http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/2084-140X.02.

10

Studia Ceranea 2, 2012, p. 113–126

Anastasia Dobyčina (Moskva)

A “Divine Sanction” on the Revolt:

The Cult of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica and the
Uprising of Peter and Asen
(1185–1186)

It is well known in the modern scholarship how widely cults of saints were
applied to political practices in medieval Europe. Medieval Bulgaria was no ex-
ception1. Having adopted Christianity from Byzantium in 864 (or 865) and thus
entered the Byzantine orbit, the Bulgarians imported much of the political and ec-
clesiastical heritage of the Empire. The tendency increased after the Byzantine con-
quest of Bulgaria in 1018, since for more than 150 years the lands of the Bulgarians
were to remain within the imperial borders. Yet in 1185–1186 the rule of Constan-
tinople over the Bulgarians was put to an end due to the successful revolt of broth-
ers Theodore-Peter and Asen-Belgun, who used as their stronghold the fortress of
Tărnovo, in the northern-eastern part of the Bulgarian lands, and originated from
the local nobility. Trying to justify their actions against the imperial power, the
rebellious brothers openly appealed to a “Divine sanction” on the renovation of in-
dependent Bulgaria, having ascribed this to the holy protection of St. Demetrius of
Thessalonica. According to the account, left by a contemporary, a prominent Byz-
antine government official, historian and theologian Nicetas Choniates (between
1155 and 1157–1217), the Bulgarians in Tărnovo at first feared to rebel against the
Empire. But Peter and Asen constructed there a house of prayer in the name of the all-
praised martyr Demetrius, where they brought together many people of various kinds
obsessed by devils, who were told to prophesy that God had decided upon the freedom of
the Bulgarians and the Vlachs and upon the removal from their necks of the yoke they had
been bearing for so long. These prophets also proclaimed that St. Demetrius had left
Thessalonica and his own shrine there, desiring for no more to dwell with the Byz-
antines and joining the Bulgarians to assist and to participate in their enterprise2.
1
D. Polyviannyi, The Cults of Saints in the Political Ideology of the Bulgarian Empire, [in:] Fonctions so-
ciales et politiques du culte des saints dans les sociétés de rite grec et latin au Moyen Âge et à l’Époque Moderne.
Approche comparative, ed. M. Derwich, M. Dmitriev, Wrocław 1999, p. 401–416.
2
Nicetas Choniates, Historia, rec. I.A. van Dieten, Berolini–Novi Eboraci 1975, p. 371 (= CFHB,
vol. XI/1).
114 Anastasia Dobyčina

At first sight, all of this does not cross the limits of the traditional Christian
practice of appealing to saints for any kind of assistance. Nevertheless, the very
fact of the detailed, though rhetorically ornate, account left by Choniates as well
as his unconcealed indignation towards the Bulgarians indicates that – at least
among the Constantinopolitan elite – the revolt in Tărnovo could be viewed as
something extraordinary.
In the present paper I will try to examine what of the peculiarities of the De-
metrian cult made it suitable for Peter and Asen as a tool of maintaining their
own legitimacy. What exactly did they exploit to convince their compatriots of
the “true” presence of their celestial patron? Obviously, to answer this question
it is necessary to ascertain to what extent St. Demetrius was popular among the
Bulgarians and the Byzantines by the end of the 12th cent., and what was the most
attractive of his emplois in the eyes of his admirers.
So, according to the tradition, the “Great Martyr” Demetrius (feastday Oc-
tober 26th) was executed because of his fidelity to Christianity in Thessalonica
early in the 4th cent., under Maximian (i.e. Galerius) (293–311) and Diocletian
(284–305), and buried somewhere near the Thessalonican baths3.
Though the origins of the cult, including the true biography of the saint, cir-
cumstances of his death and even the location of his burial place are covered with
darkness4, it is clear that it was Thessalonica and its environs where the cult pri-
marily acquired wide popularity. Of all extant indications in favor of such an as-
sertion the most impressive is probably a huge, more than 55 m long, 5-aisled (ini-
tially 3-aisled) cross-transept basilica, still existing (despite of numerous repairs)
in modern Thessaloniki, dedicated to St. Demetrius and dating back to the second
half of the 5th C. Circa the same time a special ciborium as the main focus of the cult
was constructed within the basilica – i.e. a hexagonal wooden installation covered
by silver plates, with a marble pedestal, a pyramidal roof on pillars, a double-fold-
ed door and a sphere crowned with a cross at the very top. On solemn occasions
the door of the ciborium opened to secure veneration of the saint. Inside there was
something reminding a couch and probably two thrones for icons of St. Demetrius
and of a certain Lady Eutaxia, who could be identified as the Virgin Mary5. As such,

3
For details concerning the history of the Demetrian cult see: J. Walter, St. Demetrius: The Myrobli-
tos of Thessalonika, ECR 5.2, 1973, p. 157–178; D. Obolensky, The Cult of St. Demetrios of Thessaloniki
in the History of Byzantine-Slav Relations, BS 15, 1974, p. 3–20; О.В. Иванова, А.А. Турилов, А.А. Лу-
кашевич, А.С. Преображенский, Димитрий Солунский, [in:] Православная энциклопедия, vol. XV,
Москва 2007, p. 155–195; В. Тъпкова-Заимова, К. Паскалева, Между Солун и Търново. Още за
култа и иконографията на свети Димитър, ГСУ.НЦСВПИД 95(14), 2010, p. 249–263.
4
Cf. М. Vickers, Sirmium or Thessaloniki? A Critical Examination of the St. Demetrius Legend, BZ 67,
1974, p. 337–350; P. Tóth, Sirmian Martyrs in Exile. Pannonian Case-Studies and a Re-Evaluation of the
St. Demetrius Problem, BZ 103, 2010, p. 145–170.
5
For the basilica and the ciborium see: D.I. Pallas, Le ciborium hexagonal de St.-Démétrios de Thés-
salonique, Зог 10, 1979, p. 46–58; А.Ю. Казарян, Е.М. Саенкова, В.Е. Сусленков, Димитрия Солун-
A „Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrios… 115

