St Dimitrie the great Martyr
Acest mare sfânt și făcător de minuni s-a născut în orașul Salonica din părinți bine-născuți și devotați care au cerut Domnului un copil.
Dimitrie era singurul lor fiu și, din această cauză, era mult prețuit și educat.
Tatăl său era comandantul militar al Salonicului și, când a murit, împăratul l-a pus pe Dimitrie comandant în locul său.
Făcând acest lucru, împăratul Maximian, un adversar al lui Hristos, i-a recomandat în mod special să-i persecute și să-i extermine pe creștinii din Salonic.
Dimitrie nu numai că nu l-a ascultat pe Împărat, ci a mărturisit deschis și l-a predicat pe Hristos Domnul în oraș.
Auzind de aceasta, împăratul s-a înfuriat și, la un moment dat, la întoarcerea de la un război împotriva sarmatilor, a mers la Salonica în special pentru a analiza problema. Prin urmare, Împăratul l-a chemat pe Dimitrie și l-a întrebat despre credința sa si Dimitrie a proclamat deschis în fața împăratului că este creștin și, în plus, a denunțat idolatria împăratului. Împăratul l-a aruncat în închisoare. Știind ce-l aștepta, Dimitrie și-a dat bunurile slujitorului său credincios, Lupus, pentru a le da celor săraci și a plecat la închisoare, bucuros că suferința pentru Hristos va fi soarta lui.
În închisoare, i s-a arătat un înger al Domnului și i-a spus: „Pace tie, cel ce suferi pentru Mine; fii curajos și puternic!"
După câteva zile, împăratul a trimis soldați în închisoare pentru a-l ucide pe Dimitrie. Au venit la sfântul care era la rugăciune și l-au strāpuns cu sulițele lor. Creștinii i-au luat trupul în secret și l-au înmormântat, iar din el a decurs o smirnă vindecătoare prin care mulți dintre bolnavi au fost vindecați.
O mică biserică a fost construită foarte curând peste moaștele sale.
Un nobil ilir, Leontius, s-a îmbolnăvit de o boală incurabilă. A alergat cu rugăciune până la moaștele Sfântului Dimitrios și a fost complet vindecat și, în semn de recunoștință, a construit o biserică mult mai mare în locul celei vechi.
Când împăratul Iustinian a vrut să ducă moaștele sfântului de la Salonic la Constantinopol, o scânteie de foc a sărit din mormânt și s-a auzit o voce: „Lăsați-le acolo și nu atingeți!”, Și astfel moaștele Sfântului Dimitrie. au rămas pentru totdeauna în Salonic.
În calitate de apărător al Salonicului, Sfântul Dimitrie a apărut de multe ori și a salvat orașul de nenorocire și nu se pot număra miracolele.
Rușii l-au considerat pe Sf. Dimitrios ca protector al Siberiei, care a fost anexatā la Rusia la 26 octombrie 1581.
TROPAR: Mare apārātor te-a aflat întru primejdii lumea, purtātorule de chinuri, pe tine cel ce ai biruit pe pāgîni;
deci, precum mîndria lui Lie ai surpat, si la luptā îndrāznet ai fācut pe Nestor, asa Sfinte Dimitrie, roagā pe Hristos Dumnezeu, ca sā dāruiascā nouā mare milā.
The Holy and Great Martyr Dimitrios
This glorious and wonderworking saint was born in the city of Salonica of well-born and devout parents. Begged of God by these childless parents, Demetrios was their only son and was, because of this, most carefully cherished and educated. His father was the military commander of Salonica, and, when he died, the Emperor made Dimitrios commander in his place. In doing this, the Emperor Maximian, an opponent of Christ, particularly recommended him to persecute and exterminate the Christians in Salonica.
Dimitrios not only disobeyed the Emperor: he openly confessed and preached Christ the Lord in the city. Hearing of this, the Emperor was furious with Dimitrios and, at one time, on his way back from a war against the Sarmathians, went to Salonica especially to look into the matter. The Emperor, therefore, summoned Dimitrios and questioned him about his faith. Dimitrios proclaimed openly before the Emperor that he was a Christian, and, furthermore, denounced the Emperor’s idolatry. The enraged Emperor cast him into prison. Knowing what was awaiting him, Dimitrios gave his goods to his faithful servant, Lupus, to give away to the poor, and went off to prison, glad that suffering for Christ was to be his lot.
In the prison, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: ‘Peace be with thee, thou sufferer for Christ; be brave and strong!’ After several days, the Emperor sent soldiers to the prison to kill Dimitrios. They came upon the saint of God at prayer, and ran him through with their spears. Christians secretly took his body and gave it burial, and there flowed from it a healing myrrh by which many of the sick were healed. A small church was very soon built over his relics.
