Miracle 5 of the First Collection of Miracles of *Demetrios (martyr of Thessalonike, S00761) by Archbishop Ioannes/John of Thessalonike quotes a letter by which Archbishop Eusebios of Thessalonike refused to send relics of Demetrios to the emperor Maurice (582-602), claiming that Thessalonike ignored the locations of burials of its martyrs, except for that of *Matrona (martyr of Thessalonike, S01605). A similar request by Justinian I (527-565) caused miraculous resistance by the martyr. Dust with Demetrios’ blood is sent instead to the emperors. Written in Greek in Thessalonike (south Balkans), in the 610s.
Evidence ID
E08063
Type of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Collections of miracles
John of Thessalonike, First Collection of Miracles of *Demetrios of Thessalonike (CPG 7920, BHG 499-516k)
Miracle 5. A request for relics of the martyr
Summary:
In the times of persecutions, the Christians of Thessalonike used to bury their martyrs at secret places to protect them from the pagans. The result is that, with the exception of *Matrona [martyr of Thessalonike, S01605], the precise locations of the burials of the all the other martyrs of the city are unknown. This was made known to the emperor Maurice (582-602) who, out of curiosity about Thessalonike’s mode of venerating the saints without relics and out of love for Demetrios, wrote to archbishop Eusebios and requested some relics of the martyr. The letter of the archbishop’s answer is quoted:
While other cities expose the bodies of the saints, in order to inspire piety through the constant seeing and touching of them, in Thessalonike devotion to the martyrs is practised in a spiritual manner. The locations of the martyrs’ burials were only known to those few who witnessed the burials themselves. The emperor Justinian I (527-565) once also requested relics from the archbishop of Thessalonike at the time. In the company of other clerics, with hymns and frankincense, that bishop started digging in the ground, intending to find the relic. However, fire came out of the ground and a voice was heard prohibiting them from proceeding. The priests left in fear, having collected some earth which smelled of fire and fragrance. Some of this earth was sent to Justinian and the same is sent by Eusebios to Maurice.
Text: Lemerle 1981.
Summary: E. Rizos.
Liturgical ActivitiesCult building - independent (church)
Rejection, Condemnation, SceptisismRejection of the cult of relics
MiraclesMiracle after death
RelicsUnspecified relic
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Censing
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - unspecified
Rejection, Condemnation, SceptisismRejection of the cult of relics
Condemnation/rejection of a specific cultic activity
MiraclesMiracle after death
Saint aiding or preventing the translation of relics
Miraculous sound, smell, light
RelicsUnspecified relic
Bodily relic - unspecified
Bodily relic - corporeal ashes/dust
Contact relic - dust/sand/earth
Discovering, finding, invention and gathering of relics
Attempts to prevent the veneration of one's relics
Souvenirs of miracles
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Monarchs and their family
Source
The two earliest Collections of Miracles of Demetrios of Thessalonike were written during the seventh century about seventy years apart from one another. They are the latest of the Greek Miracle Collections of Late Antiquity, and of major interest for both the cult of the civic patron martyr of Thessalonike and for the historical conditions in the Balkans in the late sixth and seventh century.The collections were first edited by Cornelius Byeus in Volume IV of October of the Acta Sanctorum (Brussels 1780), whose text was included without changes by Migne in the Patrologia Graeca (vol. 116). A critical edition with French translation (often paraphrased or summarised) and commentary was published by Paul Lemerle in 1979. An improved text edition with Modern Greek translation was published by Panagiotes Christou in 1993. Lemerle’s text, including Christou’s corrections, was reproduced in a volume edited by Charalambos Bakirtzis in 1999, which included a Modern Greek translation by Aloe Sideri, commentary and accompanying papers.
The text is preserved in 37 manuscripts of the 8th to 18th centuries. The manuscript tradition of the two collections and their constituent stories is very unequal. The Second Collection is preserved intact, missing its heading and end, in one single manuscript (Paris Gr. 1517, f. 135-204, 12th c.). By contrast, the miracles of the First Collection survive dispersed in partial selections and not in their proper order, in the 37 manuscripts, on which see:
https://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/9357/
The Miracles of Demetrios have attracted scholarly interest as a source for the historical conditions in the Balkan region during the late sixth and seventh centuries, especially regarding the settlement of the Slavs in the south Balkans and their attacks against the city of Thessalonike. The parts of the collection, which have been most favoured by modern historians, however, are not necessarily the most informative ones with regard to the cult of the saint. Miracles 8-15 of the First Collection and 1-5 of the Second are virtually accounts of local history interpreted through the prism of the miraculous. The saint protects the whole city through his restless work in the background. Their lengthy historical narratives and very scarce mentions of visions or apparitions may account for the fact that these texts attracted less interest among medieval readers and copyists. Their manuscript tradition is comparatively poor – the mostly historical Second Collection has only one copy. By contrast, the accounts with the richest manuscript tradition are the earlier miracles of the First Collection, which concern stories of individual healing and protection offered by the martyr, and feature impressive apparitions and visions.
