Demetrian of Scepsis

Holy Martyr Demetrian of Scepsis was the son of the Holy Martyr Demetrius, prince and governor of the city of Scepsis in the Hellespont, and of his wife Euanthia. He died of hunger in prison, together with his parents, for the faith in Christ. They are commemorated on 24 September.

To Scepsis came, with the preaching of the Gospel, Saint Cornelius the Centurion, the first pagan brought to Christ by the Apostle Peter. Cornelius sowed Christianity among many inhabitants of Scepsis, and the pagans seized him and brought him to the judgment of the governor Demetrius, who tried in vain to force him to renounce Christ and in the end gave him to torments. Saint Cornelius bravely endured the torments, urging the governor to leave pagan error and turn to the true faith in Christ. Led into the idol temple, the saint brought down by prayer the shrine and the idols that stood in it. Convinced of the truth of Christianity by the saint's preaching and by his wonders, the governor Demetrius believed in Christ himself and received Holy Baptism with his whole family. For the confession of Christ, the pagans threw the whole newly converted family into prison and starved them to death.