E07549: 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 from a monstrous deformity a certain boy Menas, named after *Menas (soldier and martyr buried at Abu Mena, S00073), at their shrine at Menouthis (near Alexandria, Lower Egypt). Written in Greek in Alexandria, 610/615.

Sophronius of Jerusalem, The Miracles of Saints Cyrus and John, 41

Summary:

There was a certain woman Maria from Egyptian Babylon [in Lower Egypt]. She had a boy who was around eight years old. She named him Menas to commemorate the martyr. This boy's tongue hung down from his mouth. It differed much from human tongues in form and size, so that it covered the boy’s chin and throat. Its colour was red mixed with some blackness. It was so monstrous and deformed that it provoked immediate and irresistible vomiting in the beholders, along with compassion. Since it was constantly wetting his garment and his chest, marking it also with its blackness, many people could not stand looking at the boy. His monstrous appearance was caused by a malicious demon who once at night, when Menas was sleeping, pulled his tongue and extended it beyond its natural length. It was not only an issue of ugliness, but also a serious health problem for the boy; he was thereby deprived of solid nourishment, because he could not use his teeth normally, due to the great size of his tongue which did not fit in his mouth. His mother had to feed him with liquids alone.

Many physicians examined the boy, but all of them were helpless. They never saw anything like this before and could not find any similar case in the writings of the ancient medics. However, Menas was healed by the martyrs Cyrus and John who estimated the disease to be worthy of their mercy. They did not appear this time in a vision as they usually did.

Around noon the boy was playing with other children by the martyrs’ tomb. It happened that he fell down on the ground. When his face touched the marble, his tongue was immediately restored to its initial size and regained its normal colour, so that it was never more hanging from his mouth but was kept inside it. When the other children saw this miracle, they began to cry, which attracted all the people who happened to be in the sanctuary. Amazed by the miracle, they intoned a hymn in honour of the saints.

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