Saint Demetrian (d. 912?) is a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. 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 Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

as a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

, and ultimately as the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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 both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

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 (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns ...

'', 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 Encyclopedi ...

'' 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 ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

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 does n ...

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, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

s, 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 bishops Cypriot bishops