When Menas was serving in Cotyaeus in Phrygia (in the western part of modern central Turkey), he heard about the persecution of Christians by the Emperors Diocletian and Maxentius. Menas was given a decent rank in the army, as his father had been a reputable administrator in Egypt, and served under a centurion by the name of Firmilian. In the following year, he joined the army. When Menas was 14 years old, his father died. Pilgrim flask representing St Menas with two camels. Legend says that a sound came to her ears, saying ‘Amen’, hence Aufimia’s decision to name her son Menas. Mary, Aufimia prayed in front of the Icon of the Virgin, in the hopes that God would grant her a child. The couple was childless for some time, though they desired children. The saint’s parents are reputed to have been devout Christians. Mena’s father was Audexious, whilst his mother was Aufimia. Saint Menas is believed to have been born in 285 AD in the city of Niceous, near Memphis, Egypt. In addition, a shrine to the saint at Abu Mina was established in ancient times, and grew into a major Christian pilgrimage site. These artifacts have been found in various parts of the Roman world. This claim finds correspondence in the archaeological record in the form of small clay bottles on which the name and image of the saint is engraved. Menas was one of the most well-known Egyptian saint both in the East and the West during ancient times due to the miracles he performed. Saint Menas (spelled variously as Minas, Mina, Mena and Mennas) is an Egyptian saint and martyr, and has the epithets of the Wonder-worker and the Martyr.
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