An Illyrian nobleman, Leontius, became sick of an incurable illness. He ran prayerfully up to the relics of St Dimitrios and was completely healed, and in gratitude built a much larger church in place of the old one. The saint appeared to him on two occasions. When the Emperor Justinian wanted to take the saint’s relics from Salonica to Constantinople, a spark of fire leapt from the tomb and a voice was heard: ‘Leave them there, and don’t touch!’, and thus the relics of St. Dimitrios have remained for all time in Salonica. As the defender of Salonica, St. Dimitrios has many times appeared and saved the city from calamity, and there is no way of counting his miracles. The Russians regarded St. Dimitrios as the protector of Siberia, which was overcome and annexed by Russia on October 26, 1581.
TROPAR: The great defender has found you in danger, the bearer of torments, you who have overcome the pages; so, just as you overcame Lie's pride, and in bold struggle you made Nestor, so St. Demetrius, pray to Christ God, to bestow new great mercy.
SF. DIMITRIE CEL NOU - BASARABOV.
Dimitrie was born in the 11th century, during the reigns of the kings Petru and Ionita Asan, in a village south of the Danube, with the Romanian name of Basarabi, 3 km from Rusciuc. The parents were Orthodox, of Wallachian (Roman) origin.
Dimitrie grazed the sheep and cattle of the village on the hills near the Danube and on the valleys of the river Lom.
The twinkle of the stars spoke to him about the saints, and the flowers of the field about the joy of heaven;
the way of the church on Sundays and holidays taught him steadfastness in the ways of the Lord.
It is said that one day, leading his herds of cattle to the river, he stepped over a bird's nest in the tall grass.
For 3 years he punished his leg, walking barefoot.
From the local monks he learned the way away from the world and the school of Christian holiness. It is very probable that Dimitrie ended his youth in a monastic community, such as the one in the cave monastery of Basarabi, where today's pilgrims go to the saint's cave.
Obedience to the commandments of the Lord and the teaching of the Church, humble contemplation, care not to upset God, love for people were the steps to perfection.
Reaching Dimitrie a blessed old age, knowing his end, he rested between two stone slabs on the bank of the Lom. After heavy rains, the river came stormy and the slabs fell into the water, covered with sand and gravel. After a long time, the saint appeared in a dream to a sick girl, saying: "If your parents will take me out of the water, I will heal you." The relics were taken to the church in the village of Basarabi, and the news spread far and wide.
In the years 1769-1774, the Russo-Turkish war devastated the south of the Danube and a Russian general ordered the removal of the shrine with the saint's relics in Russia. Passing through Romania, Hagi Dimitrie, a faithful Romanian, asked the general to give the Romanians the holy relics of the one who was of Wallachian origin. The holy relics were placed by Metropolitan Gregory in the cathedral of Bucharest, where they are honored to this day.
TROPAR: Into you, father, with great effort was saved your soul which is the face of God;
taking up the cross you have followed Christ, and in working, you have learned not to look at the body because it is transient but to take care of the soul, the immortal thing. For this with the angels together rejoice, pious Father Dimitrie, your spirit.
Dimitrie was born in the 11th century, during the reign of the emperors Petru and Ionita Asan, in a village south of the Danube, with the Romanian voivodship name of Basarabi, 3 km from Rusciuc. The parents were Orthodox, of Wallachian (Romanian) origin.
Dimitrie grazed the village's sheep and cattle on the hills around the Danube and in the valleys of the Lom River. The twinkle of the stars spoke to him of the saints, and the flowers of the field spoke of the joy of heaven; the way of the church on Sundays and holidays taught steadfastness in the ways of the Lord. It is said that one day, leading his herds of cattle to the river, he stepped on a bird's nest in the tall grass. For 3 years he punished his leg, walking barefoot.
From the local monks he learned the way away from the world, the school of Christian holiness. It is very probable that Dimitrie ended his youth in a monastic community, such as the one in the cave monastery of Basarabi, where today's pilgrims go to the saint's cave. Obedience to the Lord's commandments and the teachings of the Church, humble contemplation, care not to upset God, love for people were the steps to perfection.
When Dimitrie reached the deep and blessed old men, knowing his end, he sat down between two stone slabs on the bank of the Lom, where he rested. After heavy rains, the river came stormy and the slabs fell into the water, covered with sand and pebbles. After a long time, the saint appeared in a dream to a sick girl, saying: "If your parents take me out of the water, I will heal you." The relics were taken to the church in the village of Basarabi, and the news spread far and wide.
Q. In the years 1769-1774, Russian-Turkish war devastated south of the Danube and a Russian general ordered the coffin carrying the relics in Russia. Passing through Romania, Hagi Dimitrie, a faithful Romanian, asked the general to give the Romanians the holy relics of the one who was of Wallachian origin. The holy relics were placed by Metropolitan Gregory in the cathedral of Bucharest, where they are honored to this day.
TROPAR: Into you, father, the soul, the one in the image of God, was saved;
for in taking up the cross you have followed Christ, and in working you have learned not to look at the body because it is transient;
but to take care of the soul, of the immortal thing.
For this and with the angels together rejoice, too pious Father Dimitrie your spirit.