Come all you faithful, having assembled,
let us praise the fighter of Christ
and courageous luminary Demetrius.
(Stichera in the Small Vespers Service)
St. Clement of Alexandria describes the greatness and significance of a martyr in these words: “A martyr gives a threefold witness — first, to himself, that he remained faithful to God by his true loyalty to the faith; secondly, against his enemy, who attacked him in vain because he was unshakeable in love; and thirdly, to the Lord, whose teaching is so powerful that even the fear of death cannot prevail against it.
Holy Church from the first centuries of Christianity held, and still holds, the merits of the martyrs in high esteem. She venerates them, and places them before us as examples of the heroic love of God and of unwavering profession of holy faith. Some of these who have in a singular manner distinguished themselves by their zeal and fortitude in professing the holy faith, and by the miracles worked through their intercession are remembered after death by their own solemn feasts during the Church Year. One of these is the Martyr, St. Demetrius, upon whom the Church bestowed the title of Great Martyr and Myroblyte (Myrrh-exuding One because, from his relics, myrrh was said to have exuded). His memory is kept by the Eastern Church on the 26th of October, and by the Western Church on the 8th of October.
Martyrdom and Glory of St. Demetrius
St. Demetrius lived in the second half of the third century in the city of Salonika (from the Greek name Thessalonica), where his father was a high imperial official. After the death
of his father, Emperor Maximian made him the proconsul of Salonika. From childhood, St. Demetrius was brought up in the Christian faith. Although he occupied a high office, he professed his faith openly. For this reason, the Emperor Maximian ordered him to be cast into prison. While in prison, he blessed his companion Nestor for battle against the emperor’s champion gladiator, Lius. Holding the Cross in his hand, St. Nestor confronted Lius, overcame, and killed him. The emperor, having heard that Demetrius had blessed Nestor before his combat with Lius, sent soldiers to the prison where they speared Demetrius to death. This occurred in the year 306. The Eastern Church celebrates the memory of St. Nestor on the day following the feast of St. Demetrius.
The Lord glorified the heroic faith of St. Demetrius not only by numerous miracles after his death, but also by preserving his body incorrupt and letting fragrant myrrh exude from his relics. When, about a hundred years after his death, his tomb was opened, his body was found to be incorrupt, and the sick were cured by the fragrant oil which dripped from his bones.
The Cult of the Great Martyr Demetrius
The gift of miracles, the preservation of his body from corruption, and the exuding of myrrh-oil from his body became the basis for a widespread cult of St. Demetrius, not only in Greece, but also among the Slavs. Pilgrims from everywhere flocked in hundreds and thousands to his tomb, looking upon him as an unfailing helper in all their necessities. Because be blessed Nestor before combat, he is regarded as the patron of soldiers. In the fifth century a magnificent church was erected over his tomb. The extent to which this cult spread among the Slavs is evident from the fact that in the Balkan countries there are more than 200 churches dedicated to St. Demetrius.
The cult of St. Demetrius found its way into our native land along with Christianity. Father Andrew Truch, O.S.B.M., in his Lives of the Saints writes of this cult:
In Rus-Ukraine, the Martyr St. Demetrius enjoyed great popularity. What gave occasion to this great honour shown to St. Demetrius was the siege of Constantinople by the Ukrainian Prince, Oleh. The Chronicler, Nestor, mentions that when the Rus’ armies broke through the Greek forces, “the Greeks were terrified and said: it is not Oleh, but St. Demetrius who was sent against us by God.” Later when the Christian faith spread among our people, the princes and their armies and all the faithful entrusted themselves to the protection of St. Demetrius. (Vol. 4, p. 106)
Prince Iziaslav Dymytrij Yaroslavych founded a monastery in Kiev around 1057 and dedicated it to the memory of St. Demetrius. In 1197, the Grand Prince Vsevolod Dymytrij Yuriyevych (†1212) had received a shirt of St. Demetrius and a board from his coffin as a gift from Salonika. The sick were cured by the oil which seeped from the board. This Prince built at the prince’s Court in Volodymyr, a magnificent church dedicated to St. Demetrius, where these relics were preserved. In our native land there were numerous churches dedicated to his name.
