Miracles of the Holy Martyrs Cyrus and John

This collection is a translation into Russian of part of the “Miracles of the Holy Martyrs Cyrus and John,” compiled by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem at the beginning of the 7th century during his stay in Alexandria. The text, discovered and prepared for publication by Bishop Sergius (Mogilev), includes the most reliable evidence of miracles performed by the martyrs Cyrus and John, mostly on the author’s contemporaries. St. Sophrony personally heard about many healings from the healed themselves, witnesses, or was an eyewitness to these events, including his own healing from an eye disease. The collection contains descriptions of 17 miracles illustrating the power of faith, God's mercy and the intercession of the holy martyrs. Particular attention is paid to cases of healing from serious illnesses such as cancer, paralysis, eye diseases and other ailments, as well as deliverance from heresy and conversion to Orthodoxy. *The title of the work in Latin is Narratio miraculorum sanctorum Cyri et Iohannis. This article was received by the Editors from Doctor of Divinity, Rev. Sergius, Bishop of Mogilev (author of the work: Complete Monthlies of the East, two books 1875), with the following letter to the editor: “Among the notebooks I took from Moscow, where I did quite a bit of Hagiology, I found one, the contents of which, in my opinion, can be published: these are some of the miracles of Cyrus and John, St. miracle workers without money, described by Sophronius, later Patriarch of Jerusalem. As far as I know, they have not yet been published in Russian publications in Russian. They fit very well with the character of Soulful Reading.” These wondrous sufferers were awarded the crown of martyrdom in the Egyptian city of Canopus, which is now Abukir 1, in 311 on January 31. 100 years after their death, their holy relics were transferred with great triumph from the church of the Evangelist Mark to the village of Manuphin, located near Canopus on the seashore, 2, under St. Kirill, Archbishop of Alexandria. This was in 412 on June 28th. In this village there was a pagan temple and this place was very cold from evil spirits. St. Cyril prayed to God to expel evil spirits from there; An angel of the Lord appeared to him and ordered the relics of the free doctors Cyrus and John to be transferred there and placed in the church of St. Evangelists, who was created here by Patriarch Theophilus. As soon as St. the relics of the martyrs, insurance and harm from demons disappeared, but on the contrary, healings from the passion-bearers began to flow. This filled the hearts of the Christians of the Alexandrian Church with joy, which began to solemnly celebrate the day of the transfer of St. their relics. Soon it became a holiday for the entire Orthodox Church, especially since many miracles of the martyrs in subsequent centuries spoke strikingly of their great intercession before God. At the beginning of the seventh century, Sophronius, a sophist by training, under the Alexandrian Patriarch John the Merciful (609–620) arrived in Alexandria with the monk John Moschus, writer of the Spiritual Meadow, and took monastic vows here. John Moschus was the spiritual father and teacher of Sophronius. They helped St. a lot. John the Merciful in the fight against heretics. This Sophronius, later the holy Patriarch of Jerusalem, while in Egypt, compiled a description of the miracles of Cyrus and John. He described seventy miracles 3 performed by martyrs, mostly on people contemporary to the writer. We present here only those miracles in the description of which there is clear evidence that they took place either under Sophronius, or shortly before him, and about which he heard from the healed themselves, or from those who saw the healing, or which he himself saw with his own eyes; one of them happened to himself 4. “Evlogius, the all-praised primate of Alexandria, entrusted the management of the property of the saints (Cyrus and John) to Christopher, the former rector of the Church of John the Baptist; and blessed Theodore, who took the throne after Eulogius 5, also commanded him to be with the same flock; after them, John, primarily a lover of the poor (that is, merciful), who assumed power and had hitherto tended their sheep, also appointed him to rule the church of saints. Under him, these miracles performed by the martyrs are written and passed on to descendants for the glorification of those who performed them and for the exaltation of the Christian faith,” writes Sophrony. This Christopher sailed across Lake Mareota to Mareota to inspect the possessions of the martyrs there. It was winter; such a terrible storm arose that Christopher despaired of salvation and already considered himself prey for fish or crocodiles; but here he turns with prayer to St. martyrs and they appear to him: one tames the winds, the other commands the waves to subside, and they deliver him from death. But this terrible storm plunged Christopher into a serious illness, which developed in such a way that the best doctors announced that he would no longer see the sun the next morning. Hearing this sentence, he turned with prayer to Cyrus and John, called with them Theodore Stratilates, whom he especially revered, and now he appears to him in a dream, holding a banner with a cross in his hand. “Do you know, Christopher,” he says, “why did I come?” He replied that he did not know. Then he said: “I came here to ask Abbot Cyrus for you.” When the martyr Theodore was saying this, Cyrus and his brother John suddenly appeared and, approaching the bed, began to examine the person lying on it, touching the wounds with their hands and, as if using saltpeter, calming the heat of the tumors, and, having done this, all three left. It was all a dream. Morning came, and now in reality, instead of hard tumors, fish scales were seen on the body and, being cleaned off, fell to the ground. On the fifth day, the martyrs appear and command the person saved from death to wash himself and, having thoroughly boiled the pissaria (a type of bean), smear his entire body with it, and wipe off every stain and all remnants of tumors. When