the ciborium was considered to be the “dwelling” of the “Great Martyr”, although it
is hardly possible that his relics have been stored there6.
Having taken its primary devotional and artistic forms in Thessalonica, the
cult soon enough became known in Constantinople, and already emperor Mau-
rice (582–602) tried to obtain the relics of the saint to transfer them to the capital,
although in vain. Yet fully imperial dimension the cult of St. Demetrius acquired
only after the end of Iconoclasm in 8437. In the post-iconoclastic period numerous
new texts devoted to St. Demetrius were composed8, his feastday was finally set on
its present date (October 26th) and significant changes were developed concerning
his very image and the character of his official and popular veneration.
Thus, before Iconoclasm, St. Demetrius was imagined as a young patrician,
helping pious Thessalonicans in their everyday life9. On the contrary, already in
the 7th cent. – marked with disastrous invasions of the Avars and the Slavs – the
saint transformed to a “fiery man”, overwhelming the heathen enemies not only
spiritually but also physically10. Now it was the image of a victorious warrior that
was attached to St. Demetrius and deliberately exploited by the emperors for the
consolidation of their authority.
Starting with the second half of the 9th cent., the cult of St. Demetrius clearly
spread in Constantinople inspiring there a wide church-building activity. Of all
the churches devoted to the saint in the Byzantine capital the earliest was built (or
reconstructed) in the quarter of Deuteron, most probably under the patronage
of the founder of the Macedonian dynasty Basil I (867–886)11. During the reign
of his son, Leo VI the Wise (886–912), a special shrine of St. Demetrius (prob-
ably a parekklesion) appeared in the church of Theotokos tou Pharou – immediately
within the complex of the Great Palace12. In turn, this so-called Pharos church
was haloed with the most profound devotion not only among the dwellers of
the imperial capital and other Byzantines, but also throughout the whole of the

ского великомученика базилика в Фессалонике, [in:] Православная энциклопедия, XV, Москва 2007,
p. 199–204.
6
R. Cormack, Writing in Gold. Byzantine Society and Its Icons, London 1985, p. 63; А.Ю. Казарян,
Е.М. Саенкова, В.Е. Сусленков, op. cit., p. 202.
7
О.В. Иванова, А.А. Турилов, А.А. Лукашевич, А.С. Преображенский, op. cit., p. 158–159.
8
For the textual tradition devoted to St. Demetrius cf. Ф. Баришиђ, Чуда Димитриjа Солунског као
историски извор, Београд 1953; P. Lemerle, Les plus anciens recueils des Miracles de saint Démétrius,
vol. II, Paris 1981; V. Tăpkova-Zaimova, Le culte de saint Démétrius à Byzance et aux Balkans, MBu 5,
1987, p. 139–146; Д.М. Буланин, Мучение Димитрия Солунского, [in:] Словарь книжников и книж-
ности Древней Руси (XI – первая половина XIV в.), ed. Д.С. Лихачев, Ленинград 1987, p. 260–262;
О.В. Иванова, Комментарий к «Чудесам св. Димитрия», [in:] Свод древнейших письменных изве-
стий о славянах, ed. Г.Г. Литаврин, vol. II, Москва 1995, p. 182.
9
R. Cormack, op. cit., p. 66.
10
Чудеса св. Димитрия Солунского, [in:] Свод…, vol. II, p. 105.
11
О.В. Иванова, А.А. Турилов, А.А. Лукашевич, А.С. Преображенский, op. cit., p. 166.
12
R.J. Macrides, Subversion and Loyalty in the Cult of Saint Demetrios, Bsl 51.2, 1990, p. 189–197.
116 Anastasia Dobyčina

