Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki (Greek: Άγιος Δημήτριος της Θεσσαλονίκης) was a Christian martyr, who lived in the early 4th century.
During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints, often paired with Saint George. His feast day is 26 October for Christians following the Gregorian calendar and 8 November for Christians following the Julian calendar.
The spelling "Demetrius" is a romanization of the ancient Greek pronunciation; the Byzantine and Modern Greek pronunciation is romanized as Dimitrios or Demetrios. See Demetrios for more on the etymology of the name.
In Russian, he is called Димитрий Солунский ([dimitri solunski] 'Dimitri of Saloniki') and was a patron saint of the ruling Rurikid family from the late 11th century on. Izyaslav I of Kiev (whose Christian name was Dimitry) founded the first East Slavic monastery dedicated to this saint. The name Dimitry is in common use.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian people revere St. Demetrius on 26 October as Димитровден (Dimitrovden).
The Serbian Orthodox Church reveres St. Demetrius as Mitar or " Димитрије ", having a feast of Mitrovdan on 8 November.
The non-canonical Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric reveres St. Demetrius as " Свети Димитријa ", having a feast of Митровден on 8 November.
He is known among Albanian-speakers in Kosovo as Shmitri, and in Albania as Shën Mitri.
He is known in Lebanon as Mar Dimitri or Mitri for short, which is a common name among Christian Lebanese.
He is known in the Coptic Church as "St. Demetrius of Thessalonica". He is venerated in the Coptic Church on 8 November.
St Demetrius of Salonica (18th Century). The Walters Art Museum.
The earliest written accounts of his life were compiled in the 9th
century, although there are earlier images of him, and the 7th-century Miracles of Saint Demetrius collection. According to these early accounts, Demetrius was born to pious Christian parents in Thessaloniki, Greece in 270.[1] The biographies have Demetrius as a young man of senatorial family who was run through with spears in around 306 AD in Thessaloniki, during the Christian persecutions of the emperor Diocletian or Galerius, which matches his depiction in the 7th century mosaics.
One theory is that his veneration was transferred from Sirmium when Thessaloniki replaced it as the main military base in the area in 441/442 AD. His very large church in Thessaloniki, the Hagios Demetrios, dates from the mid-5th century.[2] Thessaloniki remained a centre of his veneration, and he is the patron saint of the city.
After the growth of his veneration as saint, the city of Thessaloniki suffered repeated attacks and sieges from the Slavic peoples who moved into the Balkans, and Demetrius was credited with many miraculous interventions to defend the city. Hence later traditions about Demetrius regard him as a soldier in the Roman army, and he came to be regarded as an important military martyr. Unsurprisingly, he was extremely popular in the Middle Ages, and along with Saint George, was the patron of the Crusades.
Some scholars believe that for four centuries after his death, St. Demetrius had no physical relics, and in their place an unusual empty shrine called the "ciborium" was built inside Hagios Demetrios. What are still purported to be his remains subsequently appeared in Thessaloniki, but the local archbishop John, who compiled the first book of the Miracles ca. 610, was publicly dismissive of their authenticity.[3] These are now also kept in Hagios Demetrios. According to believers, these relics were ascertained to be genuine after they started emitting a liquid and strong scented myrrh. This gave the saint the epithet "Myrovlētēs" (Greek: Μυροβλήτης, the Myrrh-streamer).[1]
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Saturday before the Feast of St. Demetrius is a memorial day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), under the leadership of St. Demetrius of the Don. This day is known as Demetrius Saturday.[4]
Demetrios icon Metropolitan Museum of Art
St. Demetrius was initially depicted in icons and mosaics as a young man in patterned robes with the distinctive tablion
of the senatorial class across his chest. Miraculous military
interventions were attributed to him during several attacks on
Thessaloniki, and he gradually became thought of as a soldier: a
Constantinopolitan ivory of the late 10th century shows him as an
infantry soldier (Metropolitan Museum of Art). But an icon of the late 11th century in Sinai shows him as before, still a civilian. This may be due to iconic depiction customs on how saints are depicted.
Another Sinai icon, of the Crusader period and painted by a French artist working in the Holy Land in the second half of the 12th century, shows what then became the most common depiction. Demetrius, bearded, rather older, and on a dark horse, rides together with St George, unbearded and on a white horse. Both are dressed as cavalrymen. Also, while St. George is often shown spearing a dragon, St. Demetrius is depicted spearing the gladiator Lyaeos, who according to story was responsible for killing many Christians. Lyaeos is commonly depicted below Demetrius and lying supine, having already been defeated; Lyaeos is traditionally drawn much smaller than Demetrius. In traditional hagiography, Demetrius did not directly kill Lyaeos, but rather through his prayers the gladiator was defeated by Demetrius' disciple, Nestor.
A modern Greek iconographic convention depicts Demetrius with the Great White Tower in the background. The anachronistic White Tower acts as a symbolic depiction of the city of Thessaloniki, despite having been built in the 16th century, centuries after his life, and the exact architecture of the older tower that stood at the same site in earlier times is unknown. Again, iconography often depicts saints holding a church or protecting a city.
During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints, often paired with Saint George. His feast day is 26 October for Christians following the Gregorian calendar and 8 November for Christians following the Julian calendar.
Contents
Name
In Russian, he is called Димитрий Солунский ([dimitri solunski] 'Dimitri of Saloniki') and was a patron saint of the ruling Rurikid family from the late 11th century on. Izyaslav I of Kiev (whose Christian name was Dimitry) founded the first East Slavic monastery dedicated to this saint. The name Dimitry is in common use.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian people revere St. Demetrius on 26 October as Димитровден (Dimitrovden).