this was done, Christopher left the bathhouse completely clean, so that no traces of illness were visible. Khristoforov's wife, Theodora, while living in the city, suffered from a serious eye disease; the disease was not inferior to the efforts of famous doctors. At this time St. Patriarch Eulogius, as stated above, transfers her husband to the church of the martyrs Cyrus and John. His wife began to persuade him to give up this place and did not want to follow him, inventing various excuses, especially pointing to her illness. Women are cunning to persuade their husbands to do what they want! But the saints, deigning to have Christopher transferred to them, appeared to his wife in a dream and arranged for her to follow her husband to their venerable church. Appearing to her, they said: “Why do you prevent your husband from serving us, as decided?” She asked: “Who are you, martyrs of Christ?” Cyrus said: “I am Cyrus, and this is John, my companion.” The wife answered: “due only to eye disease; there I will have no help from doctors.” Hearing this, the martyrs showed her the sacred church and many sick people lying in it and told what kind of illness each one had, and said: “Can’t we cure your eyes with all of them?” And this was proven by deeds. As soon as she went out and saw their honest church, the illness immediately left her and she no longer felt any pain in her eyes. Quite some time after that, Theodora washed herself in the bath of saints. Walking from the steam to the cold water, she fell on her back and injured her arm and elbow, so that a lot of blood flowed out of the wound. Less than three days had passed before the martyrs appeared and healed her, so that no trace of the wound remained. Appearing to her in a dream, they ordered her to wash her hand with Mareotian wine and apply the meat of the lavrax fish (a voracious sea fish) to the wound and go to the bathhouse. Having fulfilled their orders, Theodora suddenly recovered. Christopher had a daughter, Maru, who died recently; She reached marriageable age, but died as a girl. In infancy, when her teeth began to emerge, she endured great pain; When the teeth erupted, the pain subsided, but purulent matter with worms flowed from the ears. Her mother decided to go with her to Alexandria to consult with doctors. On the night before her planned journey, she sees a doctor’s house in the desert and a monk sitting in it. It was St. who appeared to her. Cyrus; he was a monk and appeared in a monastic form; in front of him stood a stack or cabinet, such as doctors usually have. Sitting on a chair, the saint said to her: “Why did you come, woman?” She answered: “I’m looking for a doctor and thought that this was his house, but I don’t see any medicine in it or in the cabinet.” He said: “look carefully and what you find, put it in the sick person’s ears, and your daughter will be cured.” She, looking around the house, saw a small window and a glass of honey on it. Getting out of bed from sleep, she poured a little honey into the child’s ears and pulled out a bag of worms, four fingers long and correspondingly wide. After that, the daughter was completely freed from the disease. At the Church of St. Martyrs was Deacon John. His young daughter Maria was playing at the window where her mother was sitting and unwinding woolen threads from a spindle; then, out of oblivion, as often happens, busy with other things, she moved away from the window; at this time the child flew down. The mother, hearing the noise from the fall and remembering her daughter, started crying and screaming, so that the neighbors and those who were in the church came running, for the house was so adjacent to the church that the entrance and exit was through the church. Everyone thought that her daughter had died, but when they arrived they found her unharmed: she was playing and giving childish blows to the piglets who were there. Having grabbed her, they threw her in front of the tomb of the saints, as the saviors of the child. On the night before this day, Deacon John, not the girl’s father, but someone else, had a wonderful vision. This John, while still a layman and living in Constantinople, suffered from a leg disease - his knees became dry. The imperial doctor and other doctors in the capital could not help him. He went to the unmercenaries and received healing. In gratitude for this, he dedicated himself to serving them. Having first taken monastic vows, he was ordained a deacon for his good life by Patriarch John, who now shepherds the Church of Alexandria 6 . - So, on the eve of the miracle that was about to take place, this deacon John sees in a dream the martyrs Cyrus and John and with them a large gathering of saints dressed in white robes; they told him: “Come with us and enjoy the future celebration.” John asked: “Where to go and to what feast?” They said: “Deacon John invited us to lunch today and we will all eat with him.” Having said this, the whole bright cathedral of saints went and ordered me to follow them. I followed them, dined with them and returned with them again.” Surprised by the richness of the dinner and his vision, he told everything to Deacon John, not understanding the meaning of his story, calling him happy and blessed that he was honored to receive and treat so many and such great saints. And this vision was completely incomprehensible until the miracle that happened explained it. Julian, now more amazing than before, abounding in the wealth of estates, not lacking in the acquisition of virtue, of noble family and revered by everyone, having had a double illness and received a double healing, appears for the story; he is still alive and tells everyone what happened to him. Julian, having owned wealth in his youth, became a slave to passions that captivated his soul. Before his legal marriage, he had an illegal relationship with a woman, whom he left after marrying another. Rejected by him, out of jealousy, she brought him poison to take his life. But the poison did not take his life, but it so damaged all the members of his body that he could not control them. This caused his parents great grief; and his young wife shed bitter tears. The doctors could not help him. The parents