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Harvard Divinity School
Response to David WoodsAuthor(s): James C. SkedrosReviewed work(s):Source: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 93, No. 3 (Jul., 2000), pp. 235-239Published by: Cambridge University Presson behalf of the Harvard Divinity SchoolStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1510029.
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e s p o n s e
t a v i d
W o o d s
James C. Skedros
GreekOrthodox choolof Theology
Theoriginsof
the cult of
St.Demetriosare
ndeedobscure.
The earliest
ndisputable
evidence for the existence
of the cult
of St. Demetriosat
Thessaloniki
s the large
five-aislebasilicabuilt n
honorof themartyr nd
ocated n
the centerof this
impor-
tantportcity.
Based upon
archaeological ndart
historical vidence, the
basilica
can
be
dated o thelast quarter
f the fifth
century.lHowever, the
written radition f
the
cult
of St.
Demetrios, as preserved
n various
martyrdom ccounts
(whose dates
remainproblematic), laces thesaint'smartyrdom tThessalonikiduring heperse-
cution of
Diocletian, that is, during
the first
decade of the fourth
century,some
one-hundred
nd seventy
five yearsbefore the
erectionof
the saint'sbasilica.2
To
complicate
matterseven more, in the
earliestsurviving
martyrologies
datingfrom
the
fourthand
fifthcenturies, here s
no
mentionof a martyr
Demetrios who was
martyred r
veneratedat
Thessaloniki.Given
such lack of
historical vidence,
most
scholars,
ncluding )avid
Woods,whose article
appears n
the pages of this
journal,
have argued hatSt.
Demetriosof
Thessaloniki s a fictitious
saintandthat he
origin
of hisveneration tThessaloniki s not to befound n ahistoricalndividualwhowas
martyred nderDiocletian
atThessaloniki,but
rathermust
be soughtelsewhere.
In his
article, "Thessalonica's
Patron:St.
Demetriusor
Emeterius?"
Woods
offers a fresh look into
the
beginnings of the cult of
the martyrI)emetrios
at
Thessaloniki.
His solution to the
question of the origins
of the cult is
quite inge-
lJames
ConstantineSkedros,Saint
Demetriosof
Thessaloniki:Civic
Patron and
Divine
Protector th-7th Centuries
CE (HTS47;
Harrisburg: rinityPress
International,999)
29-39.
2Anapsidal
structurehas been found
underneath
he five-aisle basilica
and datedto
the
fourthcentury t is possiblethatthis structure epresents n earlier hree-aislebasilica to the
memory f the martyr
Demetrios; ee Vladislav
Popovic,"Sirmium:
ille imperiale,"n
Akten
des Vll.
Internationalen
Kongresses ur christliche
Archaologie
(2 vols.; Rome:
Pontificio
Istitutodi
archeologia
cristiana,1969) 1. 671.
HTR
93:3
(2000) 235-39
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236
HARVARDTHEOLOGICAL REVIEW
nious.Woodsbegins
by noting hat n oneof themartyrdom
ccounts f St.
Demetrios,
known as the Passio altera, two contact
relics associatedwith the saint are
identi-
fied: an orarion,orneckscarf, nda ring.Bothof theserelics,according o thePassio
altera, were soaked n the martyr'sblood
andrecognizedas
having healingpowers.
Woods takes these
two substitute elics as a starting
point in arguing or a
new
solution o the origins
of the cult of St.
Demetrios.Acknowledging he unusual
om-
binationof these two contact relics,
Woods states that, to
his knowledge,there is
only one other
nstancewherethese two relics, in
combination, re associated
with
martyrs:heearly ourth-centurypanish
militarymartyrs meterius nd
Chelidonius.
