Demetrius of Sliven

Holy New Martyr Demetrius of Sliven was born on 9 October 1818 in Sliven, into a poor family, and was put to death on 30 January 1841 in the same city. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church commemorates him on 29 January, and not on 30 January, the day of his death, as is usually done for saints, because on 30 January one of the great feasts of the Church is kept, the day of the Three Hierarchs, dedicated to the three teachers of the world, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom and Basil the Great.

He was left an orphan while young and served in various houses. In 1839 he waited at a banquet given for the new kadi who had arrived in the town, and during the banquet he agreed in jest to accept Islam, but soon realized his mistake and fled from Sliven. After a stay at Razgrad he went to Ruse, where he met the local bishop, after which he resolved to return to Sliven, in order to become a martyr. Arriving at Zheravna, he surrendered to the authorities, was taken to Sliven and accused of apostasy, a grave crime in Islamic law. He spent about a year in prison, subjected to torments and to attempts to persuade him to accept Islam. At the end of 1840 he was sentenced to death, and at the beginning of the following year the sentence was confirmed by the government in Constantinople. He was executed in public, by beheading, on 30 January 1841 at Sliven.

The cross and the small wooden icon that the saint carried are kept in the cathedral of Saint Demetrius in Sliven. In honour of Saint Demetrius of Sliven an akathist has been composed, in which he is called chosen by God, great martyr for the Orthodox faith of his people, who obtained the grace and strength of the martyrs of old. At present there is no church of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church dedicated to Saint Demetrius of Sliven. The only church dedicated to the saint belongs to the Bulgarian Old Calendar Orthodox Church, which is not part of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and is in the city of Sliven.