ran with prayer to God and the holy martyrs. The divine martyrs, taking pity on the young man, softened his sharp pains and gave some movement to his arms and legs, but they did not return him to full health, and there was an important reason for this. Julian was a follower of the heretic Julian, Bishop of Halicarnassus 7 . Saints often appeared to the sick man at night and exhorted him to join the Orthodox Church; They often brought a vessel with the most pure body and blood of the Lord and, themselves showing an example of communion, convinced Julian to proceed to St. secrets. But Julian was not inclined to convince them; then they again tied his hands and feet and increased his suffering even more than before. He shouted, called, begged the martyrs for help. When his illnesses made him more capable of persuasion, the martyrs appeared to him smiling and asked about the reason for his cry. He explained the illness to them and asked for help; then the martyrs again reminded him of the Orthodox faith and said that he would not be freed from suffering unless he renounced heresy and joined the Apostolic Church. Julian asked for stronger assurance. Then they stretched out their hands to heaven and with great incantations confirmed that Christ does not have or does not count either the Gaianites or Theodosians among the faithful and pious. Julian believed and received health of soul and health of body. The martyrs gave him instructions on how to receive Holy Communion. tain for the first time; for he was still ashamed. Appearing to him in a dream at night, they said: “The Nativity of the Savior is approaching. The Alexandrians, sons and pupils of the universal Church, celebrate this sacred and honorable celebration in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, called “Theona”. And you go up into it and, together with the faithful, piously celebrating the feast of the Nativity, join in the psalmody, listen to the apostolic readings, listen to the trumpet of the sacred Gospels and, at the end of the Gospel, go out, according to your previous custom, which will ward off suspicion from yourself (from the heretics), stay in the square and walk here, watch the end of the service. And when you see that everyone has left the church, then you enter the church and take Holy Communion. secret." Julian did just that. But when he received Holy Communion. Mysteries, bending down properly, suddenly up to a hundred clerics of the Gaianite heresy enter the church in order to pray according to custom upon the exit of the Orthodox. Seeing Julian taking communion, they were amazed at the change that had happened to him, and nodded to each other. Having received communion, he saw them and blushed with shame in front of them, and when they began to question him, he told them everything that the martyrs had done to him. This is how he joined the Church, and he understood the power of the instruction of the martyrs. The change in soul was followed by a complete healing of the body. One woman, named Stefanida, was stricken with cancer, a disease against which doctors were powerless; the wife turned with prayer to God and St. martyrs and they healed her not with invisible medicines, but by touching her with visible hands. One day, when she stood before the tomb of the martyrs and prayed for healing with tears and sighs, suddenly the cancer with all its harm disappeared; many saw him after he fell away, for it was during the day, and many prayed at the same time. This cancer was hung above and many saw it after 8. We have heard this from them and, confident of the truth, we proclaim it. There was a certain Nemesion; he was baptized and considered a Christian, but he believed in fate and practiced astronomy. He was punished by deprivation of sight according to the scripture: in the image of those who sin, they are tormented (Wis. 11:17). The best doctors could not restore his sight; he left them and waited for fate to heal him and again he would look at the course of the stars; but this hope was not fulfilled; then he turned to the martyrs Cyrus and John, thinking that through them the decree of fate would be fulfilled. The martyrs did not fulfill his desire, punishing his madness, but showed him the difference between faith and unbelief. There was a poor man, Fotin, who sold vegetables at the Church of the Three Holy Youths. He lost his sight and ran with prayer to St. Cyrus and John. Appearing to him in a dream, they said: “Go to Nemesion; as soon as he puts his hands on your eyes, you will immediately receive healing and see the light more clearly than before.” But he feared him, considering him arrogant in his rank and proud in his wealth; when the martyrs appeared to him twice and three times, commanding him to do the same, he told about their appearance to some in the church; and these went to the lawyer Cyrus, a prudent and Christ-loving man, who was then in the church of the saints and told him about the appearance to Photinus. Cyrus told us all this. He went to Nemesion and, announcing to him the order of the saints, convinced him to fulfill it, although he refused, calling himself a sinner and unworthy for such a task. Having come to the tomb of the saints and having prayed a lot with tears, Nemesion, touching the shrine of their relics, laid his hands on Photinus’s eyes and he received his sight and moved everyone to glorification, and Nemesion to great tears, which turned out to be useless, for he did not change his thoughts. Photin left, praising God, and Nemesion decorated part of the wall near the tomb of the saints with marble and depicted on it Christ, John the Baptist, the martyr Cyrus and himself preaching grace. The young man Theodore, after communion with St. mysteries, going to the church of St. martyrs, we don’t know why, we don’t know why, or whether he was offended by someone, in great anger, not only with obscene words, the unfortunate one insulted the shrine, as if he was condemning some fellow servant, but also, spewing air with his nose, made such a thunderous sound that everyone who was there shuddered. It is known that the pagans propitiated their gods with similar nasal sounds, and whoever of them defeated others