Demetrius of Thessaloniki
Kosovska Mitrovica, Calgary; soldiers;[1] Crusades (in Roman Catholic tradition);[1] agriculture, peasants and shepherds (in the Greek countryside during Middle Ages);[2] construction industry in Bulgaria |
---|
Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of of the early 4th century AD.
During the
Life
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, Macedonia in 270.[3]
According to the hagiographies, Demetrius was a young man of senatorial family who became proconsul of the Thessalonica district. He was run through with spears in around 306 in Thessaloniki, during the Christian persecutions under the emperor Galerius,[4] which matches his depiction in the 7th-century mosaics.
Veneration of sainthood and celebrations
Evolution during Byzantine Empire
Transfer to Thessaloniki; gaining of military attributes
Most historical scholars follow the hypothesis put forward by Bollandist Hippolyte Delehaye (1859–1941), that his veneration was transferred from Sirmium[5] 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.[6] 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
From pagan Demeter to St Demetrios
Demetrius was also venerated as patron of agriculture, peasants and shepherds in the Greek countryside during the Middle Ages. According to historian Hans Kloft, he had inherited this role from the pagan goddess Demeter. After the demise of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Demeter's cult, in the 4th century, the Greek rural population had gradually transferred her rites and roles onto the Christian saint Demetrius.[2]
During the Crusades
Unsurprisingly, he was extremely popular in the Middle Ages. Disputes between Bohemond I of Antioch and Alexios I Komnenos appear to have resulted in Demetrius being appropriated as patron saint of crusading.[7]
Relics
Most scholars still believe that for four centuries after his death, Demetrius had no physical relics, and in their place an unusual empty shrine called the "ciborium" was built inside Hagios Demetrios. What were 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.[8] The relics were assumed to be genuine after they started emitting a liquid and strong-scented myrrh. This gave Demeterius the epithet Myroblyte.[3][c]
Veneration in Orthodox world outside Greece
Demetrius was a patron saint of the
In the
The
Derived personal names
The names Dimitar (Bulgarian and Macedonian), Dimitry (Russian), Dimitris (Δημήτρης, Greek), Mitri (short form of Dimitri in Lebanon) are in common use.
Iconography
The hagiographic cycles of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki include depictions of scenes from his life and his posthumous miracles.
Another
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.
According to
See also
- Demeter
- Hagios Demetrios, the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrios
- Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, patron saint archive
Notes
- ^ Russian: Димитрий Солунский (Dimitry Solunsky); Bulgarian: Димитър Солунски (Dimitar Solunski); Macedonian: Свети Димитрија Солунски (Sveti Dimitrija Solunski); Romanian: Sfântul Dumitru, Sfântul Dimitrie; Serbian: Димитрије Солунски; Albanian: Shmitri (Kosovo) and Shën Dhimitri (Albania); Ukrainian: Димитрій Солунській
- ^ Greek: Ἅγιος Μεγαλομάρτυς Δημήτριος ὁ Μυροβλύτης (Hágios Megalomártys Dēmḗtrios ho Myroblýtēs)
- ^ This epithet is shared with other Orthodox saints: e.g. Saint Nilus of Kynouria, Saint Barbarus.[9]
References
- ^ a b Roth (1993), p. 36.
- ^ a b Kloft (2010), p. 25.
- ^ a b "Saint Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral". Archived from the original on 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
- ^ "Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher of Thessalonica". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
- ^ Woods 2000, pp. 223–5
- ^ ""Museum in the Crypt of the Church of St. Demetrios", Macedonian Museums". Archived from the original on 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
- ^ ISSN 2031-0234.
- ^ Cormack p. 75
- ISBN 9781418539818.
- ^ "Lives of the Saints". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2020-09-26 – via kontakia · All troparia. All lives of saints.
- ^ a b "Russian Icons". www.iconrussia.ru. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
- ^ "Saint Demetrios, The Myrrh-Streamer", The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios
- ^ "SAINT DEMETRIUS PILGRIMAGE CHURCH, THESSALONIKI". Μοναστήρια της Ελλάδος. 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
- ^ "St Demetrius of Thessaloniki", Ruzhnikov
Sources
- Roth, Paul W. (1993). Soldatenheilige (in German). ISBN 3-222-12185-0.
- Kloft, Hans (2010). Mysterienkulte der Antike. Götter, Menschen, Rituale (in German). ISBN 978-3-406-44606-1.
- 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
- Woods, David (2000). "Thessalonica's Patron: Saint Demetrius or Emeterius?". Harvard Theological Review. 93 (3): 221–234.
- David Woods, bibliography on St. Demetrius
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 Archived 2015-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrhgusher of Thessalonica Orthodox synaxarion