St. Philopateer Mercurius | Other Traditions

[Mary Naeem]

St. Philopateer Mercurius




Other Traditions

After the end of the first persecution, the place of the saint's burial was revealed. Mercurius appeared to a poor man in the city, and told him that he was Mercurius, the Martyr of the Lord. "My body is buried in Cappadocia Gardens, under the old house on the way to the royal palace. My body looks as white as snow, because Jesus was present at the time of my martyrdom," said the saint.

The next morning, the man went to dig under the old house. He began to smell the scent of perfume, seeing the body of the saint. The news spread quickly and many people came to take a look at the blessed body. They moved it to the local church until they built a new church bearing his name, and Mercurius' body was buried there with respect and devotion.

A few years later, the Catholicos of Armenia, the Chief bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, visited Egypt and met with the Patriarch of Alexandria, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The latter asked him if Egypt could have part of the relics of Saint Mercurius to be placed in the church that bears his name in Cairo:

On the 9th of Baona (June 16) part of the blessed body was offered to Egypt.

According to one tradition, Saint Basil was imprisoned in 363 by his old school-mate, the Emperor Julian the Apostate, upon the beginning of Julian's Sassanid campaign. Basil prayed to Saint Mercurius to help him, and the saint appeared in vision to Basil, claiming to have speared Julian to death.