The First Collection (by Archbishop John)
The First Collection of the Miracles of Demetrios of Thessalonike is ascribed to the hand of the Archbishop of Thessalonike Ioannes/John whose episcopate started under Phocas (AD 602-613) and finished under Heraclius (AD 613-641). John probably compiled the collection in the 610s or 620s and died the late 620s. According to the author of the Second Collection, Archbishop John was locally remembered and probably venerated as saint.
In a highly rhetorical prologue, the author addresses an audience, perhaps indicating that the book was either intended to be read out in church or originates from a series of homilies given by the bishop at the shrine. The author states that there are numerous early miracles which he is omitting, and that he is talking about stories of the recent past, based on reliable testimonies or his own experience. Whether the earlier stories had been recorded in a written collection is unknown. The sources of the extant collection indeed appear to be mostly oral, except for Miracle five, which was partly based on a letter of archbishop Eusebius to Emperor Maurice.
John’s collection consists of fifteen stories of different lengths, referring to different historical contexts. The author’s intention is more didactic than historical and the order of the narrative is thematic rather than chronological. The collection has not survived intact in any manuscript, but the order of its chapters can be confidently reconstructed through their cross-references. The first group of miracles (1-4) concerns healings of bodily diseases, to which we include the only miracle referring to an exorcism of demoniacs (4). The second (5-7) is a compilation of stories derived from John’s predecessor, Eusebios, which concern miracles related to the saint’s care for his shrine – these are the most informative with the regard to the cult and its material aspects. The last eight miracles concern the saint’s interventions for the collective salvation of the city of Thessalonike, four (8-11) recounting cases of famine and civil war, and another four (12-15) invasions and sieges. Miracles 13 and 14 recount two parts of the same story, whereas Miracle 15 provides an epilogue of sorts, celebrating and affirming the saint’s constant presence in his shrine and unceasing protection for the city.
The chronology of the historical context of each miracle (according to Paul Lemerle), is as follows:
I.1 No date, but ancient episode, possibly from the mid- to early sixth century.
I.2 No date. It could be a summary or altered version of the previous one.
I.3 AD 586.
I.4 No date.
I.5 Under Maurice (AD 582-602) with a reference to the time of Justinian I.
I.6. AD 605.
I.7 Late sixth century.
I.8 AD 586
I.9 No date – probably under Maurice.
I. 10 Under Phocas (AD 602-610).
I. 11 AD 586
I. 12 No date.
I.13 AD 586.
I. 14 AD 586.
I. 15 AD 586.
For a different reading of the text’s redactional history and historical references, see Speck (…)
Bibliography
Text and translations:P. Lemerle, Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de Saint Démétrius et la pénétration des Slaves dans les Balkans, Paris 1971-1981 (text edition, French translation, introduction and commentary)
P. Chrestou, Η γραμματεία των Δημητρίων Α. Διηγήσεις περί των Θαυμάτων του Αγίου Δημητρίου, Thessaloniki 1993 (revised text edition, Modern Greek Translation)
Ch. Bakirtzis, A. Sideri, Αγίου Δημητρίου Θαύματα. Οι συλλογές Αρχιεπισκόπου Ιωάννου και Ανωνύμου. Ο βίος, τα θαύματα και η Θεσσαλονίκη του Αγίου Δημητρίου, Thessaloniki 1997 (text edition based on Lemerle and Chrestou, Modern Greek translation, commentary)
Further Reading:
Bauer, F.A. Eine Stadt und ihr Patron. Thessaloniki und der heilige Demetrios (Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2013).
S. Efthymiadis, 'Collections of Miracles (5th-15th centuries),' in idem (ed.) The Ashgate Research Companion to Greek Hagiography II: Genres and Contexts, Farnham 2014, 103-142 (113-115)
Skedros, J., Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and Divine Protector, 4th-7th centuries CE (Harrisburg: Trinity Press, 1999).
Spieser, J. M., "Le culte de Saint Démétrius à Théssalonique," in: J.-P. Caillet et al. (eds.), Des dieux civiques aux saints patrons (IV-VII siècle) (Paris, 2015), 275-291.
Walter, C., The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003).
Record Created By
Efthymios Rizos
Date of Entry
21-11-2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00761 | Demetrios, martyr of Thessalonike | Δημήτριος | Certain | S01605 | Matrona, martyr of Thessalonike | Ματρώνα | Certain |
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