The Feast of Saint Demetrius in Thessaloniki: the Saint’s ‘Easter’ as a special way for the people of Thessaloniki to honour the city’s patron saint

“Rejoice in the Lord, O city of Thessalonica”

1. The Feast of Saint Demetrius in Thessaloniki

The veneration of Saint Demetrius the Myrrh-Giver, the protector and spiritual patron of Thessaloniki1, is of exceptional liturgical significance, owing to the rich hymnographic tradition and the universal spread of the feast. No other saint has been honoured in a similar manner, on such a scale or with such splendour2.

Saint Demetrius (280–306)3 was born, lived and was martyred in Thessaloniki during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284–305)4. He held a high office in the Roman administration, particularly in the army. He was baptised and served the local Church in Thessalonica as a teacher (an anonymous synaxarion author called him ‘consul of the Christians’). He taught in the area of the Roman Agora and the Church of the Mother of God of the Limestones or the Brass. He was arrested by the soldiers of Emperor Galerius Valerius Maximian (305–311), was never brought to trial, and an order was given for his execution. Earlier, during the Pythian Games, the [event of the contest] between Lie and Saint Nestor had taken place. He suffered martyrdom, being pierced with spears. This event is often referred to in the saint’s hymnography as an ‘imitation of the piercing of Christ’, and was to inspire Saint Demetrius’s ‘Easter’. He was buried in a tomb, which became a place of pilgrimage for the people of Thessalonica. Initially, a small chapel was erected there, and later, large basilica-style churches were built on that site.

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The sources concerning his life are the martyrologies Passio Prima and Passio Altera5, the Miracles and the Eulogies. Saint Symeon Metaphrastes wrote a Martyrium, drawing on the two sources mentioned above, as well as other sources6. In the 7th century, and more precisely between the years 610–620, John, Archbishop of Thessalonica, compiled the first volume of the Collection of the Miracles of Saint Demetrius, which highlights the Saint’s role as the spiritual protector of Thessalonica, as the city’s deliverer from Avar raids, and his contribution to the city’s internal unity. An unknown author, or several unknown authors, wrote the other two volumes of the Collection of Miracles7. During the same period, that is, in the 7th century, the troparion of Saint Demetrius was also composed8. Other sources concerning the life of Saint Demetrius the Great Martyr include the Eulogies or Speeches of Praise in his honour, such as those by Emperor Leo VIthe Wise9, Saint Eustathius of Thessalonica10, the scholar Theophanes Kerameus11, Saint Gregory Palamas12 and many others, including John Stavráchios, John Cameniátis, the archbishops of Thessalonica Plotinus, Isidore, Nilus13, Cabasilas and Philotheos Cochinos, the Ecumenical Patriarch Nicholas the Mystic, Nichita Honiátis, John Cantacuzene, George Acropolítis, Constantine Armenópulos, Demetrius Hrysolorás, George Chedrinós and John Anagnóstis14.

Over time, the liturgical veneration of Saint Demetrius underwent significant development. The feast initially lasted three days in the 5th–6th centuries, then to six days15 and eight days16, until, from the 14th–15th centuries, the entire month of October came to be dedicated, in Thessaloniki, to the commemoration of the Saint, as the ‘holy month’17. The festivities reached their peak between 26 October and 3 November; that is to say, during that period, the actual feast day and the eight days of post-feast celebrations were included. The day of the feast was, naturally, the most splendid, usually in the presence of the emperor and high-ranking officials. On the following day, the Archbishop of Thessaloniki and all the bishops under his jurisdiction were honoured; this was followed by a celebration in honour of the city’s monks, and the festivities concluded on 3 November with the ‘eight-day feast’, in which the entire population took part. It was, therefore, a festival comprising four ‘parts’: 1) 26 October, the main day; 2) the following day; 3) the monks’ celebration18; 4) the final day, 3 November19.

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In the 11th century, the ‘Dimitriile’20 were organised—a splendid trade fair of universal scope, held in parallel with the religious celebrations, attended by numerous visitors from Central and Western Europe (Celts, Iberians and others)21. This fair took place in the run-up to the feast, that is, from 20 to 25 October. We have information about this celebration from the writings of an anonymous author, Timaríon22, from the 12th–13th centuries23, in the 14th century, from Saint Gregory Palamas24, Constantine Armenopoulos25, Nikephoros Grigoras26 and Isidor Gavalas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki27, and, in the 15th century, from the Archbishops of Thessaloniki, Gabriel28 and Simeon29.

