St. Demetrius (Demetrius of Thessaloniki) was born sometime in the late 3rd Century A.D. Of humble origins, according to the hagiographies in existence he rose to the level of Roman Proconsul before being executed by spears during the reign of the Emperor Galerius (he of the previous day's Arch and Rotunda) in 306 A.D. A church was soon erected afterwards and was expanded in the mid-7th Century A.D. to more or less its current form. Demetrius is the patron saint of Thessaloniki, being credited with saving the city from various invasions (as well as the patron saint of agriculture, peasants, and shepherds). He known as "The Myrrh Gusher" as when relics were brought to the church for veneration, myrrh began to flow from them as proof they belonged to the saint.
Much of the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917 and it has taken decades to restore it.
I like that the Greeks are so diligent with their restorations. That's a credit to them.
ReplyDeleteThe brick and stone combo of the exterior church walls is very interesting. And it's beautiful inside. I've always liked Orthodox icons.
Leigh, they really have done an excellent job. Their diligence has preserved them not just for themselves, but for all of us.
DeleteThis was my first opportunity to see Orthodox churches "in their native habitat" as it were, instead of churches built in the New World. There is something about them that much of modern Protestant churches (and certainly very modern churches, both Catholic and Protestant as well as non-denominational) lack.