St. Demetrios the Great Martyr

"O emperor, I esteem thy monarchy; however, I honor, above thee, much more, the God of heaven and earth, Who is King of the cosmos."

St. Demetrios had been raised Christian by his parents and adhered to the Faith from his earliest age. He pursued a military career as all strong young men of age tend to lean toward, especially in the Roman Empire. He found favor with the Emperor Maximian Gelerius, the Pagan and persecutor of Christians, though the Emperor was unaware that this Demetrios was in fact a devout and pious Christian. St. Demetrios was vested with significant honors by the Emperor and made military commander over the city of Thessalonike.

He protected this city for his life and faithfully served the Empire. But he also used his position to spread the Gospel of Christ, teaching his men the doctrines and teachings of Christianity. The Devil was furious for many men were converting to Christianity through the saint's pious teachings and some of the imperial guard decided to report the saint to the Emperor. The Emperor was at first grieved for St. Demetrios was such a proven military commander, yet he forgot that grief for the Emperor was more enraged with the spread of Christianity and the abandonment of the Pagan idol worship. He sought to convince St. Demetrios but it was to no avail. Demetrios was dedicated to Christ. For the Roman Emperor had now given himself in opposition to Christ and no man can serve two masters.

St. Demetrios was thrown into the bathhouse. During the games, that year, one of those who was catechized by Demetrios, St. Nestor, was pitted against the gladiator Lyaios. Lyaios was a Scythian who had killed many Christians in the gladiatorial ring. Nestor wanted to prove the triumph of God to all witnessing so he sought Demetrios's intercession. He came to the bathhouse before his combat and asked for Demetrios's blessing. Then, when Nestor was thrown into combat, Nestor cried out to the God of St. Demetrios and he pierced the gladiator Lyaios through the heart. The Emperor was furious that his friend Lyaios was killed, his friend who had killed so many Christians. He ordered that Nestor be beheaded.

Seeing that St. Demetrios's name was called upon, the Emperor accused the Holy Martyr of witchcraft and ordered his soldiers to thrust their lances through the saint. The saint gave up his soul to God and received the crown of martyrdom.

St. Demetrios is a well-renowned protector of Thessalonike and though there are many miracles, one great miracle features his defense of the city of Thessalonike from the Avars during the Emperor Phokas. The Avars had captured two young maidens and having been defeated by the miracles of St. Demetrios already, the believed Demetrios to be a god. They ordered the maidens to embroider a cloth with the image of Demetrios on it. Fearing the Avars would abuse this cloth and mock the image of Demetrios, they refused. But the saint appeared to them and instructed them to do so. They began embroidering. They completed their project by October 26th, the Feast Day of the saint. Having completed their project, they fell asleep exhausted. In their sleep, the saint showed up and whisked them away to the Church in Thessalonike. When they woke up, they did not realize where they were, the Thessalonians were amazed. Because of his defense of the city from the Hagarenes, Lyaios is sometimes depicted as a Turk in iconography.