Saint Demetrius was regarded as the spiritual patron of several emperors, such as Justinian, Leo VI the Wise and Basil II. Leo VI even established his commemoration in the Sacred Palace and used, in official ceremonies, the crown known as ‘Saint Demetrius’s Crown’, which is referred to in the work On the Ceremonial of the Empire30, written by his son, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus31.

A rich body of hymns 32 was composed for the feast and veneration of the Saint. Three Kondakia, attributed to Saint Romanos the Melodist and dating from the time of Emperor Justinian, were composed for the three-day feast, as well as forty Canons in honour of the Saint. In the 7th century, John I, Archbishop of Thessalonica, wrote the first Eulogy for Saint Demetrius, in dialogue form, depicting an imaginary conversation between the Saint and representatives of the pagans, Jews, Arians and Manichaeans33. Hymns for Saint Demetrius were also composed by Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople; the emperors Leo VI the Wise and Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus; learned hymnographers such as Joseph the Hymnographer, Anatolius, Byzantios, John of the Efhaeans, George Schilitzis, Maximus Planudis, as well as the Patriarchs of Thessaloniki, Isidore and Philotheus; in Jerusalem, Theophanes and Stephen the Savait; in Southern Italy, George the Sicilian; on Mount Athos, Cucuzel; and amongst the Saints of Thessaloniki, the archbishops Eustathius, Joseph and Simeon34, to whom is added the hartofilax Stavrachie35.

In the period following Iconoclasm, from the mid-9th century onwards, the ‘flow of myrrh (μυροβλύσια)’ of the Saint36 was highlighted, associated with the purity of his life; it was also at this time that the ‘litron (λύθρον)’, that is, earth mixed with the Saint’s blood, was attested, as well as the existence, in many regions of Europe, of ‘vials of blood (ampullae sanguinis)’ belonging to the Saint. Today, in his church in Thessaloniki, a litron of the Saint and a vial of blood are preserved, which were discovered during excavations following the fire at the church in 1917.

Furthermore, in honour of Saint Demetrius, the Minee contains the full service for 26 October, with post-feast troparia which are inserted into the service for the following day, when Saint Nestor is celebrated.

2. The Feast of Saint Demetrius

The manuscripts show us, however, that the service in the Minee represents only a small part of the very rich hymnographic tradition for the commemoration of Saint Demetrius and concerns his universal celebration, not the local one of the Thessalonians! It appears that, in the magnificent church built on the site of his martyrdom and tomb, as well as in ‘Hagia Sophia’ in Thessaloniki, and perhaps in other churches within the city, special pre-feast services were held, lasting eight days—that is, seven days before the feast itself and one day on the actual day of the veneration of Saint Demetrius.

These services constituted the Great Week and the Holy Pascha of Saint Demetrius! This refers to the commemoration of Saint Demetrius in accordance with the cycle of the Great Week of the Passion preceding Pascha and the Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection37.

We have already mentioned the days of the preliminary celebrations, which began on 20 October. Over time, they came to begin on 19 October. ‘Holy Week’ was therefore observed between 19 and 25 October. Each date corresponds to a day of Holy Week, regardless of whether the ordinary day of the week coincides with its ‘symbolic’ day. What matters is the date, which is linked to the symbolic day. Specifically, each:

• 19 October is considered ‘Palm Sunday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 20 October is considered ‘Great Monday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 21 October is considered ‘Great Tuesday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 22 October is considered ‘Great Wednesday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 23 October is considered ‘Great Thursday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 24 October is considered ‘Great Friday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 25 October is known as ‘Great Saturday’ (Vespers and Matins);
• 26 October is considered ‘Easter Sunday’ (Vespers and Matins)38.

These services were found in two 15th-century manuscripts: the Typikon of Saint Sophia of Thessaloniki, Codex 2047 of the National Library of Athens, formerly no. 46a of the Hellenic Gymnasium of Thessaloniki. This is the Typikon compiled by Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki39; The Typikon of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Codex 181 of the Metochion of the Holy Sepulchre in Constantinople40, an acephalic and incomplete codex, from which the first and last leaves are missing.

Both codices show signs of wear and tear caused by their liturgical use. The gaps in the services are filled by numerous other manuscripts—twenty-three in total—mainly of Athonite origin (Vatopedi, the Great Lavra, Kafsokali, Xenophontos, Pantokrator and Saint Panteleimon), as well as from the library of the Monastery of ‘Saint John the Theologian’ on Patmos, from the monasteries of ‘The Transfiguration’ at Meteora and ‘Ipsilos41’ on Lesbos, and from the Vienna Library42.

