Last Saturday the Church of Serbia celebrated the
glorification of two new saints who lived and worked extensively in our diocese
of Western America, Sts Sebastian and Mardarije. The festivities were held in
the Diocsean Cathedral in Los Angeles and hosted hierarchs, clergy and laity
from several continents. Presiding at the liturgy and proclamation was His
Holiness Irinej of Serbia. The presence of the hierarchs and especially the
Patriarch gives witness to the ecumenicity of the Orthodox Church. The glorification itself bore witness to the unity
of the living members of the Church with those who have gone before us. The
process of sainthood in the Orthodox tradition is really one of recognition on
an ecumenical level of pre-existing local veneration. In this way the
proclamation of a person’s sainthood is much like the blessing or crowning of
an Orthodox marriage. The marriage service entreats God’s blessing and asks him
to perfect a pre-existing relationship in the presence of the Church
congregation. The two newly recognized Saints worked tirelessly in what would
become the Western American Diocese founding and nurturing fledgling
communities.
The cult of local saints was a very important element of
Byzantine culture. Certain saints were and continue to be almost completely
associated with their locality. The greatest example of the local saint is
Demetrios of Thessaloniki. The
city of Thessaloniki, second of the empire was defined by the frequent attacks
upon it, its patron saint Demetrius is an extraordinary example of the
flexibility of the Byzantine attitude to violence in light of contemporary
events. The power of Demetrius’ cult also reflects the increased autonomy and
confidence of Thessalonica as a city independent of Constantinople.[1]
In the 11th century he was given the title Stratelates a term equivalent to “General” and later Myrovlytes meaning myrrh gushing in
reference to his relics.[2]
The earliest example of Demetrius’ intercession is an account of the defense of
the city in 586 written by John of Thessaloniki in the mid 7th
century. Despite Demetrius’ activity as a protector of the City from the 7th
century on the earliest evidence of his portrayal as a military saint is not
until the 11th century.[3]
[1] Eugenia Russell, St Demetrius of
Thessalonica, Cult and Devotion in the Middle Ages. (2010) p. 9-18.
[2] “Demetrios’ ability to produce a substance by
the same name as the sacramental oil of unction could be used as a challenge to
patriarchal authority” By this she means the Chrism that is produced once a
year only by the Patriarchs of the Local Autocephalous Churches of Orthodox Christianity.
Ruth J.
Macrides, “Subversion and loyalty in the
cult of St. Demetrios”, Byzantinoslavica 51 1990, 189-97.
[3] Walter, Christopher. The Warrior saints in Byzantine
Art and Tradition. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2003.p 22.
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