Saint Demetrius of Sirmium (around 270, Sirmium, Roman Empire–9 April, 304 Sirmium, Roman Empire) was a Roman deacon and martyr of the early 4th century. He is often confused with the Greek saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki who lived in the same period.

Life

He was born around 270 AD in Sirmium, present-day

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...

, as the son of a high-ranking officer. He was a deacon to the city's bishop, Irenaeus, who entrusted with safeguarding sacred texts. He was sentenced to death, tortured, and executed ''(most probably by

decapitation Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

)'' alongside his fellow deacons Donatus and Fortunatus, close to main city's gate on Easter Sunday, 304. He is most known among the so-called martyrs of Syrmia.

Basilica

The Basilica of St. Demetrius was erected by the Roman prefect Leontius between 426 and 441 as a three-nave basilica of the Greek type at the site believed to be where Demetrius was martyred. It was destroyed during the Avar siege of the city of Sirmium in 505. St. Demetrius is also believed to have been a co- patron saint of the small Romanesque chapel near the entrance to the city's imperial palace.

Iconography

Iconographically, St. Demetrius is depicted as a deacon or lector, vested in white toga with red deacons stole. According to later Thessalonikian tradition, he is wrongly portrayed as a young

legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...

, vested in Roman

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetrius of Sirmium 4th-century Christian martyrs 270 births 304 deaths