The theological basis for this liturgical practice is the conscious endeavour to liken the celebration of Saint Demetrius to Easter43.

The Church’s belief is that the Holy Martyrs, through their martyrdom, became imitators and partakers of Christ’s Passion. In the case of Saint Demetrius, his death also held particular significance, as his side was pierced with a spear, a fact which recalled the piercing of the Lord’s side. According to the hymnographers, he ‘imitated, through [his own] passion, the life-giving passion of Christ’. ‘Having been pierced in your righteous side, most honoured one, you followed the One stretched out upon the wood’ and, in this way, received ‘the grace of the saving side’44. In this way, Saint Demetrius “recreated” the Lord’s saving Passion45.

Furthermore, the resemblance extended to the incorruptibility of the Lord’s body and to the preservation, according to tradition, of Saint Demetrius’s incorrupt body in the tomb until a certain time, as well as to the flow of myrrh from his pierced side, following the example of the blood and water that flowed from the Lord’s side (John 19:34)46.

In any case, the services of Saint Demetrius were composed and celebrated in such a way that his commemoration is depicted, during the days leading up to the feast, in the manner of Holy Week before Easter, and on 26 October ‘after the model of the Holy and Great Sunday of the Resurrection of Christ, our God’, according to the words of Saint Simeon of Thessalonica47.

Who inspired and introduced this liturgical feature? For the time being, this remains unknown48. However, we have information about three hymnographers to whom we owe a large part of the hymnographic richness of these services. They are:

John Stavrachios the Hartofilax, from the 13th century, who composed the Canon of the Resurrection modelled on the hymn ‘The Day of the Resurrection’. He also composed canons modelled on the triodes and diodes of Great Week, and a doxology in eight tones, modelled on the doxology of Vespers of the Dormition of the Mother of God, ‘At the command of the divine sovereignty…’49. Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki, who composed sedelnes, kondaks, luminandes and stichera, modelled on the corresponding troparia of Holy Week, Easter and Christmas. He is the principal architect of this liturgical feature in honour of Saint Demetrius50. Saint Simeon Metaphrastes, who composed the canons for the pre-feast of Saint Demetrius, modelled on the canons of Holy Week51.

In addition to these three well-known hymnographers, there were also certain anonymous authors who composed troparia inspired by the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Of course, we must not forget the Venerable Gherasim Micraiananitul [† 1991] 52, who, in more recent times, composed, amongst other things, the three stanzas of the Funeral Hymn, modelled on the Lord’s Funeral Hymn from Matins on Great Saturday. The occasion was the deliverance of the city of Thessaloniki from the devastating earthquake of 20 June 1978 and the return of the holy relics of Saint Demetrius to Thessaloniki in October 1978 and [, respectively,] April 198053.

The liturgical models for the services were Holy Week and Holy Easter, the Nativity of the Lord and the Dormition of the Mother of God. This should come as no surprise, as the practice of enhancing a feast and endowing it with great solemnity and splendour by imitating the hymns of other major feasts was not unique to the feast of Saint Demetrius. The practice was traditional and had already been applied on a large scale to the feasts of the Nativity and the Baptism of the Lord, which imitated the services of Holy Week54. As products of imitation, these compositions in honour of Saint Demetrius possess neither the spontaneous originality nor the poetic power of their models. Nevertheless, they possess theological clarity and great devotion to the Saint, thereby fulfilling their purpose: they form a marvellous poetic and hymnographic collection which praises Saint Demetrius and emphasises the veneration accorded to him by his city, Thessaloniki. In his case—unique in the liturgical history of the Orthodox Church, in which a Saint receives such veneration from the Church of his place of origin—the decisive factors were the ‘imitation’ of Christ, through Saint Demetrius’s martyrdom, the flowing of his myrrh, the universal veneration he received from the faithful, and the great significance of the Church of the Thessalonians in Eastern Illyricum and throughout the Eastern Roman Empire55.[48]

It should therefore not be forgotten that these services are entirely local, creations of Thessalonica, composed specifically for use in the magnificent Church of Saint Demetrius, built on the very spot where he preached, was imprisoned, suffered martyrdom and was buried. They were offered by the city and its inhabitants to their spiritual protector and patron. For the people of Thessaloniki, Saint Demetrius is “the lord, after God, of the city of Thessaloniki”56.

