Feast day: October 26
St. Demetrius of Thessalonica
A young man of Thessalonica, by tradition a Roman officer, imprisoned and speared to death for proclaiming Christ — one of the most venerated soldier-martyrs of the Eastern Church.
Demetrius is one of the most venerated martyrs of the Eastern Church — a 'Great Martyr' ranked beside St. George — and the heavenly patron and protector of the city of Thessalonica, in Greece, where his cult has flourished without interruption for more than fifteen centuries.
The historical facts of his life are sparse and overlaid with legend; he is generally placed in the persecutions of the early fourth century. Tradition makes him a young man of noble family — in later versions a Roman officer — who boldly professed and preached the Christian faith at Thessalonica and was, for this, imprisoned and put to death, run through with spears, about the year 306.
Over his tomb in Thessalonica rose a magnificent basilica that still stands, and from his shrine, according to long tradition, flowed a fragrant, miracle-working oil or myrrh, which earned him in the Greek Church the title 'the Myrrh-streamer.' His reputation as a warrior-protector grew with the centuries, especially after the city was believed to have been saved through his intercession from besieging armies.
Honoured as a soldier-saint and city-protector, Demetrius is one of the great military martyrs of Eastern Christianity, his image — a young warrior, often on horseback, the companion of St. George — beloved throughout the Orthodox and Byzantine world.
His great basilica still stands in Thessalonica, and the Eastern Church honors him as the 'Great Martyr,' a heavenly defender of his city.
Image: artist unknown (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/04706b.htm
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