Today is Monday, September 2, and Orthodoxy honors the memory of Saint Mammas the Martyr and Saint John the Fast. He is the patron saint of Morphou in Cyprus.
According to the calendar, also commemorated are Saint John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Saints Eleazar and Phineas the Just.
The Life of Saint Mammas
Saint Mammas was born in Gangra of Paphlagonia in Asia Minor in 260 AD to Christian parents, who were arrested for their Christian faith and actions and imprisoned. Thus, he was born in prison and became an orphan as a baby since his parents, Theodotus and Rufina, died there.
How He Got His Name
A woman named Ammia Matrona took it upon herself to raise him, who was a pious Christian, and it is to her that the saint owes his name. Tradition says that she was very good as a mother and the little boy used to call her “mama.”
It is also said that Ammia saw an Angel in her sleep who led her to the prison so she could bury the lifeless bodies of Theodotus and Rufina and adopt the unfortunate little boy.
The Arrest and Torture
During his teenage years, Mammas was arrested by idolaters, who subjected him to torture. Eventually, they hung an iron rod around his neck and threw him into the water to drown. Miraculously, the saint survived but was captured again by his torturers and thrown into a blazing furnace. And this time too, he managed to come out safe. When wild animals were thrown upon him, they not only did not tear him apart but didn’t even harm him. According to tradition, a lion received him on its back and carried him away from the other beasts, hence the iconographic theme of his representation. Eventually, his enemies decided to execute him cold-bloodedly with tridents. The deadly weapon pierced the saint’s entrails, and he gave up the spirit.
During the Byzantine period, Saint Mammas was the protector of the Mardaites on the island of Cyprus. The latter spread his fame and the honors rendered to him following the Arab incursions.
Who We Wish “Many Years” To
Best wishes for their name day are received today by those who have the name:
- Mammas, Mamandias, Mama