Given the similarity
between he names
Emeterius ndDemetrios, he same
unusual
combination f contactrelics associated
with these Spanish
martyrs ndDemetrios,
and the lack of evidence for a historical
martyrDemetrios
of Thessaloniki,Woods
arrivesat the
following hypothesis.Sometimeduring
379-80, in honor of the
new
emperor, he Spanish
generalTheodosius
, who hadrecentlymade his
residenceat
Thessaloniki,anunknownpersonor
persons ransferredhe
orarionand ring of the
martyrsEmeterius
and Chelidonius o Thessaloniki.Shortly
hereafter,Theodosius
moved his imperial
hrone o Constantinople, ndthe shrine
builtto house the
relics
of the two Spanish
martyrsat
Thessalonikiwas soon neglected. Accordingto
the
Passio altera,Leontios,the prefectof
Illyricum c. 412-413), visited
Thessaloniki
andwas healedof anailment fter oming ntocontactwith herelicsof St.Demetrios.
Woods identifiesthese relics as the
orarion and ring of the
Saints Emeteriusand
Chelidonius. n
response o hismiraculous ure,Leontios
builta basilicaat the
spot
where the relics werekept. While
excavating he area
around he shrine,Leontios,
according o Woods,discoveredan
inscription o the martyrEmeterius,which
he
interpreted s preserving he name
Demetrius.Leontios
then erected a basilica in
honorof a St.
Demetrios,who, on
accountof "localfolkmemory"which
associated
the
relics with a militarymartyr, ecame
St. Demetrios hemilitary aintand
martyr.
Thus the originsof St.
Demetrios.
Woods has
offered a new andcreative solution to a
question that still does
not
have a satisfactory
answer. In
particular,Woods should be commended for
hav-
ing raised the very
important ssue of the origin of the
contact relics associated
with St. Demetrios as
recorded n thePassio altera.
However, his reconstruction
of the origin of the
cult of St.
Demetrios has severalproblems, three of
which I
shall discuss briefly.
As is known, thereis no mentionof a
martyrDemetriosof Thessaloniki n
the
two earliestextantmartyrologies, he
Syriac Martyrology
datedto c. 362; Woods
uses the more traditional name of Syriac Breviary) and the Hieronymian
Martyrology dated oc. 431-450). As
Woods himselfadmits, hese
martyrologies
do not contain an
exhaustive list of
historicalmartyrsof the early church. In
my
work on St. Demetrios, I attempted to
demonstratethe insufficiency of
these
martyrologiesby
arguing hatthe
calendarof martyrsdepicted on the walls of
the
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JAMES
C. SKEDROS
237
Rotunda
at
Thessaloniki
depict
three
martyrs
who
were
commemorated
at
Thessaloniki
but
whose
names
do
not
appear
in
the
Syriac
or
Hieronimian
Martyrologies.Woods has challengedthese threeexamples.Woods may be cor-
rect
in pointing
outthat
one
of
these
martyrs,
Therinos,
ought
to
be identified
with
the
martyr
Tirinus,
who
is
commemorated
nJune
7 in
theSyriac
Martyrology.3
he
two
other
martyrs,
Onesiphoros
and
Leo,
Woods
dismisses
as
fictitious
martyrs,
thus
claiming
that
they
cannot
be used
in
support
of the
argument
hat
there
were
historical
martyrs
venerated
at
Thessaloniki
whose
names
did
not
appear
n
the
early
martyrologies.
Onesiphoros,
who
is paired
with
Porphyrios
n
the
Rotunda
mosaics,
is to
be
identified
as the
companion
of
the
apostle
Paul
(2
Tim
1:1S18),
and
therefore
s
a fictitious
martyr.
Here
I
am
in
agreement
with
Woods.
As for
the
martyr
Leo,
however,
there
is simply
no knowledgeof this martyroutsideof the
Rotunda
mosaics.
To
claim,
that
he is
a
fictitious
martyr
eems
too
simplistic.4
Woods
suggests
that
I
have
chosen
the
wrong
examples
to
demonstrate
hat
the
early
martyrologies
do
not
preserve
complete
lists
of
martyrs.
Rather,
what
needs
to be
shown
is
that
these
early
martyrologies
omit
the
name
of
a
martyr
who
was
celebrated
n
a metropolitan
rea
for
which
the
martyrologies
ist
other
martyrs.
should
like
to
offer
just
such
an
example.
St.
