Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and Divine Protector, 4Th-7Th Centuries Ce (Harvard Theological Studies) - Softcover

Skedros, James C.

9781563382819: Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and Divine Protector, 4Th-7Th Centuries Ce (Harvard Theological Studies)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1563382814 ISBN 13: 9781563382819

Publisher: UNKNO, 1999

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From the Back Cover:

The late antique city of Thessaloniki claimed particular devotion to a local Christian hero and martyr of the early fourth century named Demetrios. Hagiographical texts depict Demetrios as a young Roman citizen who was arrested, jailed, and martyred during a visit by the emperor Galerius to Thessaloniki in the first decade of the fourth century. A popular local veneration of the saint quickly developed. By the middle of the seventh century St. Demetrios was venerated as a divine patron and protector of Thessaloniki.

Through examination of archaeological, art-historical, and textual evidence, this book seeks to analyze the process of how Demetrios rose to the status of divine urban patron. The evidence shows how the cult of St. Demetrios developed in a manner quite different from other contemporary martyr cults, thus suggesting wider implications for the history of martyr veneration in early Christianity. Includes maps, figures, and photographs.

James Constantine Skedros is Assistant Professor of Orthodox Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Review:

...Skedros offers a fascinating glimpse of the formation of a civic cult. -- Religious Studies Review, Augustine M. Casiday, Washington University

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