The holy servant of God Cyrus was born in Alexandria. He was a renowned physician who healed illnesses without payment and guided people onto the path of salvation. During the persecution under Diocletian (284–305), Saint Cyrus withdrew into the Arabian desert, where he embraced the monastic life and continued there as well to heal people by his prayer, having received from God the gift of curing every illness.
At that time, a soldier named John lived in the city of Edessa; he was a devout Christian. When the persecution began, he went to Jerusalem, and there, having heard of Saint Cyrus, began to look for him. For this purpose he went to Alexandria and then to Arabia. Having found Saint Cyrus, John became deeply attached to him and became his faithful follower.
When they learned that in Egypt, in the city of Canopus, a Christian woman named Athanasia had been arrested together with her three young daughters — Theoctiste, aged 15, Theodotia, aged 13, and Eudoxia, aged 11 — Saints Cyrus and John hastened to help them, fearing that the terror of torture might force them to renounce Christ. They visited them in prison and strengthened them with courage for the coming struggle.
When the ruler of the city learned of this, he seized Saints Cyrus and John and, seeing their firm and fearless confession of faith in Christ, subjected them to terrible tortures before the eyes of Athanasia and her daughters. The confessors likewise endured all the torments steadfastly and were beheaded. After them, in the same place, the holy unmercenary healers Cyrus and John were also executed († 311).
Christians buried their bodies in the church of the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark. In the 5th century, the relics of Saints Cyrus and John were transferred from Canopus to Menouthis. Later, their relics were transferred to Rome, and from there to Munich.
