Saint Demetrios Christian Icon Arched Engraved Silver Natural Wood

Description

Saint Demetrios, or Demetrios of Thessaloniki, is a Great-martyr and amongst the most popular Christian saints. Saint Demetrios belonged to a noble family, which allowed him to rise the ranks in the Roman military, despite being a Christian in a pagan empire. In fact, Saint Demetrios played a role in converting numerous pagans to Christianity during his lifetime. However, his Christian faith was not respected by all in the Roman Empire, leading many pagans to advocate for his arrest.

During his imprisonment, there was a pagan festival in Thessaloniki, which involved games of combat. Nestor, a Christian man, was participating in the games and went to visit Saint Demetrios in prison to ask for a blessing before partaking in a single-combat game against the giant man Lyaeus. Saint Demetrios blessed Nestor who went on to win in the game, which has been likened to the story of David and Goliath. This further enraged the pagans, leading Emperor Maximian to call for the deaths of both Nestor and Demetrios in 306 AD. They were buried next to each other where Saint Demetrios had been kept as a prisoner.

Saint Demetrios is the Patron Saint of Thessaloniki and his feast day is celebrated on October 26. He is often depicted atop a horse, slaying Tsar Kalyan of Zagora, a Bulgarian king who attempted to invade Thessaloniki in the 13th century. Although Saint Demetrios had been long dead by then, he is attributed with keeping Thessaloniki safe throughout many attempted sieges in the city’s history.