The Serbian Orthodox Church reveres St. Demetrius as Mitar or " Димитрије ", having a feast of Mitrovdan on 8 November.
The non-canonical Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric reveres St. Demetrius as " Свети Димитријa ", having a feast of Митровден on 8 November.
He is known among Albanian-speakers in Kosovo as Shmitri, and in Albania as Shën Mitri.
He is known in Lebanon as Mar Dimitri or Mitri for short, which is a common name among Christian Lebanese.
He is known in the Coptic Church as "St. Demetrius of Thessalonica". He is venerated in the Coptic Church on 8 November.
Life
Veneration of Sainthood
After the growth of his veneration as saint, the city of Thessaloniki suffered repeated attacks and sieges from the Slavic peoples who moved into the Balkans, and Demetrius was credited with many miraculous interventions to defend the city. Hence later traditions about Demetrius regard him as a soldier in the Roman army, and he came to be regarded as an important military martyr. Unsurprisingly, he was extremely popular in the Middle Ages, and along with Saint George, was the patron of the Crusades.
Some scholars believe that for four centuries after his death, St. Demetrius had no physical relics, and in their place an unusual empty shrine called the "ciborium" was built inside Hagios Demetrios. What are still purported to be his remains subsequently appeared in Thessaloniki, but the local archbishop John, who compiled the first book of the Miracles ca. 610, was publicly dismissive of their authenticity.[3] These are now also kept in Hagios Demetrios. According to believers, these relics were ascertained to be genuine after they started emitting a liquid and strong scented myrrh. This gave the saint the epithet "Myrovlētēs" (Greek: Μυροβλήτης, the Myrrh-streamer).[1]
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Saturday before the Feast of St. Demetrius is a memorial day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), under the leadership of St. Demetrius of the Don. This day is known as Demetrius Saturday.[4]
Iconography
Another Sinai icon, of the Crusader period and painted by a French artist working in the Holy Land in the second half of the 12th century, shows what then became the most common depiction. Demetrius, bearded, rather older, and on a dark horse, rides together with St George, unbearded and on a white horse. Both are dressed as cavalrymen. Also, while St. George is often shown spearing a dragon, St. Demetrius is depicted spearing the gladiator Lyaeos, who according to story was responsible for killing many Christians. Lyaeos is commonly depicted below Demetrius and lying supine, having already been defeated; Lyaeos is traditionally drawn much smaller than Demetrius. In traditional hagiography, Demetrius did not directly kill Lyaeos, but rather through his prayers the gladiator was defeated by Demetrius' disciple, Nestor.
A modern Greek iconographic convention depicts Demetrius with the Great White Tower in the background. The anachronistic White Tower acts as a symbolic depiction of the city of Thessaloniki, despite having been built in the 16th century, centuries after his life, and the exact architecture of the older tower that stood at the same site in earlier times is unknown. Again, iconography often depicts saints holding a church or protecting a city.
Relic
On June 28, 2007, police recovered a silver box said to contain Demetrius' ankle bone. The relic had been stolen from a Greek Orthodox cathedral that shares his name in Astoria, Queens [5]Music
In 1962, the life and martyrdom of Demetrius became the subject of a 90-minute oratorio by Greek Diaspora composer Nicolas Astrinidis. Three parts of the work were premiered at the first Demetria Festival in Thessaloniki on October 26, 1962. The entire oratorio was premiered in 1966 and received subsequent performances in 1985 (Thessaloniki) and in 1993 (Bucharest).[6] All performances have been recorded.[7]Notes
- ^ a b Saint Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral
- ^ "Museum in the Crypt of the Church of St. Demetrios", Macedonian Museums
- ^ Cormack p. 75
- ^ Commemorated on October 24
- ^ Police Recover Stolen Church Reliquary
- ^ Ilias Chrissochoidis, Nicolas Astrinidis: Life - Works catalog, Stanford, 2012. ISBN 1478248637
- ^ Nicolas Astrinidis, Oratorio Saint Demetrios
See also
Hagios Demetrios, the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius he died in 450 A.DReferences
- Robin Cormack, Writing in Gold, Byzantine Society and its Icons, George Philip, London, 1985. ISBN 0-540-01085-5
- Eugenia Russell, St Demetrius of Thessalonica; Cult and Devotion in the Middle Ages, Peter Lang, Oxford, 2010. ISBN 978-3-0343-0181-7
- James C. Skedros, Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and Divine Protector 4th-7th Centuries CE, Trinity Press International, 1999. Summarized in Harvard Theological Review 89:410 (1996). in JSTOR
- James C. Skedros, "Response to David Woods" Harvard Theological Review 93:3:235 (July 2000). at JSTOR
- Kurt Weitzmann in The Icon, 1982, Evans Brothers Ltd, London, ills. pp. 32,51,220 (trans of Le Icone, Montadori 1981), ISBN 0-237-45645-1
- David Woods, "Thessalonica's Patron: Saint Demetrius or Emeterius?" Harvard Theological Review 93:3:221-234 (July 2000). at JSTOR free copy
- David Woods, bibliography on St. Demetrius
External links
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- David Woods, St Demetrius from his Military Martyrs Web site. Includes article on Origins of the Cult, the Passion and Miracles by Anastasius the Librarian (BHL 2122 and 2123), images & links.
- The Life Of The Holy Great Martyr Of Christ Saint Demetrios The Myrrh-Bearer of Thessalonica Compiled by Fr. Demetrios Serfes
- Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrhgusher of Thessalonica Orthodox icon and synaxarion
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