Saint Demetrian (d. 912?) is a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. In the 9th and 10th centuries, he served the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

, and ultimately as the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the ancient city of Khytri. He is venerated for his apparently miraculous rescue of Christian Cypriots who had been enslaved by

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

invaders.

Life

Contemporaneous documentation of Demetrian's life is limited to a single manuscript. Complicating his record, he has at times been called by the common names ''Demetrio'' or ''Demetrius''. The lone manuscript holds that Demetrian was the son of a priest, born in a small village named Sika in medieval Cyprus. As a young man, he wed a woman who died only a few months after marriage. After her death, he devoted himself to the Christian Church. Demetrian served in a monastery dedicated to Saint Anthony, and he was eventually ordained as that institution's abbot, or ''

hegoumenos Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

'', a position he is said to have held for forty years. Church leaders then elevated him to

of the city of Khytri, but at first he resisted the appointment. Not wanting to exchange his quiet monastic life for a busy episcopal office in the city, he is said to have fled, and was hidden in a cave by a friend. Ultimately, however, his friend became uncomfortable with the situation, and Demetrian was convinced to return to the city and embrace his appointment. He served as bishop of Khytri for some twenty-five years, from 885 until his death, and is acknowledged by the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' as that office's most famous inhabitant. Near the end of his life, Demetrian saw Cyprus overrun by Saracen invaders. Many Christians were taken captive and marched toward

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

to become slaves. Despite his advanced age, Demetrian followed them on the road and pleaded desperately for their release. Seemingly miraculously, the Saracens were persuaded and they released the captives to him.

Legacy

A longstanding devotional following of Saint Demetrian continues through the present day in Cyprus. His annual

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated on 6 November. Venerated as a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of prisoners, Demetrian is also invoked in a more general fashion by a preamble to

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

prayer: "Loving Father, through the intercession of Saint Demetrian, rescue me from the anxieties that hold me captive".

References

{{authority control 10th-century Christian saints 10th-century Cypriot bishops