Saints Cyrus and John

Life story

By tradition Cyrus was a physician of Alexandria and John a high-ranking army officer; one source says John came from Edessa, while another makes both Alexandrians. Because they healed without payment they are called anargyroi, meaning without silver. In the persecution under Diocletian, tradition says Cyrus fled to the Arabian region of Egypt and lived as a monk, and John later joined him.

Tradition tells that three young women and their mother were arrested at Canopus and brought to Alexandria. Cyrus and John went to encourage them, were arrested in turn, and were beheaded. Their feast is 31 January in the Coptic, Greek and Roman Martyrology calendars.

Their names seem to have been little known until 414. Their bodies were first kept in the church of Saint Mark in Alexandria, and according to one source, on 28 June 414 Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria moved them to Menouthis near Canopus, where a pagan temple was known for healing. His aim was to replace that cult with devotion to the two saints.

The main source for their life and miracles is a eulogy by Sophronius, later Patriarch of Jerusalem, who died in 638. A separate tradition says relics were taken to Rome, but the date is uncertain, perhaps the fifth century or 634.

Works and witness

• Cyrus practised medicine and John served as an officer; both healed without fee (tradition)
• Beheaded at Alexandria on 31 January during persecution
• Relics moved to Menouthis in 414 by Cyril of Alexandria, according to one source
• Sophronius recorded their miracles in a 7th-century eulogy

Saints from the same country

Saint Anthony of Egypt, Saint Athanasius, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Saint Catherine of Alexandria

References

• Catholic Encyclopedia (via catholic.org): 'Sts. Cyrus and John' (catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=3608)
• Wikipedia, 'Menouthis' (shrine at Menouthis: cross-check)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.