with such sounds was liked the most by the demons. After such a vile act, Theodore, while eating, lost his sight; All those who were at this time fell into fear and began to pray for themselves and for him with tears, propitiating Christ and the martyrs. The martyrs appeared to him in a dream and said: “Who, unfortunate one, forced you to such a vile deed? It is necessary to abstain from it at all times, as it is pagan and pleasing to demons, and even more so after Holy Communion. Mysteries, and if on the third day, when the steward goes with the censer and burns incense at the church, you see the coals in the censer and the smoke rising from it, then you will be freed from punishment and receive sight, as before, and if you do not see anything, then you will remain blind forever. After this vision, the young man repented a lot and shed streams of tears, begging God and the martyrs until the specified time; Others in the church also prayed for him. On the third day, when Christopher burned incense in the church of the martyrs (he was the steward) and, passing by Theodore, reached the place of baptism, he clearly saw the coals and the fragrant smoke rising from them and, emitting a voice praising Christ and the martyrs, suddenly moved everyone to joy and fear, to joy, because he had won his sight wonderfully, to fear, because in this they saw the presence of the martyrs themselves and their punishment of every crime. When everyone gathered to look at Theodore and there was a great noise, Christopher was amazed, not knowing the reason for this. Having learned about the great miracle, with all the others and with Theodore, he loudly glorified Christ and the saints who exalt Christ with miracles. We, who were here at that time and saw the miracle, having given songs of praise to those who performed it, will turn to another sign. In Egypt, in the city of Tennes, there was a layman, Theodore, who belonged to the sect of Julian of Halicarnassus, 10 and now, by the grace of God and the enlightenment and will of the martyrs, he serves as a subdeacon in their church. At a young age he suffered from the terrible disease gout. Great was his torment; his fingers looked like stones, and his shins looked like blocks of earth. Having received no help from doctors, he resorted to the martyrs. They often appeared to him in a dream and promised recovery, gifts needed for life, and elevation to a sacred degree if he joined the Orthodox Church; but he remained adamant. After this, still appearing in a dream, they placed him on the roof of the church and forced him to count the waves of the sea; he started to count, but then gave up. The martyrs said: “Just as it is impossible to count the waves of the sea, so it is impossible to list the currents of your illness. Another time they appeared in the form of formidable judges and he made a promise to join the Orthodox Church; but upon awakening, he again fell into doubt. Reflecting on the vision, he fell asleep again and saw the martyrs in the form of Deacon Julian, who at that time served in their church; they invited him to receive St. the mysteries of Christ, but instead he asked to let him through the bars of their tomb and take the oil from the lamp, for many who do not receive communion do this, taking oil from the burning lamp of the saints instead of the holy body and blood of Christ and, I think, out of ignorance, insult the shrine (adds Sophrony). At first the martyrs did not allow him to the tomb, and then they allowed him in, but he found the doors to it locked and could not take the oil from the lamp and went away sad, but admonished by the new convictions of the martyrs to join the Orthodox Church. Early in the morning, in reality, he came to the tomb of the martyrs and saw Paschasius in front of it, possessed by an evil spirit. Seeing Theodore, he looked menacingly and gnashed his teeth and said loudly, speaking on behalf of the saints: “Go quickly, enlighten your soul, otherwise, I swear by the power that lives here, just as you came here possessed of severe gout, so you will leave without healing, and this is what the martyrs order me to tell you.” Frightened by this and remembering the convictions and threats that had come to him in a dream, he accepted St. secrets and enlightened my soul with them. But after communion, due to the action of the enemy, he fell into despondency and, lying down on the bed, soon fell asleep out of sadness. The martyrs appeared to him in a dream and consoled him. A few days later, he sees in a dream the martyrs appearing to him and commanding him to follow them. “Having come,” he said, “to one church, which constitutes the height of perfection, terrible and majestic in appearance, and in height reaching to the very heavens, and having entered inside it, we saw the greatest and amazing icon, on which in the middle Christ was depicted in colors 11, and the Mother of Christ, our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary on His left, and on the right John the Baptist and the Forerunner the same Savior, who foreshadowed Him with his leaping in the womb; Some of the glorious face of the apostles and prophets and from the host of martyrs were also depicted here; including these martyrs - Cyrus and John. They, standing before the Lord, prayed to Him, kneeling and bowing their heads on the platform, and interceded for the healing of the young man. But Christ did not answer them. They began to pray again and again received no answer; Finally, for the third time, they prayed for a long time and, lying prostrate, exclaimed only: “Lord, command.” The Lord Christ, as truly merciful, made a wave and proclaimed from the icon: “Give it to him.” Then the martyrs rose from the ground, first brought thanks to Christ our God for the fact that He heard their prayer, and then with joy and delight they said: “It is for our sake that the Lord has given you grace. So go to Alexandria, stay there fasting in the great Petropil, then take a little oil in a bottle from the lamp burning before the image of the Savior, and again, without eating food, come here, anoint your feet with it and receive healing. After this vision in a dream, he went to Alexandria, took oil