Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki
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| Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki | |
|---|---|
 12th-century mosaic depicting St Demetrios, from the Golden-Roofed Monastery in Kiev |
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| "The Megalomartyr"; Mitar | |
| Born | 3rd Century |
| Died | 306 |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism |
| Major shrine | Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Feast | 26 October |
| Attributes | depicted wearing the armour of a Roman soldier, often seated on a red horse |
| Patronage | patron of Thessaloniki, Greece; patron of the Crusades (in Catholic tradition only) |
 Saints Portal |
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- Saint Demetrius redirects here. For another saint, see Demetrius of Alexandria.
Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki (Greek: Άγιος Δημήτριος της Θεσσαλονίκης) was a Christian martyr who is said to have lived in Thessaloniki 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 memory is celebrated on 26 October.
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[edit] Name
The name of St. Demetrios the Megalomartyr was commonly rendered as St. Dimitrios by Byzantine scholars. This name is still used by Greek immigrants in Australia, Canada and the United States.
Accordingly, in Russian his name is spelled as Dimitry (Димитрий Солунский). He was considered 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 Serbian Orthodox Church reveres St. Demetrius as Mitar, having a feast of Mitrovdan on 8 November, which is a public holiday in the Republika Srpska part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is known in Lebanon as Mar Dimitri or Mitri for short, which is a common name among Christian Lebanese.
[edit] Life
The earliest written accounts of his life were compiled in the 9th century, although there are earlier images of him, and accounts from the 7th century of his miracles. The biographies have Demetrius as a young man of senatorial family who was run through with spears in around 306 in Thessaloniki, during the Christian persecutions of emperor Diocletian or Galerius, which matches his depiction in the 7th century mosaics.
[edit] Growth of his cult
The origins of his veneration are obscure; the first evidence of his systematic veneration comes about 150 years after his martyrdom. Therefore some modern scholars question the historicity of the man (Skedros 1996).
One theory is that his cult was transferred from Sirmium when Thessaloniki replaced it as the main military base in the area in 441/442. His very large church in Thessaloniki, the Hagios Demetrios, dates from the mid-5th century, so he clearly had a large cult by then. Thessaloniki remained a centre of his cult, and he is the patron saint of the city.
After the growth of his cult, Thessaloniki suffered repeated attacks and sieges from the new pagan 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.
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 were claimed to be his remains subsequently appeared in Thessaloniki, but even the local archbishop (John of Thessaloniki, 7th century) was publicly dismissive of their authenticity.[1] These are now also kept in Hagios Demetrios.
[edit] Iconography
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).[1] But an icon of the late 11th century in Sinai shows him as before, still a civilian. 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.
A modern Greek iconographical convention is to depict Demetrius with the White Tower of Thessaloniki in the background. This is something of an anachronism, as the tower depicted in the icons was 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.
[edit] Recent News
In June 2007, police recovered a silver box said to contain Demetrius' ankle bone that had been stolen from a Greek Orthodox church that shares his name in Astoria, Queens[2].
[edit] Notes
- ^ Cormack p. 75
- ^ News Story
[edit] References
- Robin Cormack, "Writing in Gold, Byzantine Society and its Icons", 1985, George Philip, London, ISBN 054001085-5
- 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, "Reponse 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 0237456451
- David Woods, "Thessalonica's Patron: Saint Demetrius or Emeterius?" Harvard Theological Review 93:3:221-234 (July 2000). at JSTORfree
- David Woods, bibliography on St. Demetrius
[edit] External links
- 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
