PROTOMARTYR MIRAX OF EGYPT

On the eve of the Nativity of Christ according to the Gregorian calendar, December 24, our Church celebrates the memory of the martyr Mirax the Egyptian. This date is easy to remember, and the veneration of this holy martyr is extremely important.

The fact is that he was one of the first to suffer for his faith in Christ as Lord and God during the era of the rapid spread of Islam in the mid-7th century. In this sense, Mirax should be called the Protomartyr.

It is important to know that, according to the Koran, Islam did not intend to convert Christians. “The pagans must believe in One God,” this is the essence of the message of the first Muslims. Christianity preaches the gospel of One God, and therefore is blessed.

However, if anyone accepted Islam but then returned to Christianity, they were subject to the death penalty. Such a fate befell Mirax.

According to his life, he was raised in Christianity. However, he “succumbed to some temptation” and renounced his faith in Christ. What was this temptation like, what could it consist of?

The fact is that since 536 there have been two parallel hierarchies in Egypt. Each of them was headed by its own Patriarch. One of them was supported by the Emperor in Constantinople, the other by local monks. At times, a third was added to the ‘two Patriarchs’. The dispute was about the theology of the Council of Chalcedon (451).

Both sides considered themselves Orthodox, their “enemies” - heretics. ‘Monophysites’, as the Orthodox Greeks called the Copts, that is, the Egyptians, were the majority.

Mutual hostility was great. Moreover, blood was shed. Thus, Patriarch Proterius (+457) was torn to pieces by a crowd on Maundy Thursday. His body was immediately burned. Thus, the mutual enmity of those who called themselves “disciples of Christ” crossed all conceivable limits.

When Arab armies marched into Egypt, Orthodox Copts saw this as liberation. The Greek Patriarch fled. Others “succumbed to temptation.” In the face of Christian divisions, they saw a unifying force in the new religion. Most likely, among them was the future martyr Mirax. But later, by the Gift of Grace, he repented and accepted martyrdom for Christ. His feat resonates in the hearts of modern Christians.