from the lamp, and returned to the church of St. martyrs, here he anointed their hands and feet, and the disease disappeared and he was awarded the perfect healing 12 and the gifts promised to him, and thanks to all this, he diligently serves the martyrs. Subdeacon of the Theodosian and Northern heresies, John, who came from the Egyptian city of Kino, lost his sight due to eyesores. He was brought to Cyrus and John. After spending a year here, he was awarded grace. The martyrs appeared to him in a dream and, having received the body and blood of Christ, said: “Here you are, young man, you have learned the path of true life. So receive the mysteries of Christ here.” Having awakened, he joined the Orthodox Church and received St. his secrets and thorns disappeared, as if he had none. But then his father, Deacon Theodore, died and relatives came to him and convinced him to return home to take his father’s place. Forgetting the commandment of the martyrs, he went. When he was already close to the city of Kino, the martyrs appeared, struck him in the face and he became blind again. Having repented, he returned to the martyrs and the steward Christopher 13 placed him in that sacred place of the church where the guests stayed, since all the places in the church were occupied by the sick. Three days later, John sees in a dream a deacon on the pulpit, with the Gospel in his hands, loudly reading from Matthew about how, to the question of John the Baptist: Are you the one who is coming, or someone else, the Savior answered his disciples: as you go, tell John what you hear and see: the blind see and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the sick hear (Matt. 11, 4). At these words, he woke up and now sees the light of the rising sun and thus received sight, but did not receive that perfect healing that he had at first: a trace of his lack of gratitude remained in his eyes, so that others, seeing this, would remain firm. In the estate of Heraclius, 24 stadia from the church of 14 saints, Peter lived; he suffered from relaxation (from paralysis). Saints appeared to him in a dream and promised healing if he washed his hands in the Jordan (that is, the baptismal place) and accepted the sacraments of Christ, for he was a Monophysite, a follower of Dioscorus and Severus. Prejudiced against the Council of Chalcedon, which rejected the Monophysite heresy, he did not agree to the proposal of the saints. They again left him with his previous sufferings, which had previously calmed him down. The patient again began to call for them, they again appeared and offered the same. And this was repeated not twice, three times or four times, but many times, for the Egyptians are a stubborn people, and what they once decide to do, for good or for bad, they do not easily lag behind, and they are all like that. Finally, prompted by suffering, he began to call for martyrs, promising to fulfill everything that they were ordered to do. They appeared and urged him to take Holy Communion. Mysteries and said: “Why don’t you, Peter, believe as we believe, and join us in the matter of faith?” He again dared to say to them: “Do you, the great servants of Christ, believe in the Council of Chalcedon?” They began to convince him that the faith approved by this council was right and divinely inspired. Peter fulfilled their command, joined the Orthodox Church, received health, and after that remained firm in Orthodoxy until his death. Mina, the clerk of the steward Christopher, an Alexandrian and a follower of the same heresy, having been clearly punished, joined the Church. He saw in a dream the saints going to a mysterious and heavenly meal, as if to receive Holy Communion. Tain. Turning around and seeing that he does not follow them, they approach him and severely punish him with rods on his hands. “Why,” they said, “when you saw us going to communion, you didn’t follow us? If you want to be in our house, follow our statutes, and where we partake of the Lord’s food, there you too take it.” At the same time, they pointed their fingers at the divine meal. Having awakened, he felt the pain and scars of blows in reality, testifying to the desire of the saints. Getting up, he took communion immediately and the pain disappeared. I could cite here many others who were added to the Church by the saints and who came to know the true faith; but so that no one suspects us that we are writing miracles of saints to defend our faith, we will be content with these. Anthony the Theban had a severe illness; he screamed that his insides were being gnawed terribly and were being worn away as if by worms. Doctors could not only help, but also understand his illness. He settled in the church of the martyrs and, after living here for two years, suddenly received health from them, without any indication of any healing, as they did in relation to others; Only after recovery did they appear to him and say: “Here we have freed you from suffering; go to the city, no longer fearing illness; Having come there, plant grapes in our name and we will cultivate them together with you; Take one part of the wine from him for your own use, and deliver the other to our house and divide it among the sick brothers. He did so, and every year he divided one part of the wine from the planted grapes to the sick in the church of the martyrs. He did this for many years and recently died. One woman in the village of Afnetyanka, named Astu, also suffered from a serious illness that doctors could not recognize. She felt like heavy lead inside; She spent three years in the church of the martyrs and after that the cause of the illness was revealed - it was a stone that was in her like a large egg, surprising everyone; she hung it in front of the shrine of the saints, so that it would be a monument to the miracle for many years. Procopius from Eleutheropolis had an incurable disease; a growth had grown on his nose. None of the healers could destroy him. Taking his servant Theodore with him, Procopius went to Cyrus and John and was not mistaken in his hope: his illness, although not soon, was destroyed. The medicine was pepper fried in a frying pan, which he put in his nose. Meanwhile, his servant, the young