St. Menas of Egypt was 3rd century Egyptian officer in Phyrgia under both Emperor Diocletian and Maximian. According to the OCA account “When the emperors began the fiercest persecution against Christians in history, the saint refused to serve these persecutors. He removed his soldier’s belt (a sign of military rank) and withdrew to a mountain, where he lived an ascetic life of fasting and prayer.”
Upon returning from his voluntary withdrawal from the world, he made a very bold denunciation of the pagan gods and suffered a martyr’s death after many tortures. Those who carried out his sentence tried to burn his body, but it wouldn’t burn. Christians carried the body away and at the spot of his eventual burial, many miracles occurred.
Because of this, the saint and his resting place became incredibly popular with pilgrims. There are very early icons (like this 6th century one in the Louvre) and flasks still in existence to show how widely regarded he was as an intercessor and wonderworker. The place where he was believed to be buried was called El-Alamein (the place of Menas) by the Arabs.
There is a very impressive fresco of the Miracle of Alamein at the Great Lavra Monastery on Mt. Athos. So they definitely feel like the saints deserve some credit.
But I think there’s a bigger picture here. A soldier who died in 304 was still alive in hearts and minds 1600 years later. As we sing “Memory eternal” concerning Orthodox saints, we should be willing to consider that when their memory is alive, there is power in that. The battles may come and go, but the war goes on.

[link to this-side-of-glory.com]