoni(16-17 June) / 25Epip(1-2 August) inCoptic Church
Attributes	Paramerionswords

Mercurius(Greek:Ἅγιος Μερκούριος,Coptic:Ⲫⲓⲗⲟⲡⲁⲧⲏⲣ Ⲙⲉⲣⲕⲟⲩⲣⲓⲟⲥ;Syriac:ܡܳܪܩܘ̇ܪܝܘ̇ܣ;224/225 – 250 AD) was a Roman soldier ofScythiandescent who became aChristiansaint andmartyr.He was born in the city ofEskentosinCappadocia,in EasternAsia Minor(modern-dayTurkey). According toChristian tradition,he was the soldier who killedJulian the apostateduring hiscampaign in Persia.Saint Mercurius was also widely known by hisArabic-language nameAbu-Sayfain,Abu-SifinorAbu-SefeininEgyptian Arabic(Arabic:أبو سيفين,romanized:Abū Seyfaīn;Coptic:ⲁⲃⲩⲥⲉⲫⲁⲓⲛ,romanized:Abû-Sefaīn) which means "father of two swords", referring to the second sword given to him by theArchangel Michael.

St. Mercurius was born around 225 A.D. in Cappadocia (Eastern Asia Minor) into a family ofScythiandescent.His parents were converts to Christianity and they called him "Philopateer" or "Philopatyr" (aGreekname which means 'Lover of the Father'). They raised him in a Christian manner. When he grew to adulthood (at the age of 17), he enlisted in the Roman army in the reign ofEmperor Decius.He gained a great reputation among his superiors as a swordsman and a tactician in many battles.

Traditional biography

Family

Frescoof Christ appearing to Saints Mercurius andCatherine of Alexandriain the act oftyrannicide,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 theRoman 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 becameNoah,his wife becameSaphina,and Mercurius becamePhilopater.News of theirbaptismspread 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 the Barbarians attacked, Noah went to fight them. He was taken prisoner and was brought to their territory, where he was kept for seventeen months. When the war finally ended, he went back to his city and joined his family, but died shortly after.

AByzantine Greek frescoof St. Mercurius, dated 1295, fromOhrid,North Macedonia

Military career of Saint Mercurius

After the death of Mercurius' father Noah, thepaganRoman EmperorDecius(ruled 249–251) chose him to replace his father. Described as very strong and courageous, Mercurius earned the respect of his fellow soldiers and gained renown as a swordsman.When the 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, theArchangel Michaelappeared to Mercurius holding a shining sword. The saint took the sword from the archangel, hence the nameAbu Sayfain- "the father of two swords": amilitarysword and adivinesword.He conquered the Barbarians. When Decius heard news of the triumphant victory, he named Mercurius as a prince.

Martyrdom of Saint Mercurius

Coptic Icon of St Mercurius byYuhanna al-ArmaniinThe Hanging Church,Cairo.

Nonetheless, in 249, Decius began his persecution of Christians, compelling everyone to offer sacrifices to his pagan gods. The Archangel Michael appeared to Mercurius and told him to remember God and not be fearful of persecution. The saint was encouraged and spent the whole night praying fervently, confessing his weakness to God.

The Emperor sent messengers to summon Mercurius to the palace, saying: "Dear Mercurius, let us go offer incense to the gods who helped us attain victory in the war." As they were leaving, Mercurius slipped through the crowd and went away. However, one of the guards reported his absence, and the Emperor called Mercurius and asked him: "Is it true that you refused to worship the idols who helped us during the war?"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 toCaesarea.Mercurius was beheaded on 4 December 250 AD.He was only 25 years old.

Other traditions

St. Arethaswith Saint Eustratius. In the roundels, Mercurius andThomas the Apostle(from theHarbaville Triptych).

After the end of the first persecution, the place of the saint'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". "My body is buried inCappadocia 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 mymartyrdom",said the saint.

The next morning, the man went to dig under the old house. He began to smell the scent of perfume, seeing the body of the saint. 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.

Mosaicdepicting St. Mercurius Abu-Sifin,Hosios Loukas Monastery,Boeotia,Greece

A few years later, theCatholicos of Armeniaand the Chiefbishopof theArmenian Apostolic Church,visited Egypt and met with thePatriarch of Alexandria,the leader of theCoptic 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. On9 Paoni(16 June), part of the blessed relics of Saint Mercurius were transferred to Egypt.

According to one tradition,Saint Basilonce prayed before an icon on which Mercurius was portrayed as a soldier carrying a spear. He asked God not to permit the emperorJulian the Apostate(361-363) to return from his war against the Persians and resume his oppression of Christians. The image of the holyGreat MartyrMercurius 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.

Frescodepicting St. Mercurius Abu-Sifin (center),Sase Monastery,Bratunac,Bosnia

The nuns and their abbess,Tenmav Iriniat the Abu Sefein Monastery in Cairo credit the saint's intercession for the reversal of a government decision to confiscate their property for the Defense Ministry.

According to localfolklore,after Tamav Irini prayed for Abu Sefein's intercession, he appeared, in one way or another, toEgyptian presidentHosni Mubarak.Egyptian locals claim him to have become acrypto-christianto this day.

See also

• Acts of Andrew and Bartholomew
• Saint Mercurius slaying Julian the Apostate (St. George church, Struga)- icon

External links

• Coptic account
• Coptic Synexarium
• tamavireneforallAll about St Mercurius in the words of Tamav Irene the Abbess of the convent of St Mercurius, Old Cairo, Egypt.
• Catholic Online: Saint Mercurius
• Santiebeati: Saint Mercurius