man Theodore, often swam in the sea and played in the waves. One day a sea dog grabbed him by the leg, dragged him into the sea and buried him in the sand, thinking thereby to kill his prey and turn it into food for himself. The young man prayed to St. to the martyrs, and they soon presented themselves and said to him: “Don’t shout,” and dragged him to the shore by his hair. Pulled out of the water, he no longer had breath; After a little while they gave him breathing, and the foot, deeply wounded by the dog on the sole from heel to toes, was healed by them with wax ointment. He and those who were present at this event are still alive. In Constantinople, a certain Theodore had a terrible illness. His leg became inflamed and was so damaged by fire that it lost its appearance. The doctors could not calm the fire that was ready to spread throughout the body. The holy martyrs appear in a dream to Deacon John, who himself was from Constantinople and, having been healed by them, served in their church, as stated above (miracle 11), and they order him to write to Theodore so that he comes to them. Having received John's letter and believing those who ordered him to write it (for John did not even know that Theodore was possessed by such a disease), he went to the martyrs and they soon granted him healing, and the healing consisted of anointing his feet with clay diluted in water, with which the Egyptians cover the necks of large clay vessels with wine. The martyrs themselves pointed out this medicine to Theodore, appearing to him in a dream. Having received health, he returned to Constantinople 15. Deacon Philemon from Phenicia himself asked Sophronius to describe the miracle that happened to him. He had two illnesses: liver disease and a fistula that was constantly leaking matter from his neck. Leaving the doctors, he turned to Cyrus and John. When he was sleeping in their church, both martyrs appeared to him: one examined the liver and calmed its suffering, and the other drained the currents of the fistula. The one who touched the liver ordered to take green olives and eat one, and, having softened the other, apply it to the liver; and another ordered to grind lemon leaves and apply to the fistula. Having fulfilled both orders, Philemon was healed of both diseases. In Alexandria lived John, a teacher of verbal sciences, a student of the great preacher of the divine faith, Eulogius 16. He had a wife, Rhodope, who was born in Antioch from noble and wealthy persons. She fell seriously ill, being struck all over her body with carbuncles, and went to the church of the martyrs. Having fallen asleep, she sees that the martyrs are going around the sick and advising one to do this, the other to do that, but they passed her without saying anything. She asked them to tell her the reason for this - whether she had offended them in any way unintentionally. They answered her that they passed her by, because she, by the will of Christ God and the Lord of all, must die. “So,” they concluded, “get up, go home, before the soul is separated from the body.” She returned to the city that same morning, told her husband the vision, and died a few days later. Miracle 70. Healing of Sophronius himself Great and glorious is the gratitude of the demoniac who lived in the tombs, as the divine word testified; for, having received healing from the Savior and having been delivered from the demons that mercilessly raged over him (the worst collection of demons made up a legion in him), he wanted to be a follower of Christ who saved him, but could not thereby show his love for Him: by praying to Him, the husband came out of his worth, so that he could be with Him (Luke 8:38). But Jesus did not leave him with him, but commanded him to go and preach to his household about his merciful salvation; he went and became a tireless and zealous preacher of the Savior in the Decapolis, considering it a matter of ingratitude if he preached about the Benefactor only to those at home, and not to everyone who saw him sick. Therefore, let no one blame us if we wanted to become his imitators and preach about our benefactors according to God, Cyrus and John, and betray the gift of their writing. No one blamed the leper whom Christ cleansed from leprosy. He was ordered not to tell anyone about the healing, but only to bring the gift according to the Law of Moses, and he began to preach about the Master everywhere and publicize his cleansing, and did not want to remain silent, as he was ordered (Luke 5:12-14). Being jealous of them in gratitude, we will not hide the healing, but we will be grateful preachers of the saints and to what was said above about them we will add what happened to us, even if they, imitating their mentor Christ, did not want us to talk about them. Let us say the name, the city, the fatherland, the abode of wisdom, where we came from, and where by the will of God we were placed, and then about eye disease and the divine visitation of the saints, as we did with those who preceded us, not only without adding anything, but also shortening what actually happened. The name of the one who wrote this is Sophronius, the city is the metropolis of Damascus, the fatherland is Phenicia, not seaside, but neighboring Mount Lebanon, of which Damascus is the ancient metropolis, the monastery is the one that was founded in the desert of the holy city of Christ our God by the sacred Theodosius, who surpassed in virtue all the Palestinian monks who were not only before him, but also after him 17 . Sophronius, having arrived in Alexandria for a reason that does not need to be stated on paper, fell ill with both eyes. He did not have an illness for many days, but suffered from it for many months and, not enduring the abyss of suffering, for he had a serious illness, he was shown to the best doctors, especially those who seemed superior to others both in word and in appearance. They often took the patient out into the open air, examined his pupils against the sun's rays, and initially said that the cause of the illness was the change in air, for Sophronius was exposed to it immediately after his arrival; but as the disease continued, it turned into dry eyes, and the cause was