E01344: The long version of the Greek Martyrdom of *Demetrios (martyr of Thessalonike S00761), of the 6th or 7th c., recounts the martyrdom of the nobleman Demetrios, and his companions *Nestor and Loupos (S00796). It also recounts miracles performed by the relics of Demetrios, and the foundation of his basilicas in Thessalonike (south Balkans/Greece) and Sirmium (middle Danube). Written in Thessalonike.
Creators: name: Erizos
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2016
Subjects: History

description: Martyrdom of Demetrios of Thessalonike (Passio Altera; BHG 497)<br><br>Summary<br><br>(1) After his victories over the Goths and Sauromatae, Maximian Herculius stays in Thessalonike, and Christians are persecuted. (2) Demetrios is a man of noble descent, senator, once exceptor (officer in the court of chancery), former proconsul of Greece, and consul. Yet he disdains earthly glory and teaches Christianity. (3) He preaches to the pagans in the basement of the Coppersmiths’ Portico (χαλκευτικὴ στοά /chalkeutike stoa), near a bath, west of the great forum of the city. As his fame grows, he is arrested, while performing the Christian rites together with the brethren. (4-5) Demetrios is taken to the emperor Maximian, who happened to be going to the stadium for a festival of gladiatorial games. Maximian has a favourite gladiator, Lyaios, who has defeated many in Rome, Sirmium, and Thessalonike. (5) When Maximian is near the stadium, Demetrios is brought to him and confesses being a Christian. (6) Demetrios speaks with freedom and his face shines. Maximian orders him to be kept in the basement of a nearby bath by the furnaces. While Demetrios is in his cell, a scorpion appears from the earth and threatens to bite the saint who kills it by the sign of the cross. An angel puts a crown on the saint’s head and encourages him. (7.) Maximian takes his place in the stadium, and invites people to fight with Lyaios, offering prizes. A young man called Nestor leaves the stadium and visits Demetrios in his prison cell, asking for his blessing before the games. Demetrios seals him by the sign of the cross, and predicts that Nestor will both win in the games and become a martyr. (8) Nestor appears at the stadium and demands to fight with Lyaios. Surprised, the emperor tries to discourage him, offering him to take the money and leave, sparing his own youth. (9) Nestor insists that he is not interested in money, but only in defeating Lyaios. (10) Nestor crosses his heart and invokes the help of the God of Demetrios by these words:<br><br>Ὁ θεὸς Δημητρίου τοῦ δούλου σου, καὶ ὁ ἠγαπημένος σου παῖς Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ὁ ὑποτάξας Γολιὰθ τὸν ἀλλόφυλον τῷ πιστῷ Δαυΐδ, αὐτὸς κατάβαλε τὸ θράσος τοῦ Λυαίου καὶ Μαξιμιανοῦ τοῦ τυράννου.<br><br>‘Oh God of Demetrios, your servant, and your beloved son Jesus Christ, you that subdued Goliath the alien to David the faithful, break the insolence of Lyaios and Maximianos the tyrant.’<br> <br>He kills Lyaios in the first engagement of their fight, to the great consternation of Maximian. Nestor gives thanks to God for defeating the barbarian by the prayer of Demetrios. (11) Maximian enraged returns to the palace. Convinced that Nestor’s victory was the result of magic, he summons and interrogates him. Nestor confesses that his victory was the work of an angel sent by the God of Demetrios, the God of the Christians. Maximian condemns him, and he is decapitated near the main gate of Thessalonike by the protector Menoutianos. (12) Maximian is convinced by his officials that Demetrios is responsible for Lyaios’ defeat, and he orders his execution by spears at the place of his imprisonment by the furnaces of the bath. Demetrios‘ slave, Loupos, collects the martyr’s orarion [handkerchief or stole?] and ring, covered with his blood. (13) With them, he performs various cures, the fame of which reaches the emperor who