Saint Mina
Sunday, November 19, 2006
St. Mina
The Miracle Performer
(15 Hatour / 24 November)
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mat 16:26)
Our Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the martyrdom of this great Saint on the 15th of the blessed Coptic month of Hatour.
St. Mina was born in the year 285 AD, in the city of Nakiyos, which follows the province of Mynph. His parents were saintly Christians. His father was called Audoxius and his mother Aufemia.
On the feast of St. Mary, Aufemia, who did not have any children, prayed with tears in front of the Virgin’s Icon. She asked God to grant her a blessed son. A sound came to her ears saying “Amen”. When she returned to her home and told her husband about what happened, he replied, “May God’s will be done”.
The Lord gave them a son and they called him Mina, which means Amen.
St. Mina’s father was a ruler of one of the provinces of Egypt. He died when St. Mina was fourteen years old. At the age of fifteen, he joined the army and was given a high rank because of father’s reputation. The young officer Mina was appointed in Algeria. Three years later, he left the army longing to devote his whole life for the Lord Jesus Christ. He headed towards the desert to live like a hermit.
After five years in the desert, St. Mina saw the Angels crowning the martyrs with glamorous crowns. He longed to join them. While he was thinking about it he heard a voice saying “Blessed be you Aba Mina, for you have been called for the pious life since your childhood. You shall receive three immortal crowns: one for your purity, the second for your hermitical life and the third for your martyrdom.”
St. Mina left the desert immediately. He was very eager to be carried away to heaven. In a rare courage, he hurried to the ruler declared his Christian faith. Since then, he went through endless sufferings and horrifying methods of torture. He was flogged till his flesh was torn off then they rubbed his wounds with rough material. He was eventually sent to another ruler to deal with him. They decided to cut him to pieces by using a saw, but the steel melted.
When all their efforts failed, the Saint was beheaded while on his knees praying, with his hands lifted up towards heaven. It was 309 AD. St. Mina’s endurance and faith attracted many of the pagans, not only to Christianity but also to martyrdom.
St. Mina is considered the most well known Saint in the east and the west, due to the many miracles that are performed through his prayers for us. That is evident from the numerous little bottles that have his picture and name engraved on them, these were found by archaeologists in many countries around the world. Visitors from these countries would buy the bottles, which usually contain either oil or water for blessing and take it back to their relatives.
May the blessings of this great Saint be with us. Amen
Glory be to our God, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forever. Amen.
