Historical
examination of the legends (and lies) about St. Christopher suggest that he
lived during the Christian persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius, and that
he was captured and martyred by the governor of Antioch. Historian David
Woods has proposed that St. Christopher's remains were possibly taken to
Alexandria by Peter of Attalia where he may have become identified with the
Egyptian martyr Saint Menas.
The
legend of Saint Christopher records two important historical facts that
identify him with the historical Saint Menas:
The first is that the Greek and Latin legends
of Saint Christopher identify him as belonging to the Third Valerian Cohort of
the Marmantae (Latin: Cohors tertia Valeria, at Marmantarum), a military unit
of Northern Africa of Marmarica (between modern day Libya and Egypt), recruited
by none other than the Emperor Diocletian.
The second is that Saint Christopher was
martyred in Antioch.
The
martyrdom of Saint Menas corresponds to the details of the legend of Saint
Christopher.
The theory that identifies the two saints as
one and the same concludes that the name "Christopher" meaning
"Christ-bearer" was a title given to the name of the valiant Menas
who died in Antioch.
Since he was not a native of that land, his
name was not known and so he was simply revered by his generic title:
"Christophoros" or "Christ-Bearer."
Saint Menas happens to be the patron of
travelers in the Coptic tradition, which further supports an association with
Saint Christopher who is the patron of travelers in the Greek and Latin
traditions.
Saint Mina (also Minas, Menas, Mena,
Mennas) (285 – c. 309), the Martyr and Wonder-worker, is one
of the most well-known Egyptian saints in the East and the West, due to the
many miracles that are attributed to his intercession and prayers. Mina was an
Egyptian soldier in the Roman army, martyred because he refused to recant his
Christian faith. His feast day is celebrated every year on 15 Hathor (November
24) in the Coptic Orthodox Church of
Alexandria and on November 11 in the West and East. Although Mina is
recognized as a minor saint in the Western churches, it is considered likely by
many historians that he is celebrated in these churches under the name of Saint Christopher (i.e.
the "Christ-bearer"), as one of the legends associated with Mina has
him, like Christopher, carrying the Christ-Child.
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