Basil
the
Great,
he
fourth-century
ishop
of
Caesarea
of Cappadocia,
deliv-
ered five panegyricalhomilies dealing with martyrsthat have survived. These
consist
of
homilies
on
the
martyrs
Julitta,
Barlaam,
Gordios,
the
Forty
Martyrs
of
Sebaste,
and
Mamas.
The
martyr
Julitta
will
serve
as
an
illustrative
response
to
Woods.
No
specific
date
for
the
homily
on
Julitta
s
given,
yet
it
most
likely
dates
between
370
and
379
when
Basil
served
as
bishop
of
Caesarea.
The
homily
was
delivered
on
the
feast
day
of the
martyr
n
the city
of
Caesarea.
Basil
tells
us that
the
martyr's
relics
lie
near
the
entrance
nto
the
city.
The
location
of
her
shrine
outside
the
city
walls
suggests
that
this
shrine
s
most
likely
herburial
site
and
not
a shrine
housing
substitute
elics,
which
would
have
been
the
result
of
a translation
of relics. Basil even mentionsa springthatflows out fromthe groundaround he
martyr's
tomb,
clearly
acknowledging
the
sacred
nature
of
the
site.S
All
of
this
suggests
that
Julitta's
shrine
was not
of recent
date
but
that
it
most
likely
dates
to
the
first
half
of
the
fourth
century.
3Therinos
was commemorated
at Constantinople
along
with
St Demetrios
on
May
6 and
with
St.
George
on
April
23.
For
the
Greek
Passio see
Analecta
Bollandiana
00
(1982)
63-78.
4Woods
states
that
the
names
of
fifteen
martyrs
have
survived
from
the
mosaics
of
the
Rotunda However, of these fifteen martyrsonly thirteen of the accompanying inscriptions are
currently
identifiable,
a
fourteenth
has
been
sufficiently
reconstructed,
while
the
fifteenth
(the
martyr
paired
with
Ananios)
cannot
securely
be identified;
see,
Denis
Feissel,
Recueil
des
inscriptions
hre'tiennes
eMace'doine
uIlle
au
Vlesiecle(Athens:
Ecole
Franvaise
d' Athenes,
1983)
103-10.
5Hom
Jul
2.,
PG
31.
237-61.
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238
HARVARD
THEOLOG ICALREVI
EW
Turning to the
Syriac
Martyrology,
martyrsof Caesarea of
Cappadocia are
mentionedon six
separate
dates.6However,
here s no
mentionof the martyr
ulitta.
The tenth-centuryMenologion of Basil II gives the date of July 30 for her feast
day. It
would appear,
herefore, hat
the martyrJulitta
s an
example of how the
Syriac
Martyrologyomits the name
of a
historicalmartyrwho is
commemorated
at a city
for which the
martyrology
ists othermartyrs.
The conclusion is
rather
simple:
the Syriac
Martyrologydoes
notpreserve
complete lists of
historicalmar-
tyrs for
some
metropolitan reas.
A second
majorproblem
with the origins
of the cult of St.
Demetrios,
and my
second
criticismof
Woods's thesis, is the
reliance
upon the various
martyrdom
accounts
of the saint for
evidence of
the originof the
cult. Thereis very
little dis-
agreement hat the
literary
accountsof the
Passions of the saint
cannot be
read as
strictly
historicaldocuments
butrather elongto
the
categoryof epic
Passions.7This
does notmean that
these
martyrdom ccounts
do not
containelementsof
historical
veracity.
However,even if
one wereto granta
very
generoushistorical
reading o
the
Passions,the
majorobstacle n
using themas a source
for the
originsof the cult
of St.Demetrios s
that hePassions
are
hagiographicalexts and
are
extremelydif-
ficult todate.
These
martyrdomsccounts till
await
criticaleditionsand
evaluation.
The
problemwithWoods's
hypothesis,as is theproblem
with anydiscussion
of the
originsof the cultof St.Demetrios, s itsdependanceuponthePassio altera,one of
three
versions of the
martyrdom f St.