declared not to be foreign air, but to be thin, and therefore they prescribed correction of the body, for this is how they treat those exposed to such a disease. But when even through this they could not help at all, although the patient agreed to everything out of necessity, then they began to attribute the disease to an incurable flush and unnatural dilation of the pupils; leaving the foreign air and thin legs, some began to call the disease this way, and others another; At first they agreed with each other, but argued about changing names; Finally they began to contradict themselves and each other, agreeing only on one thing: that this disease is incurable. Seeing this, Sophrony and that there was no hope for human help, he clearly learned that doctors would not resurrect, as the great Isaiah prophesied about them (26, 14); but always believing in the gifts of Cyrus and John and hearing what miracles they perform in countless illnesses, he comes to them with faith, those who come with which receive from them what they desire, since they abundantly reward goodness for faith in them. Seeing the sick Sophrony and believing in them with all his soul, they honor his healing and initially destroy the empty definition of the doctors and, convincing the sufferer not to believe what the doctors said after everything (about the incurability of the disease), grant him health, which they could not give. It was the third night since he arrived, and both of them, appearing to him in a dream, aroused in him the belief that he would get rid of the disease. One was clothed in the sacred robe of a monk and resembled John, the spiritual father and teacher of the sick 18. John also came with him (Sophronius) to the church of the martyrs and prayed for his disciple and son. Taking on the appearance of his father, like a monk, and dressed in monastic robes was Cyrus. Blessed John (martyr), who appeared with Cyrus, represented Peter of Alexandria, the head of the praetorium, and had light clothes. Approaching Cyrus, who appeared in the form of a sick teacher, he asked: “Do you have a student called Homer?” They knew, although they had only undergone the rudiments of worldly education, that Homer was blind, having suffered from cataracts in old age; for this was the meaning of the riddle of the saints. He answered with an oath that he had a disciple, but this one was not called Homer, and added that he had never touched Homer’s verse; this meant that he (Sophrony) was not involved in Homer’s blindness. Saint John told him, as a father and mentor: “to be convinced of this, we visited him; if he is not called Homer, as we have heard, then let us thank the God of all, who freed him from such an illness and such a name.” Having appeared in this way and assured him (Sophronius) with these words that he would not be involved in Homer’s blindness, they interrupted his sleep as they left. A few days later, dressed in monastic robes, they order an ointment made from wax diluted in oil, which is in a lamp in front of their tomb, to be applied to their eyes. Having done this, he partially received healing. They promised to bring him complete recovery and expressed this in a vision: it was night; Sophrony was sleeping on his bed and sees that John, his teacher, invites all the brothers in the church to his place for dinner; there was one round table for everyone and stretched across the entire portico of the church; The type of table also depended on it; Although one line of the portico was octagonal, it generally looked like a circle; The table was quite compatible with the view of the portico. At his head lay the martyr Theodore, for he too was greatly revered by the sufferers; next to him reclined the wondrous Cyrus, having his brother John on his right side and being in the middle between two ascetics of piety; They were not in different clothes and appearance, but in the same ones as they are depicted. The entire congregation of sick brethren reclined with them, and Sophronius ministered to them all. John, his teacher, was preparing food in a neighboring cell. When dinner was over and the three saints stood up, Theodore said to Sophronius: “Go, call your teacher, so that Saint Cyrus will give him what he owes.” He ran and carried out the order. The martyr Theodore said to the arriving John (this was the name of the teacher): “What does St. owe you?” Cyrus, to pay off the debt now? He, falling on his face, said that the martyr did not owe him at all. The martyr Theodore said: “Speak,” and again the father gave the first answer, and when he did this many times and saw that the saint was not behind, but was forcing him to say everything, he said: “He owes me nothing; but I conjure, and ask, and with all my soul I beg the martyr to come to our humble cell and visit us there more often, and bless the healthy and heal those possessed by diseases.” Hearing this, Cyrus immediately replied: “I’m definitely going, I’m definitely going, I’m definitely going!” with threefold speech, assuring him of his coming, which he actually fulfilled and is fulfilling, coming many times. John the teacher was comforted by these words, having received an oath promise regarding what was asked. His disciple Sophronius, seeing the holy givers cheerful and therefore still remaining at the table, at the end of dinner, approached the martyr Theodore, falling to the ground and bowing his knees and head, asked his intercession before the saint. Kir. Theodore Stratilates, having accepted the request, petitioned Cyrus, saying: “For the Lord’s sake, pray for this servant of yours also.” He answered: “Yes!” and ordering the lying man to stand up, he overshadowed him three times with the sign of the cross, making crosses in a small space of air with the index finger of his right hand, and at each sign he said: “Blessed is the Lord!” These were signs of the promise of a speedy healing, and not the healing itself; therefore, the martyr’s finger was close, but did not yet touch the eyes of the sufferer; and the pronouncement: “blessed be the Lord,” meant imminent and subsequent recovery. Therefore, a few days later, the martyrs appeared again to the sleeping Sophronius, fulfilling their promise. The vision took place clearly like this: the narrator was now sleeping and saw himself entering the chapel of a house; in the hallway he met with the apostle and martyr Thomas coming out, and recognizing the saint by his clothes and appearance and everything, he quickly embraced him and began to ask for healing, for in Damascus he shows many powers and frequent glorious signs: in a few days he restored brother Sophroniev, who was possessed by a great illness and suffered for six months; Therefore, the Apostle is highly revered by the Damascenes, who receive healings from him and reap his gifts. Sophrony, having found him and having faith and immeasurable love for him, prayed for eyes. It is not known whether it was the martyr Cyrus, who was transformed into an Apostle, knowing the love for him, or better the Apostle himself, together with the martyr and other martyrdom, for he was followed by many monks and other saints in bright robes. The martyr, together disciple and apostle, stretched out his right hand and touching the eyelids of his left eye with his index finger, overshadowed him three times with the cross of Christ and said to the one writing this: “let me go”; and he asked him to cross his right eye. The saint said: “he has nothing bad”; and, released from the embrace of the holder, he put an end to the vision. After the dream described, he (Sophrony) felt both joy and great sadness, joy because he was honored with a visit from the saints, sadness because he let go of the saint when he had not yet overshadowed the other eye. And in this sadness he fell asleep again and now he sees John, Kirov’s interlocutor, who appeared in the form of John the rhetorician, worthy of the rank of eparch, and asked about the help of the saints. He (Sophrony) spoke about the visit and how he grieved for his right eye, which did not accept the seal of the saving sign and did not receive perfect healing. The martyr quite reassured him, saying that the eyes no longer suffer, neither sealed with a sign, nor left without a seal, “since the saint also told you that the eye for which you were afraid does not hurt.” And the martyr spoke with an oath and, for greater confirmation, kissed the unsealed eye three times with his lips and, having done this, bestowed perfect healing and grace and allowed sleep. Thus, Sophronius received the gift of the saints and, freed from the blindness of his eyes, rushed to write the above, always remembering the healing and the word given before recovery; therefore, immediately after the healing he composes this work and offers prayers without any delay, imitating the diligence of the saints in relation to him, and he placed himself last of all those written, as the worst of all and unworthy of the martyr's help, which he asks for throughout his life for soul and body and for deliverance from every unfortunate adventure. The description of 70 miracles is preceded by Sophronius’ commendable historical word to the holy martyrs, which, together with the miracles, constitutes one work, and in the preface to this entire work and in the most laudable word, Sophrony speaks twice about his healing. He begins the preface: “Having come to the martyrs Cyrus and John, due to eye disease, we lived in their church and, seeing waves of healing, we wanted to commit to writing their instructive martyrdom and the miracles that had happened before.” In his eulogy, he briefly describes his illness and healing. Miracles that happened before were not recorded and therefore the author describes for the most part miracles that were contemporary to him. There is no doubt that this work belongs to Sophronius, both internally and externally. We have already seen that at the 7th Ecumenical Council it was attributed to him 19 ; its style is similar to other works of this author. Sergius, Bishop of Mogilev. Abukir, i.e. Abba Cyrus 18 miles from Alexandria. Manufin from Konop was only at a distance of two stages (about 175 fathoms). Memory of St. Martyrs are celebrated by the Church on January 31 and June 28. So according to the titles, but in fact more, because two and three miracles are placed under one number. From the descriptions of miracles it is clear that the author knew other miracles that are not described here. Sophrony describes the miracles in a very lengthy and verbose manner; Therefore, we convey their description in an abbreviation from the original Greek work of Sophronius, which was published by Angelo May (Spicilegium Romanum T. III). St. Eulogius was patriarch from 579 to 607, St. Theodore from 607 to 609. Therefore, the miracle is contemporary with Sophronius. At this time, the Monophysite heretics were very strong in Egypt. They divided into parties. The followers of Severus, the Patriarch of Antioch, the Severians, taught that the body of Jesus Christ was corruptible before His resurrection, and the followers of Julian, Bishop of Halicarnassus, who, together with Severus, retired to Egypt, said that the body of Jesus Christ was not involved in corruption even before the resurrection. The most important of the followers of Severus was Theodosius, and of the followers of Julian - Gaian; therefore, the said heretics were called Theodosians and Gaianites, as we will see below now. It was then the custom to temporarily hang traces and remains of healed diseases at the tombs of martyrs. That is, Sophronius, the describer of miracles. About it above, see miracle 12. This legend about the icon was read at the 7th Ecumenical Council in 787. After reading this passage at the 7th Ecumenical Council, Thomas, the most venerable monk and presbyter, and representative of the bishops of the East, said: “This icon, venerable fathers, still stands in Alexandria, in Petropil, and heals all kinds of diseases.” Therefore, the event is contemporary with Sophronius. The miracle was contemporary with Sophronius, for Deacon John, who wrote the letter, lived in his time at the Church of the Martyrs. Since Patriarch Eulogius died not long before Sophronius arrived in Egypt, this miracle is contemporary with Sophronius. Sophrony lived in this monastery without yet taking monastic vows. Acts Ecumenical Council VII, p. 284. You might be interested in: