Demetrius of Thessaloniki

12th-century mosaic depicting St Demetrios, from the Golden-Roofed Monastery in Kiev.

St. Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessaloniki (Άγιος Δημήτριος της Θεσσαλονίκης in Greek) was a Christian martyr who is said to have lived in the 4th century. He is also referred to as "the Megalomartyr" by the Greeks. Whether there was in fact a historical Demetrius martyred for his faith in Thessaloniki is questioned by most modern scholars; this article relates the conventional hagiography.

Demetrius was a deacon in Thessaloniki. Early legends about Demetrius credit him with a military career in the Roman army, so he is also sometimes called a military martyr. He was run through with spears probably in 306 in Thessaloniki, during the Christian persecutions of emperor Maximian.

He was extremely popular in the Middle Ages, and along with St. George, was the patron of the Crusades.

St. Demetrius' relics are kept in Thessaloniki, Greece, a city of which he is the patron saint. His memory is celebrated on 26 October. He is also revered by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Mitar, having a feast of Mitrovdan on 8 November.

St. Demetrius is commonly spelled as St. Dimitrios by Greek immigrants in Australia and the United States.

Iconography

Relics of St. Demetrius at the Aghios Demetrios Basilica in Thessaloniki.

St. Demetrius is most commonly depicted in icons, mosaics and frescoes wearing the armour of a Roman soldier, although in the earliest images of the saint he is simply portrayed in robes. After the fall of Byzantium St. Demetrius began to be associated with St. George and together with him was portrayed mounted upon a horse, always a red horse for St. Demetrius and a white one for St. George. Equestrian images of the saint can be dated by this depiction.

An additional iconographical convention is to depict Demetrius with the White Tower of Thessaloniki in the background. The tower depicted in the icons was built in the 16th century, centuries after his life, as the architecture of the older tower in the exact site is unknown.

Bibliography

• 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).
• David Woods, "Thessalonica's Patron: Saint Demetrius or Emeterius?" Harvard Theological Review 93:3:221-234 (July 2000).