contemporary Christendom. For it was there that the most treacherous and ven-
erated collection of Christian relics was kept, including those of the Savior’s Pas-
sion: Holy Crown of Thorns, Holy Lance, Holy Nail(s), Holy Sponge, Holy Tunic
and many others13.
At last, under the Comneni (1081–1185) the cult of St. Demetrius reached
its peak. During this period the cult was put to the very focus of attention of the
ruling family, as well as its relatives and clients, and acquired expressively offi-
cial, imperial colouring. It was Manuel I Comnenus (1143–1180) who particu-
larly accented the cult of St. Demetrius as a tool for the imperial consolidation.
And it was him who in 1143 (or 1149) transferred the miracle-working shroud
bearing an image of the saint14 from his ‘tomb’ in the Thessalonican basilica to
the monastery of Pantocrator in Constantinople which served as a burial place
for the Comneni15.
Consequently, by the end of the 12th cent. St. Demetrius must have become
one of the most popular warrior-saints among the Byzantines, including the mili-
tary. The latter is clearly indicated by lead seals of provincial military commanders
(for example, that of Leo Brachamius16), steatite icons of the Chersonese origin
(for example, those with St. Demetrius and St. Theodore17 or with St. Demetrius,
St. Theodore and St. George18) and numerous objects of private piety (such as the
ivory icon from the second half of the 10th cent. in the Metropolitan Museum19 or
the steatite icon of the 11th cent. in the Moscow Kremlin20). The ‘militarised’ im-
age of St. Demetrius is also present on the objects belonging to members of high-
ranking nobility, such as ivory triptychs of the 10th–11th cent. (for example, that
with the Forty Martyrs of Sebasteia in the Hermitage Museum, Sankt-Petersburg21,
or the well-known Harbaville triptych22).
13
А.М. Лидов, Церковь Богоматери Фаросской. Императорский храм-реликварий как константи-
нопольский Гроб Господень, [in:] Византийский мир: искусство Константинополя и национальные
традиции. К 2000-летию христианства (памяти О.И. Подобедовой), ed. М.А. Орлова, Москва
2005, p. 79–101 (=А.М. Лидов, Иеротопия. Пространственные иконы и образы-парадигмы в визан-
тийской культуре, Москва, 2009, р. 71–109).
14
V. Tăpkova-Zaimova, Quelques representations iconographiques de Saint Demetrius et l’insurrection des
Assenides – premiere scission dans son culte «oecumenique», BBg 5, 1978, p. 263–264; eadem, Изображе-
нията на св. Димитър Солунски и писмената димитриевска традиция, ГСУ. НЦСВПИД 94 (13),
2004, p. 151.
15
А. Cutler, А.-М. Talbot, Pantokrator Monastery in Constantinople, [in:] ODB, vol. II, p. 1575.
16
Искусство Византии в собраниях СССР. Каталог выставки, А.В. Банк, М.А. Бессонова, 2Мо-
сква 1977, p. 151, № 840.
17
The Glory of Byzantium. Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era (A.D. 843–1261), ed. H.C. Evans,
W.D. Wixom, New York 1997, p. 122, № 69.
18
Искусство Византии в собраниях СССР…, p. 114, № 616.
19
The Glory of Byzantium…, p. 135, № 81.
20
Искусство Византии в собраниях СССР…, p. 112, № 613.
21
Ibidem, p. 103, № 592.
22
The Glory of Byzantium…, p. 133, № 80.
A „Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrios… 117

Of no less importance for our study is the fact that precisely in the post-icon-
oclastic period the cult of St. Demetrius was also adopted by southern and eastern
Slavs who had just entered the Byzantine orbit.
The penetration of the cult into the lands of the Slavs is immediately connect-
ed with the mission of St. Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher (826/827–869) and
St. Methodius (ca. 815–885), who themselves were of Thessalonican origin and
therefore from the very childhood could be concerned with the veneration of St.
Demetrius. So, it is quite natural that St. Demetrius became the patron saint of the
Pannonian archbishopric, established in Sirmium (869) and headed by St. Metho-
dius until his death. Moreover, according to his Vita, it was exactly on St. Deme-
trius’ day that St. Methodius finished his translation of the Bible into Slavonic23.
And it is very probable that to express his gratitude for his patron St. Methodius
composed then a special akolouthia for the “Great Martyr” of which unfortunately
only the canon is extant24. Besides, a special enkomion for St. Demetrius was com-
posed a little later by St. Clement of Ohrid (died 916), one of the most entrusted
disciples of St. Constantine-Cyril and St. Methodius25.
At least in the 10th cent. the cult of St. Demetrius was solidly implanted
into the Slavic ground, judging from the fact that already in the first half of the
century one of the local župans in Bulgaria bore the name Demetrius (as wit-
nessed by a Cyrillic inscription discovered near Mircea Voda, Dobrudža, and
dated to ca. 943)26.
Much more evidence concerning the cult of St. Demetrius among the Slavs
within the Byzantine orbit is extant from the 11th and the 12th cent. First of all,
one should mention frescoes representing St. Demetrius in the churches of
St. Panteleemon, Nerezi (1164)27 and of St. George, Kurbinovo (1191)28 – both
within the lands of the First Bulgarian Empire conquered by Byzantium in 1018.
St. Demetrius is also represented on frescoes (dated to the last third of the 12th
cent.) in two churches at Castoria: those of St. Nicholas tou Kasnitzes and of the
Anargyroi29. And it is probably him who figures on a poorly-preserved fresco in

23
Климент Охридски, Събрани съчинения, ed. Б.С. Ангелов, Х. Кодов, vol. III, София 1973,
p. 191.
24
Б.С. Ангелов, Из старата българска, руска и сръбска литература, София 1958, p. 19–23;
С. Кожухаров, Канон за Димитър Солунски, [in:] КМЕ, vol. II, София 1995, p. 215–217; С.Ю.
Темчин, Этапы становления славянской гимнографии (863 г. – около 1097 года), часть I, Сл 2,
2004, p. 33–34.
25
Климент Охридски, Събрани съчинения, vol. II, София 1970, p. 234–235.
26
В. Гюзелев, Добруджанският надпис и събитията в България през 943 г., ИП 24.6, 1968, p. 40‒48;
П. Павлов, Димитър, [in:] Й. Андреев, И. Лазаров, П. Павлов, Кой кой е в средновековна България.
Исторически справочник, София 1994, p. 88–89; И. Божилов, В. Гюзелев История на средновековна
България (VII–XIV век), София 1999, p. 292.
27
I. Sinkević, The Church of St. Panteleimon at Nerezi, Wiesbaden 2000, p. 59, fig. 57.
28
Ц. Грозданов, Л. Хадерман-Мисгвиш, Курбиново, Скопjе 1992, p. 49, 65–66, сл. 66.
29
О.В. Иванова, А.А. Турилов, А.А. Лукашевич, А.С. Преображенский, op. cit., p. 182.
118 Anastasia Dobyčina

