St. Menas the Soldier

Menas was an Egyptian serving in the Roman army at Cotyaeum in Phrygia. Butler places his martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian, when the imperial demands against Christians were being enforced in the East.

His short account describes a soldier who openly confessed his faith when arrested. Scourging and other torments did not make him abandon that confession, and he was finally beheaded. The proposed year in Butler is expressly approximate rather than certain.

The notice emphasizes the widespread honour paid to his name, especially in the Eastern calendars. Its concluding note distinguishes this soldier from another martyr called Mennas commemorated in December and records disagreement about the identity of relics taken to Constantinople. This reading preserves that distinction and leaves the disputed translation of relics outside the biographical narrative.