St Dimitrios is one of the most popular Christian saints across the Orthodox Christian world, with millions of people bearing his name, in all of its variations.
Saint Demetrios is also the well-known patron saint of the City of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, and millions of Greeks hold a special place in their hearts for this important Christian martyr for this reason.
His feast day of October 26 also coincides with Thessaloniki’s most important day in its modern history: The city’s glorious liberation from the Ottoman Turks in 1912.St. Demetrios was born in 280 AD in Thessaloniki, a city which was already an important urban center of the Roman Empire.
According to tradition, St. Demetrios died at a very young age. The most probable course of events suggests that his open and unashamed manner of showing his Christian faith led people to report him to Galerius, the Roman Emperor.
When Galerius discovered that Demetrios was praying in public places and was openly showing his love for Jesus Christ to others, he ordered that the young man be arrested and locked up in the city prison.