the medieval church at Patalenitsa, near Pazardžik, presumably dating back to

the 11th–12th cent.30
During the 11th and the beginning of the 12th cent. images of St. Demetrius ap-
pear also on various objects connected with the Byzantine administration in the Bul-
garian lands of the Empire. Noteworthy are matrices for seals31 and seals belonging to
local Byzantine high-ranking functionaries: seals of Constantine, anthypatos patrikios
and doux of Bulgaria32, later vestarchos and pronoites of the “whole Bulgaria”33, and
those of Boril, a commander of foreign mercenaries in the imperial service34. Nu-
merous steatite icons found in modern Bulgaria35 also indicate the popularity of St.
Demetrius among the local military, including persons of Slavic (Bulgarian) origin36.
Hence, by the end of the 12th cent. the cult of the Thessalonican “Great Mar-
tyr” had been flourishing throughout the Byzantine Empire, without having cut its
connection with its primary centre in Thessalonica.
As to Thessalonica itself, in the 12th cent. it was not only the second, after
Constantinople, city of Byzantium, being a large commercial and military port,
but also a major centre of pilgrimage. The main object of veneration was there
a miraculous myrrh from the “tomb” of St. Demetrius dissembled within a special
reliquary (larnax) inside a sarcophagus (soros) within the then marble ciborium37.
The earliest data about the holy ointment (in the Vita of St. Phantinus the Younger)
goes back probably to the late 10th cent.38 Already in the 11th–12th cent. pilgrims,

30
For the church and the remnants of its wall-paintings see: П. Попов, За техниката на стенопи-
сите в черквата «Св. Димитър» в село Паталеница, [in:] Древнерусское искусство. Балканы. Русь,
Санкт-Петербург 1995, p. 163–181; Л. Мавродинова, Мястото на стенописите от църквата
«Св. Димитър» в с. Паталеница, Пазарджишко, в историята на средновековната балканска живо-
пис, Pbg 23, 1999, p. 3–29.
31
К. Тотев, Византийски модели и традиции в приложното изкуство на Второто българско
царство, [in:] Търновска книжовна школа, vol. VI, Велико Търново 1999, p. 614.
32
Н. Мушмов, Монетите и печатите на българските царе, София 1923, p. 166, № 253.
33
Ibidem, № 254.
34
Искусство Византии в собраниях СССР…, p. 140, № 756. See other seals of similar character:
J. Jordanov, Corpus of Byzantine Seals from Bulgaria, vol. I, Sofia 2003, p. 34–35, № 6.1, p. 136, № 58.1,
etc; vol. II, Sofia 2006, p. 159–160, № 240; p. 160–162, № 241, etc.; vol. III, Sofia 2009, p. 487, № 1462,
etc; J. Jordanov, Zh. Zhekova, Catalogue of Medieval Seals at the Regional Historical Museum of Shumen,
Shumen 2007, p. 67, № 146, p. 144, № 377, etc.
35
М. Ваклинова, Паметник на средновековната дребна пластика, Арх 12.2, 1970, p. 44–51; La
Bulgarie médiévale. Art et civilization, Paris 1980, № 229.
36
For detailes see: П.Х. Петров, Възстановяване на Българската държава: 1185–1197, София 1985,
p. 77–80, 81, 86, 333–344; Н. Овчаров, Още за култа към св. Димитър през Второто българско
царство, Век 16.1, 1987, p. 16–18; Й. Алексиев, Предстоличният Търнов, [in:] Сборник в чест на
акад. Димитър Ангелов, ed. В. Велков, София 1994, p. 196–200; N. Ovcharov, The Warrior Saints in
Old Bulgarian Art. Legends and Reality, Sofia 2003, p. 28–40; К. Тотев, Солунски евлогии от България,
Арх 47.1/4, 2006, p. 210–219.
37
CH. Bakirtzis, Pilgrimage to Thessalonike: The Tomb of St. Demetrios, DOP 56, 2002, p. 179–185.
38
О.В. Иванова, А.А. Турилов, А.А. Лукашевич, А.С. Преображенский, op. cit., p. 158–159.
A „Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrios… 119

visiting Thessalonica and hoping to take with them the holiness of the “Great Mar-
tyr”, used special ampoules with images of St. Demetrius, St. George and the Virgin
Mary, many of which are extant39. These ampoules with the myrrh, like other relics
of St. Demetrius, taken from Thessalonica or acquired otherwise, were inserted
into special reliquaries40. Other items of the “pious export” from Thessalonica ap-
pear to be copies of a certain icon of St. Demetrius, probably miracle-working,
kept there in his basilica41. At least some of these copies could be simultaneously
reliquaries, containing little ampoules with the myrrh – similar to a mosaic icon of
the 14th cent., now in Italy42.
Beside the tomb, the myrrh, icons and other relics of St. Demetrius, there was
one more thing associated with Thessalonica that also contributed to the glory of
the city – a fair, well-known throughout the Empire and even beyond its borders.
It took place annually and, what is more important, was strictly timed to St. De-
metrius’ day. The latter was pompously celebrated for three days and, according
to Timarion, an anonymous satirical dialogue of the 12th cent., it was the greatest
Macedonian feast, attracting people even from Scythia, Italy, Iberia, Lusitania and the
Transalpine Celtic lands43.
Yet of especial complexity was the notion of Thessalonica among the Bulgar-
ians for whom it was not only the city of St. Demetrius or an attractive example
of urban prosperity, but also one of the focal points of their own history where it
clearly intersected with that of the Empire and of the whole of Christendom44. It
is quite natural that in the flood of the Slavonic apocryphal writings developed by
the Bulgarians Thessalonica was treated as one of the holy cities in the universe –
beside Jerusalem, Rome and Constantinople45. Thus, in the Bulgarian apocryphal
tradition Thessalonica was given a wide range of symbolic meaning: an impreg-
nable fortress besieged by the forces of Antichrist46, a place, where St. Constan-
tine-Cyril was brought by the Divine Providence to baptize the Bulgarians and to
grant them the script of their own47, and meanwhile an extreme border-line of the

