Holy Martyrs Demetrius, His Wife Evanthia, and Their Son Demetrian (1st Century) — September 11 / September 24 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, September 11 according to the Julian Calendar (September 24 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Holy Martyrs Demetrius, His Wife Evanthia, and Their Son Demetrian.

The holy martyr Demetrius was ruler of Scepsis on the Hellespont when the centurion Cornelius (commemorated September 13) came there preaching the Gospel. Saint Cornelius converted many of the city’s inhabitants to Christianity, for which the pagans seized him and brought him before the ruler Demetrius. For a long time Demetrius tried in vain to persuade the Lord’s chosen one to blaspheme the true God, and at last, having exhausted his efforts, he began to torture him. Cornelius bravely endured the torments, all the while urging the ruler of the city to renounce pagan falsehood and turn to Christianity. When the martyr was brought to the idol temple, by his prayer he overthrew the altar together with the idols standing in it. All of this convinced Demetrius of the almighty power of Cornelius’s God, and he was baptized with his whole household. For confessing the true faith, the pagans shut the newly converted family in prison and starved them to death.