My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 26th of October, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the Great-Martyr and Wonder-worker DEMETRIOS the Myrrh-gusher.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of the Holy Martyr. Third Tone
A GREAT champion hath the whole world found thee to be when in
grave perils; for thou dost put to flight the heathen, O victorious one.
As thou didst humble Lyaeus’s arrogance and gavest boldness to
Nestor in the stadium, thus, O holy Great Martyr Demetrios, do thou
entreat Christ God that we be granted great mercy.
Kontakion Hymn of the Holy Martyr. Second Tone
GOD, Who hath given thee invincible strength, O Demetrios, hath
adorned the Church with the royal purple of the streams of thy
blood and hath kept thy city unharmed, for thou art the support
thereof.
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Saint Demetrios was a Thessalonian, a most pious son of pious and noble parents, and a teacher of the Faith of Christ. When Maximian first came to Thessalonike in 290 A.D., he raised the Saint to the rank of Duke of Thessaly. But when it was discovered that the Saint was a Christian, he was arrested and kept bound in a bath-house. While the games were underway in the city, Maximian was a spectator there. A certain friend of his, a barbarian who was a notable wrestler, Lyaeus by name, waxing haughty because of the height and strength of his body, boasted in the stadium and challenged the citizens to a contest with him. All that fought with him were defeated. Seeing this, a certain youth named Nestor, an acquaintance of Demetrios, came to the Saint in the bath-house and asked his blessing to fight Lyaeus single-handed. Receiving this blessing and sealing himself with the Sign of the Precious Cross, he presented himself in the stadium and said, "O God of Demetrios, help me!" and straightway he engaged Lyaeus in combat an smote him with a mortal blow to the heart, leaving the former boaster lifeless upon the earth. Maximian was sorely grieved over this, and when he learned who was the cause of the defeat, he commanded straightway and Demetrios was pierced with lances while he was yet in the bath-house. As for Nestor, Maximian, the pagan Roman emperor, commanded that he be slain with his own sword.
The great earthquake commemorated here took place in 740 A.D., during the reign of Leo the Isaurian, the first of the Iconoclast emperors. [The Great Horologion]
MORE ON THE LIFE OF THE GREAT MARTYR DEMETRIOS OF THESSALONIKI
Demetrios was baptized at an early age, and he grew from strength to strength in virtue. From his childhood years, by nature and disposition, he was good, innocent, sweet, and humble, and his character foretold the great stature in the Lord he would attain in due time. The people of the city honored the youth for his excellent lineage, but more so for his virtue, entegrity, and chastity. He was not only superior in the nobility of his soul, prudence, and justice, but also admired among the young menas certainly the most handsome. He busied himself chiefly with what was good, but he also exercised himself in the arts of war, since at that time young men greatly esteemed military careers. He loved righteousness and abhorred injustice. His good fame and virtues were in the mouths of all, including those in the circle of Emperor Maximian Galerius. In an interview, the emperor was impressed with the young man. Maximian Galerius selected Demetrios, out of all the leaders of Thessaloniki, and elevated him to the rank of doux, that is, military commander of all Thessaly. However, before the holy man was given this dignity or promotion, from the emperor, it was NOT known that he was a Christian. When he received the office, however, he made it no secret that he was a Christian.
Day and night, Demetrios never left off teaching the word of God and faith in the Christ. He was instructing the people openly, without any attempt at concealment or fear that the emperor should learn of his activities. He made it his chief labor to sow the seed of piety in a suitable manner that was adapted to those souls who listened. He was explaining to the idolaters how the True God fashioned man and honored him, and how he was placed in Paradise where he might rejoice and delight in Christ. The devil, OUT OF ENVY, deceived him so that he might transgress the command of God. Many of the converts had been Greek pagans.
Demetrios’ teachings were bringing forth abundant fruit. Thus, considering nothing else as gain, except converting the entire city of Thessaloniki to belief in the Christ, he never ceased preaching. The devil, the enemy of Truth, who always bears malice toward the souls of men, observed that the Christians were multiplying and the idolaters were diminishing in numbers. Steeped in envy, he employed various machinations to hinder the Saint’s preaching. After he failed to thwart the holy man, the devil sought the only way to achieve Demetrios’ permanent silence, and that was to have him put to death. What he contrived to perpetuate against the Saint, nonetheless, worked to the devil’s own ruin, as we shall soon see. Demetrios perceived in the Spirit that the time of his repose was drawing near, so he instructed his devout friend Loupos, to distribute all his inheritance and belongings, while he prepared himself with fasting and prayer.
Emperor Maximian had just brought under Roman rule the Scythians and Sarmatians. When he arrived in Thessaloniki, certain idolaters, having the devil in their heart and wishing to be honored by the emperor for their loyalty and love, went to him and declared that Demetrios, whom your Majesty honored with the rank of governor of Thessaly, has renounced the religion of his fathers and believes in the Christ, the One Who was crucified by the Hebrews. And even this does not satisfy him; but he also sits in his very court of justice, and openly preaches that this Christ is the True God! Indeed, many persons have been deceived and misled by his words, and have abandoned their ancient beliefs and become Christians.
Wishing to learn the truth for himself, he commanded that Demetrios be brought to him. The imperial officers, like fierce lions, immediately seized Demetrios and brought him before the emperor. The Saint, since he was willing and ready from the start to witness and suffer Martyrdom for the name of Christ, offered no resistance to those who apprehended him. The emperor spoke to Demetrios, saying, "I did not expect such a lack of regard on thy part… And yet thou didst not come forth even one mile from the city to meet me in advance?"
The Emperor became exceedingly angry and commanded that they incarcerate him. The soldiers took the holy man and led him to be imprisoned, not in the usual prison, but in an unclean place. The subterranean chamber of that bathhouse was used to pour out all kinds of useless and unclean materials, such as excrement. The holy Demetrios remained constant in prayer. When he lifted up his soul chanting hymns to God, it was as if he were in a bright chamber. Though the Saint certainly pleased God, he longed for the hour of his death.
The Martyrdom of Saint Demetrios
The soldiers heeded the command of the Emperor and went to the bathhouse. They marched in with their lances ready in their hands. They found the holy man standing at prayer. Without uttering a word, Saint Demetrios himself raised his right hand and received the first lance in his side, in the same place where our Savior Christ was lanced in the Cross. The other soldiers then pierced his body all over with their lances. Such was the martyrdom of the Great-Martyr Demetros, blessed Christians, whom we commemorate on the 26th of October. After the soldiers fulfilled their commission, they left Saint Demetrios on the ground where he lay. Certain godly Christians came to the bathhouse secretly, on account of the fear of the emperor. They found his holy relics on the ground. In that chamber where he struggled and suffered martyrdom the Christians interred him.
Saint Loupos
One of the burial party was a personal friend of the Saint, Loupos, who stood by the Saint until his repose. Loupos removed the ring that the Saint had on his right hand, then took up Saint Demetrios’ handkerchief and the mantle that was draped over his shoulders, and then dipped them into his blooded wounds. Now many miracles were wrought through these sanctified articles. All those suffering from diseases of every kind were healed, as well as those possessed by demons. It was not long before the emperor heard reports of these cures. Therefore, he dispatched his soldiers to apprehend Loupos and decapitated him.
After the repose of Saint Demetrios, it was God’s will to glorify him in all the world. He dispensed in His economy to have fragrant myrrh flow from his body. Although both natives and those afar came and collected the myrrh, this in no way exhausted the supply. In fact, the greater the demand, the more the supply increased through the intercessions of the Saint. This myrrh, filled with Divine Grace and power, ushered in great healings. People hence, from all over were coming with profound faith. [The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 