39
Д. Топтанов, Оловна ампула от крепостта «Красен» край Панагюрище, ПБA 1, 1992, p. 240‒242;
K. Totev, Thessalonican Eulogia Found in Bulgaria (Lead Ampoules, Encolpia and Icons from the 12th‒15th
Centuries), Велико Търново 2011, p. 53–79.
40
Искусство Византии в собраниях СССР…, p. 85, № 547; The Glory of Byzantium…, p. 77–78, № 36;
Христианские реликвии в Московском Кремле, Москва 2000, p. 116, № 27.
41
Э.С. Смирнова, Храмовая икона Дмитриевского собора. Святость солунской базилики во влади-
мирском храме, [in:] Дмитриевский собор. К 800-летию памятника, Москва 1997, p. 239.
42
Ibidem, p. 241.
43
Тимарион, [in:] Византийский сатирический диалог, ed. С.В. Полякова, Ленинград 1986, p. 28.
44
М. Каймакамова, Византия и историческата култура на българите през XI–XII в., ИП 59.5/6,
2003, p. 5.
45
V. Tăpkova-Zaimova, Les légendes sur Salonique – ville sainte – et la conversion des Bulgares, [in:] The
Legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius to Kiev and Moscow, Thessaloniki 1992, p. 133–141.
46
Стара българска литература, vol. I, София 1982, p. 156.
47
Ibidem, p. 300.
120 Anastasia Dobyčina

possessions of the glorious Bulgarian tsar Symeon (893–927)48. And it was exactly
Thessalonica that, according to the Bulgarian version of the Vision of Prophet Daniel
(extant in the so called Dragol collection), would become the capital of the future
eschatological tsardom of tsar Michael – not Constantinople49.
Therefore one can easily understand what a severe blow suffered the con-
sciousness of the Byzantines, including those of Bulgarian origin, in 1185, when
Thessalonica was attacked and ravaged by the Normans of Sicily50. Having taken
the city on St. Bartholomew’s day, the Normans carried out a true massacre and
plundered not only the dwellers but the “Great Martyr” himself – that is the trea-
sures of his Thessalonican shrine, including the golden crown and other details of
the revetment of his icon kept there51. Even the holy ointment did not escape the
fury and ignorance of the ‘Sicilians’, who, according to Nicetas Choniates, used it
to fill pots, to cook fish and to lubricate their footwear52.
The ravage of Thessalonica by the Normans came as a bombshell throughout
the Empire. If relatively not long ago, in 1040–1041, the city of St. Demetrius could
have been saved from the Bulgarian rebels led by Peter Deljan and Alousian53,
why was it then sacked in 1185 like in 904, when it fell to the Arabs54? What did
that mean? Whether the “alignment of forces” within the celestial hierarchy had
changed or the “Great Martyr” had seized his protection and left Thessalonica and
the Byzantines because of their sins?
The shock caused by the sack of Thessalonica by the Normans as well as
the tension provoked soon by extraordinary taxation because of the marriage of
the emperor, Isaac II Angelus (1185–1195, 1203–1204) to Margaret of Hungary
were skillfully exploited by Theodore-Peter and Asen-Belgun to pave the way
for their insurrection, timed strictly to St. Demetrius’ day, that very year (Octo-
ber 26th, 1185)55.

48
Ibidem, p. 296.
49
В. Тъпкова-Займова, А. Милитенова, Историко-апокалиптичната книжнина във Византия и
в средновековна България, София 1996, p. 130, 134.
50
A. Vacalopoulos, A History of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 1972, p. 42–46; А. Papagiannopoulos,
History of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 1982, p. 83–86. Detailed description of the event cf. Eustazio
di Tessalonica, La espugnazione di Thessalonika, ed. S. Kyriakidis, Palermo 1961; Eustathios of
Thessalonica, The Capture of Thessaloniki, trans. J.R. Melville-Jones, Canberra 1988.
51
Т.В. Толстая, Икона «Димитрий Солунский», [in:] Христианские реликвии в Московском Кремле,
ed. А.М. Лидов, Москва 2000, p. 119.
52
Nicetas Choniates, Historia, p. 305–306.
53
Ioannes Scylitzes, Synopsis historiarum, rec. I. Thurn, Berolini–Novi Eboraci 1973, p. 414
(= CFHB, vol. V).
54
Ioannes Cameniates, De expugnatione Thessalonicae, ed. G. Böhlig, Berolini 1973.
55
The date of the insurrection (October 26th, 1185) as well as the chronology of the subsequent events
has been recently proved by G. Prinzing – Demetrios-Kirche und Aseniden-Aufstand. Zur chronologischen
Präzisierung der Frühphase des Aseniden-Aufstandes, ЗРВИ 38, 1999/2000, p. 257–265. For details see
recent studies: В. Гюзелев, Чудотворна икона на св. Димитър Солунски в Търново през 1185–1186 г.,
A „Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrios… 121

