Unmercenary Healers & Martyrs
Saints Cyrus and John
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Physicians and martyrs whose translated relics made Menouthis a renowned place of Christian healing.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Translation of the relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John, Orthodox Church in America — Holy Unmercenaries and Martyrs Cyrus and John, The Prologue from Ohrid — June 28. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
Unmercenary Healers and Martyrs
Saint Cyrus was a physician of Alexandria who healed without payment and proclaimed Christ as the true physician of souls and bodies. Saint John, a soldier from Edessa, joined him in faith and service.
They encouraged the Christian woman Athanasia and her daughters Theoctiste, Theodota and Eudoxia during persecution. Cyrus and John were tortured and beheaded after the women, completing their common confession of Christ.
Translation of the Holy Relics
In the fifth century Saint Cyril of Alexandria translated their relics to Menouthis near Canopus, where pagan practices had continued. A church was established there, and the shrine became renowned for healings.
Collections of miracles connected with Saints Cyrus and John preserve the memory of people seeking help through prayer and anointing. The saints are honored as unmercenary physicians because healing is God's gift and was never treated as merchandise.
Feast Days
January 31 — Martyrdom of Saints Cyrus and John. June 28 — Translation of their holy relics.
Historical Record and Ecclesiastical Tradition
Cyrus the physician and John the soldier are distinct persons whose common martyrdom under Diocletian and later translation to Menouthis form the received Orthodox account. Saint Cyril of Alexandria provides especially important evidence for their shrine and healing cult; individual cures are attributed to the ecclesiastical sources and never offered as substitutes for medical care.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — Translation of the relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and JohnOrthodox Church in America — Holy Unmercenaries and Martyrs Cyrus and JohnThe Prologue from Ohrid — June 28