Marcian of Cyr, St.
MARCIAN OF CYR, ST.
Monk and ascetic; b. Cyr, Syria, c. 300; d. in the desert of Chalcis, north Syria, c. 381–391. He was the son of patricians, but he preferred the life of a hermit, alone with God, praying and fasting. After some time he acquired as disciples Eusebius and Agapetus, who later initiated other monks to his spiritual and ascetic doctrine. Out of humility he refused to be ordained a priest and sought to hide his miraculous gifts. Before his death, friends built oratories to receive his relics, but he ordered his body concealed, and it was not discovered until 50 years after his death. theodoret discusses Marcian in his History of the Monks 3 (Patrologia Graeca, ed. J. P. Migne 83:1324–40).
Feast: Nov. 2.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Nov. 1:532–542. c. baronius, Annales ecclesiastici 5:535. "Le Synaxaire de Sirmond," Analecta Bollandiana 14 (1895) 420. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints det des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 11:84–86. j. lebon, Le moine saint Marcien. Étude critique des sources, ed. a. van roey (Leuven 1968).
[j. van paassen]