But what exactly could convince the compatriots of Peter and Asen of the
“true” presence of St. Demetrius among them? The task was to gain support at
least of the Bulgarian majority of the local population including, first of all, the
nobility of Bulgarian origin – whose position could be of crucial importance for
the outcome of the planned insurrection. Yet, this nobility, having risen during the
Byzantine rule, had much to lose in the case of a failure and thus could demand for
an absolutely solid proof of the “Divine sanction” on the revolt. Since, according to
the epoch, it was only God Who always and forever wins through His saints and
their admirers56. Meanwhile, the effect made by the construction in Tărnovo of
the “house of prayer” in the name of St. Demetrius and by the words of the “pro­
phets” gathered there by Peter and Asen (see above) allows us to conclude that there
indeed must have been something visualizing the presence of the Thessalonican
“Great Martyr”. What could it be if, judging from the archaeological evidence con-
cerning what is now believed to be the church of St. Demetrius in Tărnovo, in the
very moment of the insurrection there was still no wall-painting or other figurative
decoration57?
The most probable answer to this question, in the light of what we know now
about the ecclesiastical practice within the Byzantine orbit, is that there must have
been a miracle-working icon and/or a relic of St. Demetrius as the principal ele-
ment of the celebration arranged in Tărnovo on St. Demetrius day, 1185. Unfortu-
nately, the account left by Choniates gives no information concerning this sacral
object – the more so, as for the Byzantines and their Slavic co-believers icons and
relics were closely connected to each other and often taken as synonyms58. Still
there is another source in our disposal – an epigram-ekphrasis of another contem-
porary, Theodore Balsamon (between ca. 1130/1140 – after 1195) written evident-
ly in 1186 under the impression of primarily successful actions against the rebels
undertaken by the emperor, Isaac II Angelus59. The description made by Balsamon
witnesses rather in favor of an icon than of a relic. And in this case it must have
been an icon from Thessalonica, rescued somehow from the city by Peter and Asen
themselves or their associates – be it the patronal icon of the Thessalonican basilica

[in:] Любен Прашков – реставратор и изкуствовед. Материали от научната конференция, посвете-

на на 70-годишнината на проф. доктор Любен Прашков, проведена във ВТУ «Св. Кирил и Методий»,
14–15 декември 2001 г., София 2006, p. 36–39; Г.Н. Николов, Българите и Византийската империя
(август–ноември 1185 г.), [in:] Тангра. Сборник в чест на 70-годишнината на акад. Васил Гюзелев,
София 2006, p. 597–617.
56
И. Божилов, В. Гюзелев, op. cit., p. 423.
57
Я. Николова, Църквата «Св. Димитър» и въстанието от 1185 г., [in:] Културата на средно-
вековния Търнов, София 1985, p. 9–16; Я. Николова, М. Робов, Храмът на първите Асеневци.
Църквата «Св. Димитър» във Велико Търново, Велико Търново 2005, p. 9–13.
58
H. Belting, Likeness and Presence. A History of the Image before the Era of Art, Chicago 1994; И.А.
Шалина, Реликвии в восточнохристианской иконографии, Москва 2005, p. 13–33.
59
И.С. Дуйчев, Проучвания върху българското Средновековие, София 1945, p. 48–50.
122 Anastasia Dobyčina

or at least one of its easily identifiable copies60. Further history of this icon found in
Tărnovo in 1186 by the then victorious Byzantines and described by Balsamon on
this occasion is unclear: it could be returned back to Thessalonica or transferred
in an appropriate manner to Constantinople61. Also unclear is the exact object
of Balsamon’s panegyric epithets: whether they refer to the very icon as a work
of icon-painting, or to its revetment, be it the old one that survived the Norman
greed or the newly-made revetment ordered by Peter and Asen or Isaac II, or at last
to St. Demetrius himself62.
In any case, the presence of such an identifiable (for contemporaries, if not
for us) icon of St. Demetrius among the Bulgarian rebels must have produced an
extremely strong impression on their compatriots. Since, according to a general
belief, it was the saint himself who sanctioned any movement of any object con-
nected with his sanctity. Thus, it was St. Demetrius who prevented translation of
his relics to Constantinople under the emperor Maurice (see above). And it was
also him who permitted the emperor Manuel I to transfer his miracle-working
shroud from his shrine in Thessalonica to Constantinople — in exchange for
a luxurious garment of the emperor (see above). The same took place with mira-
cle-working icons. Thus, in 1185, according to Eustathius of Thessalonica, when
the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, venerated as usual on Tuesday every week in
a special procession, “refused” to return to the church of Hagia Sophia, it was
taken by the Thessalonicans as a bad omen, foretelling the capture of the city by
the Normans (see above)63.
Yet going back to the celebration held in Tărnovo on St. Demetrius’ day, 1185,
one can neither exclude that the Bulgarian rebels, beside the icon, exploited one
more sign of the presence of the “Great Martyr” among them: the holy ointment
shed from some other relic. This can be drawn from the letter of patriarch Callis-
tus I of Constantinople (1350–1354, 1355–1363) to the clergy of Tărnovo, in which
he accused the Bulgarians of preparing the holy myrrh with the relics of St. Deme-