Demetrios.8 t is
in the
Passio altera where
the two substitute
elics
the orarionand ring
are introduced.
Woods
argument
that"the
Passio
alteraprovesthe
existenceof
an orariumand a
ring at thecenterof
the cult
of a militarymartyr,
Demetrius,atThessalonica"
elies tooheavily
uponthe
Passio altera as
well as
misunderstandinghe
historical
developmentof the
cult of
St.
Demetriosat
Thessaloniki.
The
Passioalteracontains
even
episodesoreventsnot
found n
the Passioprima
or
"shorter ersion" f the
martyrdomf St.
Demetrios. t
is mycontention
hat hese
seven episodes,
one of
which is the
introductionof the
orarion and ring
of St.
Demetriosascontactrelics
with
healingpowers,are
simply
intended o enhance he
authority ndstatus
of the
cult of St.Demetios.9
Theyhave been
introduced
nto the
martyrdom tory
of St.
Demetriosas proof of
the divineauthority
f the
saint, and,
therefore,
heirhistorical
value must
be approachedwith
caution.
Finally,
Woods's associationof
Emeteriusand
Demetrios is
based, in part,on
the
identityof
Demetriosasa military
aint.In
fact, there s
absolutelynoevidence
6March , Gordianos;May29, Cyril;July 12, Dios;July 13,Dios thePresbyter;November
3,
Germanos,
Theophilosand Cyril; and
November23,
Veronikios
7Skedros, aint
Demetrios
of Thessaloniki, 0 n.
66.
8Fora detailed
discussion
of the Passions, see
ibid., 60-70
9Ibid.,
66 I have argued
extensively
for this in explaining
the
additionof the Sirmium
subplotto
the Passio altera, see
esp. pp.
22-29.
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JAMES
C. SKEDROS
239
to
indicate
that
St.
Demetrios
was venerated
as a
military
martyr
earlier
than
600
CE.
Surviving
conographic
vidence
n
the
Basilica
of St.
Demetrios
n
Thessaloniki
does not depict the martyr n any militarygarb.Rather,the saint is shown as an
intercessor
standing
n
the orans
position)
or
a protector
of
children )
wearing
a
traditional
hlamys
or tunic
withan
embroidered
ablion,
indicating
a
high
social
rank
or
status.
Woods
argues
that
it
was the
"local
folk
memory"
of
Emeterius
as
a
military
martyr
hat,
added
to a
misreading
of
a non-existent
inscription,
pro-
duced
the
military
martyr
Demetrios
during
the
first
quarter
of the
fifth
century.
However,
the
development
of St.
Demetrios
into
a
military
saint
was
gradual;
he
pivotal
point
coming
during
andafter
the
Slav-Avar
siege
of Thessaloniki
n
586
CE.
It
was
thepresence
of the
Slavs
in
the
Balkans
at
this time
and
throughout
he
seventhcentury hatwas thereal impetusfor the transformation f St. Demetrios
into
a
military
martyr.l
On
the
contrary,
the
early
cult
of
St. Demetrios
at
Thessaloniki
did
not identify
the
martyr
as a
military
saint.
It
is
refreshing
o
read
a
well-argued
discussion
of the
origin
of the
cult of
St.
Demetrios
that
does
not
rely
upon
the traditional
iew
that
the
cult
had
its
origins
in
the
martyr
Demetrios
of
Sirmium
mentioned
n
the
Syriac
Martyrology
or
April
9.
Woods
has
offered
an
attractive
hypothesis
based
upon
the contact
relics
the
orarion
and
ring
identified
n the
Passio
altera.
Unfortunately,
his thesis
cannot
be supportedby theexistingevidence. It placesundueemphasison
the
complete-
ness
of the
early
martyrologies,
relies
upon
a hagiographical
text
of dubious
historical
value,
and
misunderstands
he trajectory
of
the
cult of
St.
Demetrios
at
Thessaloniki.
Without
any firmer
evidence,
the origins
of
the
martyr
Demetrios
should
remain
n
the city
in which
he continues
to be
venerated
o
this
day.
'Ibid.,
105-32