Saint Demetrius – Silkscreen Print on Naturally Aged Wood – Mount Athos

Description

Image of Saint Demetrius on Naturally Aged Wood

Silk screen print on naturally aged wood depicting Saint Demetrius, the patron saint and protector of Thessaloniki. His feast day is celebrated with grandeur in the city on October 26th.

In the person of Saint Demetrius, Thessaloniki sees its protector and liberator. Not only because the city’s liberation from the Turks in 1912 coincided with the saint’s feast day, but also because, as tradition tells, before Thessaloniki’s liberation, the city’s inhabitants saw Saint Demetrius, mounted on horseback, at the White Tower encouraging them.

Demetrius was born into an aristocratic family in Thessaloniki. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Roman army, eventually achieving the rank of a tribune at the age of 22. As an officer in the Roman army under the command of the Tetrarch (and later emperor) Galerius Maximian, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, he converted to Christianity and was imprisoned in Thessaloniki in 303 AD for ignoring the emperor’s edict “on the renouncement of Christianity.” Earlier, he had even founded a group of young people for the study of the Holy Scriptures.

In prison, there was a young Christian named Nestor (October 27), who was about to face the fierce gladiator of the time, Lyaeus, in single combat. Before the duel, Nestor visited Saint Demetrius and asked for his help. Saint Demetrius gave him his blessing, and the outcome was that Nestor defeated Lyaeus, which angered the emperor. Both were then ordered to be executed: Demetrius by being speared, and Nestor by decapitation. The body of the saint was buried at the site of his martyrdom, where a magnificent church was later built in his honor. The tomb became a deep well that gushed myrrh, which is why he is also called the Myrrh-bearer.

In Byzantine icons, as well as in modern iconography, Saint Demetrius is often depicted as a horseman on a red horse (in contrast to Saint George’s white horse) trampling the infidel Lyaeus.

This particular exquisite silk screen print, like all the icons in the same category available at “Agioritiki Kleronomia,” has been created on naturally aged wood, sourced from a restored cell of Mount Athos.

Since the icon is handmade and the wood processing is done by hand, there may be slight variations in the wood, but not in the depiction.

The icon is available upon request.

Dimensions: 19 x 24 x 1.5 cm.

Origin: Mount Athos