60
Ibidem, p. 48; В.С. Гюзелев, op. cit., p. 38; Г.Н. Николов, op. cit., p. 600.
61
И.С. Дуйчев, Проучвания върху българското Средновековие…, p. 51.
62
As V. Tăpkova-Zaimova suggests, it was not the ancient and thus well-known icon of St. De-
metrius (which had been transferred to Constantinople before the capture of Thessalonica), but
a certain newly made and richly decorated one: В.К. Тъпкова-Заимова, Изображенията на св. Ди-
митър Солунски и писмената димитриевска традиция, ГСУ. НЦСВПИД 94(13), 2006, p. 151. For
other opinions on the character and the origin of this icon see: Э.С. Смирнова, op. cit., p. 239‒240;
К. Паскалева, Какво е открил Исаак II Ангел в Търново (една хипотеза), SB 25, 2006, p. 634‒647.
It also should be mentioned that for the Byzantines the word icon (eikon – i. e. ‘image’) meant
holy images of various kinds regardless of their dimensions and artistic techniques: images on
wooden or ivory panels, frescoes, mosaics or embroidery. It is also worth noting that the Byzantines
did not differentiate their icons as “originals” and “copies”, the latter being venerated equally with
the former.
63
А.М. Лидов, Иеротопия…, p. 53–54.
A „Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrios… 123

trius on their own, without any permission to do so64. However there is no source,
more or less contemporary to the events of 1185–1186, informing us what kind of
St. Demetrius’ relics was (or were) then extant in Tărnovo65. Nevertheless, it really
could be a certain contact relic from the “tomb” of the saint in Thessalonica: a par-
ticle of his clothes or what was marked on the reliquaries as “blood and myrrh”66,
that, having been transferred to Tărnovo together with the icon or separately, was
also attached to the celebration by Peter and Asen.
If so, one could speak of a certain integral ceremony arranged around the
church of St. Demetrius (house of prayer, mentioned by Choniates), his miracle-
working icon (described by Balsamon) and, probably, his hypothesized relic
shedding the holy ointment. And such a ceremony is actually documented in
Thessalonica, although by later authors. Thus, according to Constantine Har-
menopoulos (1320–1380/1383) and Symeon of Thessalonica (1416/1417–1429),
the major component of the magnificent celebration, held annually in the city in
honor of St. Demetrius, was a solemn procession with relics of the “Great Mar-
tyr”, conjugated with public veneration of his icon (as a warrior-saint!) as well
as those of the Virgin Mary, who also was viewed by the Thessalonicans as the
Protector of their city67.
This procession started in the church of the Virgin Katafyge (thought to be
an asylum of the “Great Martyr”68), paused near the church of the Virgin Achei-
ropoietos and ended inside the basilica of St. Demetrius. According to a legend,
the participants of the procession followed the way by which St. Demetrius him-
self had been brought to Maximian (Galerius) by the Roman guards69. Moreover,
Symeon of Thessalonica specifies that at the head of the procession the partici-
pants carried a vessel with the myrrh covered by a woven veil with an image of

64
CFHB 19, vol. III, Vienna 2001: nr. 264 (= Darrouzès, Regest № 2442), dated between 1360/1362,
p. 560–579.
The letter of patriarch Callistus was interpreted in this context for the first time by D.I. Polyviannyi,
The Cults of Saints in the Political Ideology…, p. 404–405.
As V. Tăpkova-Zaimova states, it was not the myrrh prepared from the relics of St. Demetrius, so
that the Bulgarians continued to receive it from Thessalonica: В. Тъпкова-Заимова, Между Охрид
и Търново (Оформяне на църковната и културна политика в Търновска България), [in:] Търновска
книжовна школа, vol. VI, Велико Търново 1999, p. 346 (Бележки).
65
For a medieval Christian the word relic (lat. reliquiae from relinquo, gr. ta leipsana from leipo) meant
not only bodily remains of holy persons but almost everything sanctified by the contact with the
saint: A.P. Kazhdan, R.F. Taft, Relics, [in:] ODB, vol. II, p. 1779–1780; В.М. Живов, Святость.
Краткий словарь агиографических терминов, Москва 1994, p. 46–77; Е. Бакалова, Реликвии у ис-
токов культа святых, [in:] Восточнохристианские реликвии, Москва 2003, p. 21.
66
It is the so called lythron – the soil absorbed with the blood of the “Great Martyr”, according to
a legend. For detailed description of such reliquaries see: К. Тотев, Реликварий св. Димитрия из ре-
гиона Велико Тырново, АДСВ 39, 2009, p. 314–326; idem, Thessalonican Eulogia…, p. 31–51.
67
D.I. Pallas, op. cit., p. 46–52.
68
Ibidem, p. 49–50.
69
A.E. Vacalopoulos, op. cit., p. 20–21; A. Papagiannopoulos, op. cit., p. 81.
124 Anastasia Dobyčina

St. Demetrius and that in certain moments it was put near the icon of the “Great
Martyr”70. The whole of the ceremony culminated in a liturgical vigil, the next
morning traditional street festivities began and then obviously the famous Thes-
salonican fair opened.
Unfortunately, we do not know whether such a ceremony existed in Thes-
salonica in the 12th cent. But this appears to be very probable, if one takes into ac-
count the traditionalist character and thus the stability of the Byzantine liturgical
rituals which is well known concerning Thessalonica, where the ancient tradition
of the asmatike akolouthia lost in Constantinople after 1204 was still in use as late
as the 15th cent.71
Hence, one can not exclude that it was precisely the Thessalonican procession
in honor of St. Demetrius that was reproduced in Tărnovo on St. Demetrius’ day,
1185, and that the whole of the celebration arranged there by Peter and Asen was
aimed to replicate the sacred space of Thessalonica centered on the shrine of its
“Great Martyr”.
As far as goes to sacred spaces one should obviously refer to the concept of
“hierotopy”, recently introduced by Alexei Lidov. According to him, the term com-
posed of two different words in Greek: hieros (‘sacred’) and topos (‘place’ or rather
‘space’), designates both creating or re-creating sacred spaces by means of vari-
ous forms of human activity and a related field of academic scholarship covering
items usually treated separately by historians of art, historians of religion and even
anthropologists72. Though still a point of academic discussion, the concept of “hie­
rotopy” may be effectively applied to many phenomena concerning the cult of St.
Demetrius73. Thus, it was certainly the sacred space of the Thessalonican basilica
that was more than once translated to Constantinople by means of constructing
special shrines there in honor of the “Great Martyr”. Little is known about these
“hierotopic projects”, but there is clear evidence of the existence of a silver ciborium,
identical to that of Thessalonica, in the church of St. Demetrius in the quarter of
Deuteron built by Basil I. Another Constantinopolitan replica of the Thessaloni-
can basilica was created within the shrine of St. Demetrius arranged in the Pharos
church where a particle of the clothes74 and even a miracle-working icon of the