has him executed. Loupos and a number of other Christians are executed at the tribunal of the city, with the emperor presiding in person. (14) The relic (λείψανον / leipsanon) of Demetrios is left on the spot by his executioners and is summarily buried there by the Christians during the night. Miracles and cures occur on the site, which gradually becomes famous throughout Macedonia and Thessaly. (15) In the times after the triumph of Christianity, the Praetorian Prefect Leontios, on his way to Dacia, falls ill and is transported by his people to the shrine of Demetrios, where he is immediately healed. Giving thanks, he has a church built for the martyr, between the bathhouse and the stadium. (16) Preparing to go to Illyricum, the Prefect wishes to take some of the saint’s relics, in order to build a church for him there, but Demetrios appears to him in a dream and deters him from proceeding with his plan. Instead, the prefect takes Demetrios’ blood-stained chlamys and part of the orarion, which he places in a silver coffin. During his trip, he is unable to cross the Danube. (17) In a dream, Demetrios advises him to take the reliquary and cross the river safely, which he does. He arrives at Sirmium where he builds a church, containing the reliquary, near the church of St Anastasia. Several miracles occur.<br><br>The last paragraphs read as following:<br><br>12 (……) Λοῦπος δέ, ὁ τοῦ ἁγίου Δημητρίου οἰκέτης, παρεστὼς αὐτῷ, λαβὼν τὸ ὀράριον τοῦ ἁγίου, ἐν αὐτῷ ἀνελέξατο τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ.<br><br>13. Ἀφελόμενος δὲ καὶ τὸ βασιλικὸν δακτύλιον, ὃ δὲ ἐφόρει ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦτο ἐγκλείσας ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ αἵματι, ἐπετέλει δι’ αὐτοῦ ἱάσεις· πάντας γὰρ τοὺς κατεχομένους ποικίλαις νόσοις καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ ἀκαθάρτων πνευμάτων βεβλαμμένους ἰᾶτο διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ ἐπισκιάσεως τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ δακτυλίῳ χάριτος ὡς διαδραμεῖν τὴν περὶ τούτου φήμην ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Θεσσαλονικέων πόλει. Μαθὼν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς περὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πῶς ἰᾶται τοὺς κάμνοντας, ἐκέλευσε καὶ αὐτὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι ἐν τῷ τριβουναλίῳ τῆς πόλεως ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῶν βουλευμάτων, προκαθημένου αὐτοῦ, μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν πεπιστευκότων τῷ Χριστῷ.<br><br>14. Τὸ δὲ πανάγιον Δημητρίου τοῦ ὁσίου λείψανον καταφρονηθὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνῃρηκότων, οἱ τῶν τότε δὴ ἀδελφῶν εύλαβέστεροι λαβόντες νύκτωρ διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἷς ἔρριπτο χώμασιν διανειμάμενοι τῆς γῆς, ὅσον οἷόν τε ἦν, ἔκρυψαν, ἵνα μὴ παρά τινος τῶν αἱμοβόρων ζώων ὑπομείνῃ βλάβην. Οὐδενὶ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα φροντὶς ἐγένετο μετενεγκεῖν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἁγίου, ἀλλ’ ἔμεινεν ἐπὶ σχήματος, σημείων τε πολλῶν καὶ ἰάσεων γενομένων ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, καὶ θείων χαρισμάτων φοιτώντων τοῖς πίστει προσερχομένοις ἐν αύτῷ, καὶ ὁσημέραι πάντων εὐφραινομένων ἐκεῖσε, περιβοήτου διὰ πάσης Μακεδονίας και Θετταλίας γινομένης τῆς τοῦ μάρτυρος θαυματουργοῦ ἐνεργείας.