The feast of St. Demetrius belongs to the middle class of feasts which are solemn, but not obligatory. Associated with this feast is the memory of an earthquake which occurred in Constantinople on the 26th of October, 740. In the service of that day, holy Church places before the eyes of the faithful his heroic faith and various virtues. She presents him as a brave soldier of Christ and confessor, a miracle-worker who heals the sicknesses of body and soul, and one who helps in all necessities: “O Martyr St. Demetrius,’’ we sing in the sticheras in Vespers, “your miracles shine upon the world like the sun. Therefore, all of us are filled with joy at the memory of your miracles, O Blessed One…” And in the fifth Ode of the canon in the Matins service, we read: “Those who sincerely hasten to your Church with faith, O Demetrius, are quickly delivered from sickness and spiritual sufferings.”
St. Demetrius intercedes with God for us: “Today we are devoutly celebrating the feast of Demetrius the Martyr, who prays unceasingly to Christ that He grant to all peace and mercy.” says the Sessional Hymn in Matins. “You are to us,” we read in the stichera at the aposticha in the Small Vespers service, “a benefactor of numerous gifts, O Ambassador of the Lord, because you fulfil all our requests.”
St. Demetrius not only is a miracle-worker and intercessor in heaven, but also one from whose bones miraculous myrrh (oil) exuded. We read in the first Ode of the canon in Matins, “O Demetrius, you who are a fountain of fragrant and pure myrrh, cleanse my heart of all loathsome passions, and through the practice of virtue, make me fragrant with the odour of piety, and my mind noble and upright, in order that I may sing praises in honour of your divine gifts.”
St. Demetrius — Our Model and Intercessor
The main purpose for the celebration of the feasts of the holy Martyrs is to meditate and admire their heroic profession of holy faith, and to learn from them to love our faith, cherish it, practice it and courageously profess it. The external profession of faith is the mark of a good and practicing Christian. A good Christian never hides his faith, is not ashamed of it, does not deny it, barter with it, or change it, but openly and bravely professes it by word and deed. Christ demands such faith from every one of us. Jesus Himself said: “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I in turn will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10,32-33)
Every act of our whole life must be a sermon on our holy faith. “The profession of faith,” says St. John Chrysostom,’ ‘is expressed not only in word but also in deeds. When they are lacking, then we are exposing ourselves to the danger of being punished along with those who have denied their faith.”
Holy Church wishes and strongly recommends that we not only imitate the Saints, but also have recourse to them in matters of soul and body. It goes without saying that the Lord God gladly hears the requests of those who, for His sake, shed their blood and offered up their lives for Him. The Servant of God, Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, says:
Whoever has recourse with great faith to a Martyr, he may expect through his intercession anything from God. Theodoret lists in detail the various gifts one may expect through the intercession of such a Martyr: health, progeny, successful journeys, and cures of various kinds. In this regard, “Proof that prayer offered up with faith is heard,” he writes, “are those votive offerings which testify to the various cures. Those votive offerings represent eyes, feet, hands, of gold or silver, as well as more simple and modest offerings, according to the means of the offeror. These objects are evidence of the cures, received by the donors, and of the power of the Martyr’s intercession.” The cycle of the Liturgical Year clearly presents the entire history of the Church to us — from the infants slaughtered by Herod for the sake of Christ and the great protomartyr Stephen to those who laid down their lives for holy icons and to our priest-martyr St. Josaphat, archbishop of Polotsk. (On the Veneration of Saints, 1941)
From A Byzantine Liturgical Year by Fr. Julian Katrij, OSBM (Toronto: Basilian Press, 1992), 226-232. Used with permission.
