A saint's day
St Menas the Great Martyr
St Menas, an Egyptian by birth, was a brave and admired officer of the Roman army in Phrygia. When the persecution began he left his rank to live in fasting and prayer in the mountains, then came down in the midst of a pagan festival, openly proclaimed himself a Christian and was beheaded about 304. His relics were taken to Egypt, where his great shrine drew pilgrims from across the Christian world.
The dates
- Kept on
- 11 November (24 November on the Old Calendar)
- Next, New Calendar
- Next, Old Calendar
The New Calendar (the Greek, Antiochian, Romanian and Bulgarian churches, the OCA and most converts) keeps fixed feasts on the church date; the Old Calendar (the Russian, Serbian and Georgian churches, Jerusalem and Mount Athos) keeps them 13 days later. Pascha and the feasts that follow it are kept on the same day by both.
How the day is kept
Greek and Romanian Orthodox Christians call on him to find lost things and to recover what was stolen, and Romanians also pray to him to regain lost faith.
He is the patron of Heraklion on Crete, where his feast is a local holiday, and a great saint of the Coptic Church as well; in Russia he is less prominent.
Name days
These names keep their name day on this feast: