E07022: Sophronius of Jerusalem, in his Miracles of the Saints Cyrus and John, recounts how *Kyros and Ioannes/Cyrus and John (physician and soldier, martyrs of Egypt, S00406) healed a certain Elias of leprosy at their shrine at Menouthis (near Alexandria, Lower Egypt), even though he also sought aid from *Metras (martyr of Alexandria, S00045) at his shrine in Alexandria. Written in Greek in Alexandria, 610/615.

Sophronius of Jerusalem, The Miracles of Saints Cyrus and John, 13

There was a certain Elias who had leprosy. He had the syndromes of the disease for a long time and the stigmas of it were on his entire body,

οὐχ ἅπερ ἔχων ὁ Παῦλος ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς ἐσεμνύνετο· ἀρεταὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖναι καὶ πράξεις οὐράνιοι, ἐν Παύλῳ τὸν Χριστὸν εἰκονίζουσαι, καὶ ἀκτῖνες οἷόν τινες τοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύνης Ἡλίου τυγχάνουσαι, καὶ τέκνα φωτὸς καὶ υἱοὺς ἡμέρας ποιοῦσαι τοὺς ἔχοντας· ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνα ἃ κατὰ νόμον Μωσαϊκὸν βδελυρά τε ἦν καὶ ἀκάθαρτα, καὶ [τὸν γεννώμενον ἄνθρωπον ἔξω παρεμβολῆς καὶ ἀκάθαρτα, καὶ τὸν γεννώμενον] ἄνθρωπον ἔξω παρεμβολῆς καὶ πόλεως ἤλαυνεν, ὡς βδελυρὸν καὶ ἀκάθαρτον τῶν λοιπῶν ὁμοφύλων ἀπείργοντα.

'... which were not like those which Peter had and thanks to which he was magnified; since those ones were virtues and celestial achievements reflecting Christ in Paul and they were like rays of the Sun of justice which make those who have them children of the light and sons of day; but those [of Elias] were according to the Mosaic law disgusting and impure and [text corrupt] they expelled the man from the encampment and his city separating him as being disgusting and impure from the rest of his kin.'

Thus Elias carried those stigmas which are symbols of sin and he did not obtain any aid from anybody, since in these circumstances neither Hippocrates, nor Galen, nor Democritus who is a bastard brother of Nature (ho nothos ho adelphos tes physeos) can be efficacious. So he turned to the martyrs Cyrus and John, desiring to obtain healing and absolutely believing in obtaining it.

However, for a long time he did not obtain anything and was already despondent (because the saints dispense healing according to certain plans). He suffered this manifestly (delonoti) due to an evil will which was preventing his healing and the compassion of the saints toward him. He could not stay longer at the martyrs' shrine. For the state of accidie (akedia) is hard and very dangerous for the pious souls, since it can make them sin a lot if it is not expelled immediately when still fresh, like the hallucinations sent by the noonday demon (to daimonion mesembrinon). Being in such a condition Elias left the shrine and the martyrs' divine graces (theia charismata).

After some time the martyrs, seeing that he became object of envy [of a demon] because of his strengthening, took pity and did not make any case of his attitude towards them. Whereas he turned in the meantime to the martyr shrine of Saint Metras [in Alexandria]. The martyrs appeared to him at noon in monastic garments. Simulating ignorance they asked him where he was going from and where to. He answered them in the way as if they really did not know and mentioned the names of the saints and talked about a shrine. But the martyrs asked him once again about the reason of his going there. So he replied that they knew the reason and there was no need to explain it. Yet they asked him why he left the shrine before he obtained healing. He told them how long he stayed there without obtaining any relief and showed them the white spots (leukades) as proofs. Saying this he did not accuse the martyrs of unwillingness, nor did he display a bad will, but bursting into tears he proclaimed himself to be unworthy of their grace. Hearing this, the martyrs took even more pity and told him to quickly return to their shrine. They instructed him to go there and find four camels near the spring (pege). Then he should carefully collect the dung of the forth camel and mix it with water from the spring. Then he was to apply this remedy on his entire body without leaving any part not covered by it; otherwise the disease might have not receded from this particular part.

Καὶ ταῦτα κατὰ πρόσωπον λέξαντες, ἀφανεῖς ἀθρόως ἐγένοντο.

'Having said this face to face with him, they suddenly disappeared.'

Elias immediately realised that this vision was of divine origin and that they were the martyrs themselves. Thus he rushed to their sanctuary and found there the four camels. He took the dung of the last one as he was instructed, mixed it with the water from the spring and applied it to his entire body. And here again he became a victim of a demon's envy. For he did not apply the ointment to his eyes, feeling disgust at that which was to purify him (to kathairon auton mysattomenos). In consequence, his entire body was delivered from the disease, but his face remained spotted during his life. It was a proof of his disobedience which could not have been hidden, but also a never silent herald of the power of the martyrs and of their order that was neglected. Elias blamed himself very much for his disobedience but did not have any profit of it like Esau who with tears sought out his firstborn status.

Text: Fernández Marcos 1976, lightly modified in the light of Gascou 2007. Summary and translation: J. Doroszewska.