The rest of the world honours Saint Demetrius through the well-known services included in the Menaion for the month of October, in which, however, the Saint’s special connection with the city and its inhabitants, his powerful protection and the city’s deliverance from various dangers, the gushing forth of myrrh, and the link between his being pierced with a spear and the piercing of the Lord.

To conclude this brief presentation of a great liturgical peculiarity and originality, we shall below, by way of example, a few hymns (irmos and troparia) from Holy Week and the Feast of Saint Demetrius, compared with the corresponding days of Holy Week and the Lord’s Holy Pascha.

3. An indicative comparison between the irmoses and troparia of the canons of the two Holy Weeks

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• 1

  It should be noted that the author gave an initial presentation of this study (5 April 2024), during his visit to the Faculty of Orthodox Theology and Educational Sciences at ‘Valahia’ University in Târgoviște, where he was participating in an Erasmus exchange programme from 1 to 5 April 2024 (translator’s note).

• 2

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου. Ἔκδοσις Ἱεροῦ Ναοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1986, p. 5.

• 3

  For historical accounts of the life of Saint Demetrius, see Παναγιώτη Κ. Χρήστου, ‘Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος’, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, ΛΔ΄ (1951), pp. 258–269.

• 4

  With the author’s consent, I have tacitly added meanings, nuances, chronological details, etc., which are sometimes indicated in round brackets or, where appropriate, square brackets. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my colleague, Dr Oana Mădălina Popescu, for her careful reading of the translation and her suggestions (translator’s note).

• 5

  See Patrologia Graeca (PG), 116, col. 1167–1172 and col. 1173–1184 respectively. The Passio Prima survives only in a Latin translation, produced by Anastasius the Librarian for the Frankish emperor Charles the Bald in the 9th century. The Passio Altera, dating from the 5th century, predates the former and is based on older sources; see Παναγιώτη Κ. Χρήστου, ‘Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος’..., p. 257.

• 6

  See PG, 116, col. 1185–1202.

• 7

  See PG 116, col. 1203–1324, 1325–1384, 1383–1426; cf. James C. Skedros, Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki, Civic Patron and Divine Protector, 4th–7th centuries CE, Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1999, pp. 107–120.

• 8

  “Μέγαν εὕρατο, ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις, / σὲ ὑπέρμαχον, Θεσσαλονίκη (ή ἡ οἰκουμένη), / Ἀθλοφόρε τὰ ἔθνη τροπούμενον. / Ὡς οὖν Λυαίου καθεῖλες τὴν ἔπαρσιν, / ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ θαρρύνας τὸν Νέστορα, / οὕτως Ἅγιε Μεγαλομάρτυς Δημήτριε/ Χριστὸν τὸν Θεὸν ἱκέτευε, / δωρήσασθαι ἡμῖν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος (Thessalonica (or the world) found in you a great defender in times of peril, / you who wear the crown, the one who vanquished the pagans. / Therefore, just as you humbled the pride of Lie, / making Nestor bold in battle, / so, Holy Great Martyr Demetrius, / pray to Christ, our God, / that He may grant us great mercy)”; for a Romanian translation, with some minor differences from the text above, see, for example, Ceaslov, 5th edition, published by the Biblical and Missionary Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Bucharest, 1992, pp. 424–425.

• 9

  See PG 107, col. 667–668.

• 10

  See PG 136, col. 161–216.

• 11

  See PG 132, col. 849–858.

• 12

  See PG 151, col. 535–550.

• 13

  The author confuses him with Saint Nicholas Cabasilas, who was his nephew but not a clergyman (translator’s note).

• 14

  Παναγιώτη Κ. Χρήστου, “Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος”..., p. 257.

• 15

  Ἐ. Β. Μάνου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, ΛΑ΄ (1948), p. 226.

• 16

  Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδοπούλου, Αἱ εορταὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1963, p. 4. In the 12th century, the festivities began six days before the main feast day, that is to say, they took place between 20 and 25 October, and continued for a further two days, namely the feast day itself (26 October) and the following day (27 October).

• 17

  Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδοπούλου, Αἱ εορταὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ..., pp. 4–5.

• 18

  Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδόπουλου, “Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος καὶ τὸ μοναχικὸν ἰδεῶδες κατὰ τὸν Ἰσίδωρον Θεσσαλονίκης”, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, ΜΕ΄ (1962), pp. 312–319.

