Great-martyr Mercurius (224 – 250) was a Christian saint and martyr. Born Philopater in the city of Eskentos in Cappadocia, Eastern Asia Minor, his original name means "lover of the Father". Saint Mercurius is also known by the name Abu-Seifein, which in Arabic means, "the holder of two swords", referring to a second sword given to him by Archangel Michael.

Philopater was the son of a Scythian officer in the Roman army. One day his father, Yares, was hunting in the forest with his grandfather, when they were attacked by a wild beast. The animal jumped on the grandfather, causing Yares to faint. While Yares was unconscious, he had a vision. He saw a brilliant light and heard a voice saying:

Shortly after, Yares, his wife, and his son were baptized, and they were given new names. Yares became Noah, his wife became Saphina, and Philopater became Mercurius. The news of their baptism spread quickly in the city and the prince ordered them to be arrested and thrown to the wild animals. However, the animals did not harm them, and the prince decided to release Noah and his family.

When the Berbers attacked Eskentos, Noah went to fight them. He was taken prisoner and was brought to their country, where he was kept for seventeen months. When the war finally ended, he went back to his city and joined his family, but died shortly after.

St. Philopater Mercurius is also said to be the cousin of St. George the Cappadocian.

After the death of Noah, the Pagan Roman Emperor Decius chose Mercurius to replace his father. He was a very strong and courageous man, and earned the respect of his fellow soldiers. When the Berbers attacked Rome, Decius when out to fight them, but when he saw how many they were, he became afraid. Mercurius then came to him and told him, "Do not be afraid, because God will destroy our enemies and will bring us victory."

After several days of fighting, the Archangel Michael appeared to Mercurius holding a shining sword. He said:

The saint took the sword from the archangel, hence the name Abu-Seifein - "the holder of two swords", a military sword and a divine sword. He conquered the Berbers, feeling the assurance of divine strength. When Decius heard the news about the triumphant victory, he appointed Mercurius prince.

Nonetheless, in 249, Decius began his persecution of Christians, compelling everyone to offer sacrifices to his pagan gods. The Archangel Michael appeared to Mercurius and told him to remember God and not be fearful of the persecution. The saint was encouraged and spent the whole night praying fervently, and confessing his weakness to God.

The next morning, the Emperor sent some messengers to summon Mercurius to the palace, but he excused himself, saying that he was tired. The day after, the Emperor sent for Mercurius again. He told him: "Dear Mercurius, let us go offer incense to the gods who helped us attain victory in the war." Mercurius did not say anything, but as they were leaving he slipped through the crowd and went away. However, one of the guards reported his absence, and the Emperor called Mercurius and asked him, "Is it true that you refused to worship the idols who helped us during the war?"

Mercurius answered with courage:

The Emperor was infuriated, and tried to persuade him to no avail. Mercurius' faith was unshaken. he stripped him of his ranks. Then the king ordered him to be thrown in jail.

That did not stop the saint from praying and singing hymns in prison. During the night, Michael the Archangel appeared to him and told him: "Do not be afraid of the tortures. Confess your faith in Jesus publicly because He is the only One able to save you".

The next morning, Decius' soldiers hung the saint between two poles so that they could hit him with sharp nails. They tried also to cut his body with sharp blades and burn it, but Mercurius endured all these tortures in silence. Back in jail, the archangel appeared and touched Mercurius' body. He was instantly healed. When the king saw that the saint was in perfect health, he attributed it to witchcraft. Mercurius told him that it was Jesus who is the true healer of the soul and the body.

Fearing a revolt because the people loved him, the emperor had him bound in iron fetters, and sent him to Caesarea.

After Decius tried many different tortures without success, he decided to have him beheaded. Mercurius lifted up his arms and prayed fervently, asking the Lord to accept him in paradise. Then, suddenly, he saw Jesus Christ in a glorified vision, surrounded by many angels, saying:

Then, after he was blessed, Mercurius was so happy that he ran to his executioners, begging them to carry out the king's orders immediately. Then he knelt down and said, "Lord, do not count this sin against them." Mercurius was beheaded on 4 December 250. He was only 25 years old.

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 head 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.

Various miracles have been attributed to Saint Mercurius. The following was told by Tamav Irene, Mother Superior of Abu-Seifein (Saint Mercurius) Convent in Old Cairo, Egypt.

Rafik (father) and Shahira (mother) could not give birth to any children for several years. They prayed a lot to God in order to have children, asking Saint Marina for her intercession. God heard their prayers, and granted them a baby girl, whom they called Marina - after the name of Saint Marina. However, almost nine months after the child was born, the parents realized that their child is blind. They decided to take the child for medical examinations on her eyes, and all the diagnosis revealed that the child’s retina has been missing. They tried to find out if the child can perform a retina transplantation, only to realize that medicine has not been able to reach this degree of progress yet. They tried visiting optometrists both in Egypt and in the USA, but with no chance of hope. The findings rendered the whole family miserable, and had nothing but praying that God would help them. Meanwhile, when the child’s grandfather was once praying and tearing in front of Virgin Mary’s icon, a nun came up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, and asked him to go to Abu-Seifein Convent, and there he will find the help he needs. The grandfather told the parents, and they took Marina to the convent as advised. There, they met Tamav Irene, the Mother Superior of the Convent at that time, which was when Shahira (Marina’s mother) asked Tamav that she would pray to God to take the child’s soul, rather than to live blind the rest of her life. Tamav Irene refused, and took the child, laid her on the back and noticed that her pupil was dilated, which was a sign of no response to light, and lack of eyesight. She then put the case, which had the relics of Abu-Seifein (Saint Mercurius), on top of the child’s forehead and started praying. As she prayed, the case began growing heavier, to an extent that she could not lift it alone. One of the family relatives noticed and asked Tamav Irene to help her in lifting the case. He too realized that the case was growing heavier. A few minutes later, some motion began to take place on inside the case, which was the indication that Abu-Seifein (Saint Mercurius) is present. Tamav Irene then noticed that the child’s pupil started to respond to light, and so, she knew that the child could see now. However, she chose not to tell the parents at that point, but asked them to go again to all the optometrists they have visited before, do one more checkup, and not come back again without medical records from those doctors detailing the current situation. The parents hopelessly took the child back home, and put her in her bedroom. But when they turned on the lights, they noticed that the child instantly looked at the light source. The parents could believe what they saw, and started performing some experiments to know if the child can really see. Of course, the child was able to see, but still the parents did as told by Tamav Irene, and took her to the doctors for a final checkup and to obtain the medical records. Similarly, the doctors could not believe what they saw, and considered this to be a miracle by all means. After visiting the optometrists, the parents brought the medical records back to Abu-Seifein Convent, detailing that a brand new retina had been created for the child’s eyes granting her the gift of normal vision till this day.

*Account of his life on University College Cork website, with bibliography *Catholic Online *Coptic account *Coptic Synexarium *St Philopateer Mercurius at the Church of St Mary and St Merkorious, Sydney