<br><br>15. Λοιπὸν δὲ καὶ τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων πλάνης καθαρθείσης, τῆς δὲ ζωοποιοῦ καὶ ἀμωμήτου τῶν Χριστιανῶν ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως λαμπρυνομένης, Λεόντιος δέ τις ἀνὴρ τοὺς ἐπαρχικοὺς τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν κατακοσμῶν θρόνους, ἀπερχόμενος ἐν τῇ Δακῶν χώρᾳ νόσῳ ἀνιάτῳ ληφθεὶς λεκτικίῳ ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἐν τῇ Θεσσαλονικέων ἀπηνέχθη πόλει, καὶ ἀνεκλήθη ἐν τῷ σεβασμίῳ σηκῷ, ἔνθα ἦν ὑπὸ γῆν κείμενον τοῦ ἁγίου τὸ λείψανον. Παραχρῆμα δὲ τοῦ κατακλιθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐπάνω τοῦ ἰαματοφόρου μνήματος εὐθέως τῆς ὑγείας ἐπέτυχεν, ὥστε θαυμάζειν αὐτόν τε καὶ τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν τὴν ταχίστην τοῦ μάρτυρος ἐπισκοπήν, καὶ χάριτας ὁμολογεῖν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ πανενδόξῳ μάρτυρι Δημητρίῳ· ὃς αὔτίκα κατὰ τὰς τῶν καμίνων καμάρας, ἅμα καὶ τοῦ τῶν θερμῶν ὑδάτων οἴκου καθελὼν καὶ περικαθάρας μετὰ τῶν ἐκεῖσε ὄντων δημοσίων ἐμβόλων καὶ προπίνων, ἀνήγειρεν πάνσεπτον οἶκον τῷ μάρτυρι, δαψιλείᾳ κατακοσμήσας χρειῶν μέσον τοῦ δημοσίου λουτροῦ καὶ τοῦ σταδίου. <br><br>16. Μέλλων δὲ ἀπέρχεσθαι ἐν τῷ Ἰλλυρικῷ ἤβουλήθη τινὰ τῶν λειψάνων λαβεῖν τοῦ μάρτυρος πρὸς τὸ κἀκεῖσε ναὸν αὐτῷ οἰκοδομῆσαι εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ ἁγίου· ᾧτινι ὁ πανένδοξος ἀθλοφόρος τοῦ Χριστοῦ Δημήτριος νυκτὸς ἐπιστὰς τοῦτον προελθεῖν διεκώλυσεν. Λαβὼν οὖν τὴν χλαμύδα αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων αἱμάτων πεφυρμένην καὶ μέρος τοῦ ὀραρίου, καὶ ποιήσας γλωσσόκομον ἀργύρεον, ἐν αὐτῷ άπέθετο. Ὁδοιποροῦντος δὲ αὐτοῦ, καὶ σφοδροῦ χειμῶνος γεγονότος, καὶ τοῦ Δανουβίου ποταμοῦ καχλάζοντος τῷ ῥεύματι, ὡς μηδὲ ναυσὶ πόρον τούτου ὑπάρχειν ἐπὶ ἱκανὰς ἡμέρας, μὴ ὑπολείποντος αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ’ εἴργοντος τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω πορείαν, ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ ἐτύγχανεν ὁ ἔπαρχος.<br><br>17. Καὶ δὴ ἐώρα τὸν πανένδοξον Δημήτριον λέγοντα αὐτῷ, Πᾶσαν ἀπιστίαν καὶ ἀθυμίαν ἀπωσάμενος, λαβὼν ὅπρε ἐπιφέρεις, πάρελθε τὸν ποταμὸν ἀδιστάκτως. Ἔωθεν οὖν ἐπιβὰς τῷ ὀχήματι ἔχων ἐν χερσὶ τὴν τιμίαν σορόν, διῆλθεν ἀβλαβὴς τὸν ποταμόν, καὶ οὕτως ἀπελθών, ἐν τῷ Σερμίῳ ἀπέθετο τὴν ἁγίαν σορὸν μετὰ τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ θησαυροῦ ἐν τῷ παρ’αὐτοῦ κτισθέντι ἐκεῖσε πανσέπτῳ ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Δημητρίου πλησίον τοῦ σεβασμίου οἴκου τῆς καλλινίκου μάρτυρος Ἀναστασίας. Πολλά τε θαύματα καὶ ἰάσεις ὁ Κύριος ἐποίησεν, ἔνθα διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ τὸ ὄχημα καὶ τὰ ζῶα ἀνεπαύσαντο, xάριτι καὶ οἰκτιρμοῖς καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος νῦν καὶ ἀεί, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.<br><br>'12. (…) Now Loupos, the servant of Saint Demetrios, who was with him, took the handkerchief (orarion) of the saint and collected his blood in it. <br><br>13. And he removed also the royal ring which he was wearing on his hand, and having covered it with the holy blood, he performed healings with it. For, by the prayer and intervention of the saint, and by the grace lying in the ring, he healed all those befallen by various maladies and those afflicted by impure spirits, so that his fame went throughout the whole city of Thessalonike. When the emperor heard about him and about how he healed the afflicted, he ordered that he be killed at the tribunal of the city on the day of verdicts, together with some others believing in Christ, while he himself was presiding.<br><br>14. As for the most holy relic of the hallowed Demetrios, which had been disdained by his murderers, the most pious of our brethren of the time took it during the night, for fear of the emperor, and buried it, as well as they could, in that same ground onto which it had been thrown, throwing earth all over it, so that it might not be damaged by any of the sanguivorous beasts. After that, no one bothered to remove the body of the saint, but it remained on the spot. Since many prodigies and healings were taking place on the site and divine graces were coming onto those entering it with faith, gradually everyone had the pleasure of going there, and the miraculous power of the martyr became famous through all of Macedonia and Thessaly.<br><br>15. Later, when the error of the idols was cleansed away and the life-givin