• 19

  Ἐ. Β. Μανου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”..., pp. 226–227; cf. Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδοπούλου, Αἱ εορταὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου…, pp. 5–11. The festivities were widely celebrated throughout South-Eastern Europe; see Dimitri Obolensky, ‘The cult of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki in the history of Byzantine-Slavic relations’, in Balkan Studies, 15/1 (1974), pp. 3–20.

• 20

  Ἐ. Β. Μάνου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”..., pp. 228–232.

• 21

  Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδοπούλου, Αἱ εορταὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ..., pp. 5–7; see also Ibid., Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος εἰς τὴν ἑλληνικὴν καὶ βουλγαρικὴν παράδοσιν, Θεσσαλονίκη: ἐκδ. Π. Πουρναρᾶ, 1971, pp. 61–69.

• 22

  He is known for his work entitled Timarion, or On His Suffering (Τιμαρίων ἢ περὶ τῶν κατ’ αὐτὸν παθημάτων), which is one of the most famous Byzantine satirical texts (translator’s note).

• 23

  Ἐ. Β. Μάνου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”..., p. 3.

• 24

  See Saint Gregory Palamas, Homily on Saint Demetrius (Λόγος εις τον Άγιον Δημήτριον), in PG, 151, col. 536–550.

• 25

  See Δημητρίου Γκίνη, ‘Λόγος ἀνέκδοτος Κωνσταντίνου Ἀρμενοπούλου’, in Ἐπετηρὶς Ἑταιρείας Βυζαντινῶν Σπουδῶν, 21 (1951), pp. 145–162.

• 26

  See “Νικηφόρου Γρηγορά, εἰς τὸν ἅγιον μεγαλομάρτυρα καὶ μυροβλήτην Δημήτριον”, in Βασίλη Λαούρδα, “Βυζαντινὰ καὶ μεταβυζαντινὰ Ἐγκώμια εἰς τὸν ἄγιον Δημήτριον”, in Μακεδονικά, 4 (1956–1960), pp. 83–96.

• 27

  See Βασίλη Λαούρδα, Ἰσιδώρου, ἀρχιεπισκόπου Θεσσαλονίκης, Ὁμιλίαι εἰς τὰς ἑορτὰς τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1954.

• 28

  See Ibid., ‘Γαβριὴλ Θεσσαλονίκης, Ὁμιλίαι’, in Ἀθηνᾶ, 57 (1953), pp. 141–178.

• 29

  See Ibid., ‘Συμεὼν Θεσσαλονίκης, Ἀκριβὴς διάταξις τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου’, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, ΛΘ΄ (1956), pp. 326–441.

• 30

  More specifically, see Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, The Book of Ceremonies, edited by Gilbert Dagron (†) and Bernard Flusin, Volume I, General Introduction, Book I, Chapters 1–46, edited, translated and annotated by Bernard Flusin, in collaboration with Michael Stavrou, Association des Amis du Centre d’Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance, Paris, 2020, pp. 224–230; Ibid., edited by Gilbert Dagron (†) and Bernard Flusin, vol. IV, Section 1, Commentary on Book I, by Gilbert Dagron (†), Denis Feissel and Bernard Flusin, in collaboration with Michael Stavrou, Association of Friends of the Centre forHistory and Civilisation of Byzantium, Paris, 2020, pp. 268–271 (translator’s note).

• 31

  For more on imperial crowns, see P. Hetherington, ‘The Jewels from the Crown: Symbol and Substance in Late Byzantine Regalia’, in Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 96 (2003), pp. 517–568.

• 32

  Σωφρονίου Ευστρατιάδη (μητροπολίτου πρώην Λεοντοπόλεως), ‘Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος ἐν τῇ Ὑμνολογίᾳ’, in Ἐπετηρὶς Ἑταιρείας Βυζαντινῶν Σπουδῶν, 11 (1935), pp. 120–150.

• 33

  Κέντρον Ἁγιολογικῶν Μελετῶν τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μητροπόλεως Θεσσαλονίκης, Ἡ Γραμματεία τῶν Δημητρίων. Β΄: Μαρτύρια, Συλλογὲς Θαυμάτων καὶ Ἐγκώμια στὸν Ἅγιο Δημήτριο. Πρωτοβυζαντινὴ– Μεσοβυζαντινὴ περίοδος, ἐπιμ. Συμεὼν Πασχαλίδης, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2005, pp. 199–212.

• 34

  Ἰωάννη Φουντούλη, Συμεὼν Ἀρχιεπισκόπου Θεσσαλονίκης τὰ λειτουργικὰ συγγράμματα, τ. Α΄: Εὐχαὶ καὶ ὕμνοι, Ἐταιρεία Μακεδονικῶν Σπουδῶν (Ἐπιστημονικαὶ Πραγματεῖαι, Σειρὰ Φιλολογικὴ καὶ Θεολογική, τ, p. 10), Θεσσαλονίκη, 1968, pp. 88–97, 119–120, 129–131, 139–140, 182–208, 264–265.

• 35

  Σωφρονίου Ευστρατιάδη (μητροπολίτου πρώην Λεοντοπόλεως), “Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος ἐν τῇ Ὑμνολογίᾳ”..., p. 121.

• 36

  The miraculous flow of myrrh from the Saint is a later development and is not attested in the first centuries following his martyrdom; see Σωφρονίου Ευστρατιάδη (μητροπολίτου πρώην Λεοντοπόλεως), ‘Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος ἐν τῇ Ὑμνολογίᾳ’..., pp. 122, 124. On the miraculous flow of myrrh from Saint Demetrius, see also the text by the hagiographer John Stavrichie (12th century), ‘Discourse on the Miracles of Saint Demetrius’ (Λόγος εἰς τὰ θαύματα τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου), cited in Ἰωακεὶμ Ἰβηρίτου, ‘Λόγος εἰς τὰ θαύματα τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου’, in Μακεδονικά, Α΄ (1940), pp. 351–354.

• 37

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., pp. 5–17.

• 38

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., pp. 10–17, 19–127; see also “Κανόνες πρὸς τὸν Μυροβλήτην Δημήτριον”, in Θύρα τῆς Μετανοίας, ἤτοι βίβλος κατανυκτικὴ καὶ ψυχωφελεστάτη, ἐν Βενετίᾳ: ἐκ τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ Τυπογραφείου τοῦ Ἁγίου Γεωργίου, 1866, pp. 119–123.

• 39

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., pp. 5–6; Ἐ Ἐ. Β. Μάνου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”..., pp. 225–226; Βασίλη Λαούρδα, “Συμεὼν Θεσσαλονίκης, Ἀκριβὴς διάταξις τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου”..., pp. 326–339.

• 40

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., p. 6; Ἐ. Β. Μάνου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”..., p. 226.

• 41

  That is to say, the monastery on the high ground, owing to its location on the summit of Mount Ordimnos on that island (translator’s note).

• 42

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., pp. 13–14.

• 43

  For further information on this point, see, for example, Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδοπούλου, Αἱ εορταὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ..., pp. 17–19: Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδόπουλου, “Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος καὶ τὸ μοναχικὸν ἰδεῶδες..., pp. 315–316; Ἐ. Β. Μάνου, “Τὰ Δημήτρια (ἱστορικὸν σημείωμα)”, pp. 228–229; Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ “Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς” τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., pp. 6–7.

• 44

  Σωφρονίου Ευστρατιάδη (μητροπολίτου πρώην Λεοντοπόλεως), “Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος ἐν τῇ Ὑμνολογίᾳ”..., pp. 125–150.

• 45

  Νικολάου Καβάσιλα, ‘Προσφώνημα εἰς τὸν ἔνδοξον τοῦ Χριστοῦ Μεγαλομάρτυρα Δημήτριον τὸν Μυροβλήτην’, in Μνημείοις Ὑμνολογικοῖς νῦν πρῶτον ἐκδιδομένοις ὑπὸ Ἱεροδιακόνου Θεοφίλου Ἰωάννου, Τύποις Φοίνικος, Βενετία, 1884, pp. 67–114.

• 46

  See Ἰωάννη Φουντούλη, Συμεὼν Ἀρχιεπισκόπου Θεσσαλονίκης τὰ λειτουργικὰ συγγράμματα, τ. Α΄: Εὐχαὶ καὶ ὕμνοι, Ἐταιρεία Μακεδονικῶν Σπουδῶν (Ἐπιστημονικαὶ Πραγματεῖαι, Σειρὰ Φιλολογικὴ καὶ Θεολογική, τ, p. 10), Θεσσαλονίκη, 1968.

