Memorial Day of the Holy Martyrs Cyrus and John

On February 13, the Holy Orthodox Church honors the memory of the unmercenary martyrs Cyrus and John and with them the martyr Athanasia and her daughters Theodotia, Theoktista and Eudoxia The holy martyrs, who suffered for the Christian faith, accomplished their feat in the 3rd century, when believers lived next to the pagans Every Christian tried through speeches and sermons to spread the Holy Scriptures and the good news of the coming of the Savior So was the healer Cyrus from Alexandria He treated bodies according to the commandments of Hippocrates and healed souls, converting yesterday's pagans to the faith of Christ With the coming to power of Emperor Diocletian, persecution of Christians began, and Cyrus was forced to leave Alexandria and go to Arabia Upon arrival, he becomes a monk, having acquired the gift of healing through the power of prayer The rumor about the miracle-working monk spread throughout Jerusalem, and the Christian John from Edessa heard about Cyrus In the past, John was a noble father of a family and had the reputation of a brave military man But seeing how his brothers in faith suffer from the persecution of the wicked emperor, John leaves earthly honors and leaves for the holy city of Jerusalem After meeting with Cyrus, John remains to live next to the monk, adopting the rules of his life and helping in all the deeds of the miracle worker One day, a rumor spread among Christians that the virtuous woman Athanasia and her three young daughters had been taken into custody Cyrus, fearing for the steadfastness of the faith of the girls and their mother, decides to strengthen the spirit of the captives with his own presence and the words of Scripture Cyrus, together with John, arrives in the city of Kanop, where Athanasius and her daughters await their fate, imprisoned With inspired speeches, the saints strengthen a woman’s faith and ignite love for Jesus Christ in the hearts of young girls But the arrival of the holy men did not go unnoticed; they were taken into custody and taken to the city authorities The ruler of Kanopus, either with flattering speeches or threats, tried to force the travelers to bow to pagan idols, but Cyrus and John remained firm The angry ruler ordered Athanasia and her daughters to be brought in, and before their eyes he began to torture the holy men Cyrus and John endured the torment humbly and steadfastly, instilling in the captive women an example to follow When it was the turn of Afanasia and the girls to accept torture, their spirits and hearts were strengthened in the Christian faith The women perceived the torment as if they were outside their bodies, and went to execution with smiles on their lips and thoughts of the heavenly bridegroom awaiting them after death After the execution of the Christian martyrs, the cruel ruler of the city once again tried to influence Cyrus and John, but having met their courageous resistance, he ordered both of them to be beheaded The Christians of Kanopa secretly buried the bodies of the martyrs and preserved the memory of their feat The miraculous relics were found during the reign of the pious Emperor Theodosius the Younger, and many years later the relics were transported to Rome, and later to Munich