Saint Mamas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Mamas was a Christian martyr who died c. 275 in Cappadocia. He preached to animals in the fields, and a lion remained with him as companion. In iconography, his attribute is the lion. His feast day is 17 August in the Roman calendar and 2 September in the Orthodox calendar.

In Cyprus he is popularly known as the patron saint of tax avoiders. According to local legend he was a hermit living in very poor circumstances and when the authorities tried to tax him, he evaded them. Soldiers were sent out and captured him but on the way back to town, he saw a lion attacking a lamb, escaped the soldiers, saved the lamb, jumped on the lion's back and in that way came to town. His bravery earned him exemption from tax, hence his traditional attribute.

Morphou/Guzelyurt in Cyprus has a celebrated church dedicated to Mamas.