• 47

  Βασίλη ΛΑΟΎΡΔΑ, “Συμεὼν Θεσσαλονίκης, Ἀκριβὴς διάταξις τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου”..., pp. 326–339.

• 48

  Ἰωάννου Φουντούλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., p. 7.

• 49

  Ἰωάννου ΦΟΥΝΤΟΥΛΗ, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., p. 7; see also Ἀθανάσιος Παντοκρατορινός, “Ἀκολουθία ψαλλομένη εἰς τὸν πανένδοξον μέγαν Δημήτριον τὸν Μυροβλήτην, ποιηθεῖσα παρὰ τοῦ τιμιωτάτου καὶ μακαρίου Χαρτοφύλακος Θεσσαλονίκης κυρ Ἰωάννου τοῦ Σταυρακίου”, in “Δύο Ἀκολουθίαι εἰς τὸν Ἅγιον Δημήτριον”, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, ΙΑ΄ (1927), pp. 371–384.

• 50

  Βασίλη ΛΑΟΎΡΔΑ, “Συμεὼν Θεσσαλονίκης, Ἀκριβὴς διάταξις τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου”..., pp. 326–339; see also Ἰωάννη ΦΟΥΝΤΟΎΛΗ, Συμεὼν Ἀρχιεπισκόπου Θεσσαλονίκης τὰ λειτουργικὰ συγγράμματα, τ. Α΄: Εὐχαὶ καὶ ὕμνοι, Ἐταιρεία Μακεδονικῶν Σπουδῶν (Ἐπιστημονικαὶ Πραγματεῖαι, Σειρὰ Φιλολογικὴ καὶ Θεολογική, τ, p. 10), Θεσσαλονίκη, 1968.

• 51

  Ἰωάννου ΦΟΥΝΤΟΥΛΗ, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., p. 8.

• 52

  Proclaimed a Saint of the Orthodox Church on 10 January 2023, with his feast day falling on 7 December; also known as Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer of the Athonite hermitage of ‘Saint Anne’ (translator’s note).

• 53

  Γεράσιμος Μοναχὸς Μικραγιαννανίτης, Ἀκολουθίαι τοῦ Ἁγίου ἐνδόξου Μεγαλομάρτυρος Δημητρίου τοῦ Μυροβλήτου, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1979, pp. 9–67. To provide some further details for the benefit of the Romanian reader, I would like to point out the following: the holy relics of Saint Demetrius had been taken from Thessaloniki during the Crusades (in the early 13th century) and brought to Italy, where they were kept in secret at the Benedictine abbey of San Lorenzo in Campo. Their exact location remained unknown to the Orthodox world until June 1978, when the Greek archaeologist Maria Teohari rediscovered them and presented the scientific evidence to the Academy of Athens. Following this discovery, Pantelimon II, Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, immediately initiated diplomatic and ecclesiastical procedures for their repatriation, an event that took place in two distinct stages: 1) 23 October 1978, the date on which the to Thessaloniki; 2) 10 April 1980, when the other holy relics (the rest of the body) of the Great Martyr were also returned.

• 54

  Ἰωάννου Φουντουλη, Ἡ «Μεγάλη Ἑβδομὰς» τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου..., pp. 8–11.

• 55

  Ἀντωνίου Μ. Παπαδοπούλου, Αἱ εορταὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ..., p. 19; Ibid., Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος εἰς τὴν ἑλληνικὴν καὶ βουλγαρικὴν παράδοσιν…, pp. 65–69.

• 56

  Θαύματα, I, 13; see also Παναγιώτη Κ. Χρήστου, ‘Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος’..., p. 264; cf. Ἀλεξάνδρου Γ. Καντώνη, ‘Ὁ πολιούχος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης Μεγαλομάρτυς Δημήτριος’, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, ΛΘ΄ (1936), pp. 307–308; Γενναδίου, Μητροπολίτης Θεσσαλονίκης, ‘Λόγος ἐκφωνηθεὶς κατὰ τὰ ἐγκαίνια τοῦ ἱεροῦ ναοῦ τοῦ Ἁγίου Δημητρίου τὴν 26ην Ὀκτωβρίου 1948’, in Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς, Λ΄ (1948), pp. 233–237; Σωφρονίου Ευστρατιαδη (μητροπολίτου πρώην Λεοντοπόλεως), ‘Ὁ Ἅγιος Δημήτριος ἐν τῇ Ὑμνολογίᾳ’..., pp. 120–122; James C. Skedros, Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki…, pp. 124–134.