70
D. Pallas, op. cit., p. 52; Э.С. Смирнова, op. cit, p. 236–237.
71
R.F. Taft, Asmatike akolouthia, [in]: ODB, vol. I, p. 209; idem, The Byzantine Rite. A Short History,
Collegeville 1992, p. 32–33, 43.
72
A. Lidov, Hierotopy. The Creation of Sacred Spaces as a Form of Creativity and Subject of Cultural History,
[in:] Иеротопия. Создание сакральных пространств в Византии и Древней Руси, ed. idem, Москва
2006, p. 32–58.
73
See, for example: J. Bogdanović, The Performativity of Shrines in a Byzantine Church: the Shrines of
St. Demetrios, [in:] Пространственные иконы. Перформативные иконы в Византии и Древней Руси,
Москва 2011, p. 275–301.
74
Л.К. Масиель-Санчес, Описание святынь Константинополя в Латинской рукописи XII в., [in:]
Чудотворная икона в Византии и Древней Руси, ed. А.М. Лидов, Москва 1996, p. 440.
A „Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrios… 125

saint shedding the holy ointment75 were present. The same could be the case of
the Pantocrator monastery, where the miracle-working shroud from the “tomb” of
St. Demetrius was transferred to by Manuel I Comnenus (see above). Yet far more
important for our study appears to be another example of “hierotopic” activity that
most clearly indicates the notion of the Thessalonican basilica of St. Demetrius as
a particular sacred space and the awareness of its translation (and/or re-creation)
as a specific tool of maintaining one’s political authority. This is the church of St.
Demetrius in Vladimir-on-Kljaz’ma, Russia, built late in the 12th cent. by prince
Vsevolod III the Great Nest (1154–1212), who housed there a certain “shirt” of
St. Demetrius, probably given to Vsevolod’s mother by the emperor Manuel I, and
another relic from the saint’s “tomb” in Thessalonica shedding the holy ointment
— perhaps an icon76.
The similarity between the “hierotopic project” accomplished by Vsevolod III
and that of Peter and Asen is obvious. In both cases we deal with a particular
church constructed in honor of St. Demetrius, a certain icon and/or other miracle-
working relic connected with the Thessalonican shrine of the “Great Martyr”. The
final effect must have been the replication of the sanctity of Thessalonica as well as
that of the political charisma of Manuel I, who definitely secured the Demetrian
cult with the imperial authority.
Nevertheless, both “hierotopic projects”, although almost synchronous, must
have been inspired by clearly different causes: if Vsevolod III tried only to raise
the authority of his power to that of the grand princedom, being an absolutely
legitimate ruler, then Peter and Asen had to justify the legitimacy of their own,
questioning that of the Byzantine Empire77.

Abstract. The paper examines the role of the cult of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica as a tool of main-
taining legitimacy of the anti-Byzantine revolt in Tărnovo, 1185–1186, led by brothers Theodore-
Peter and Asen-Belgun, which is viewed in the modern scholarship as a starting point of the history
of the so-called Second Bulgarian Empire.
Apart from the peculiarities of the official and popular veneration of St. Demetrius in Byzantium
by the end of the 12th C., the main emphasis is made on the celebration, arranged in Tărnovo on
St. Demetrius’ day, 1185, by Peter and Asen. The fact of the construction there of a special house of
prayer in the name of the all-praised martyr Demetrius (Nicetas Choniates) and the presence of a certain
icon of the saint as well as, probably, that of his relic, shedding the holy ointment, can be interpreted

75
Робер де Клари, Завоевание Константинополя, trans. М.А. Заборов, Москва 1986, p. 60.
76
The event is recorded in Russian chronicles: ПСРЛ, vol. I, col. 414, 436–437, Москва 1997. For
details see: Э.С. Смирнова, Храмовая икона Дмитриевского собора…, p. 220–253; И.А. Стерлигова,
Византийский мощевик Димитрия Солунского из Московского Кремля и его судьба в Древней Руси,
[in:] Дмитриевский собор…, p. 266–267; Т.П. Тимофеева, К уточнению даты Дмитриевского собо-
ра, [in:] Дмитриевский собор…, p. 38–41; eadem, А.В. Маштафаров, Н.П. Пивоварова, Димитрия
Солунского великомученика собор во Владимире, [in:] Православная энциклопедия…, p. 208.
77
See: А.С. Добычина, Болгары в поисках легитимности во время восстания Петра и Асеня
(1185‒1186 годы), [in:] Историки-слависты МГУ, vol. VIII, Москва 2011, p. 67–78.
126 Anastasia Dobyčina

in terms of the concept of “hierotopy”, introduced recently by A. Lidov. At any rate, one can speak of
attempting to replicate in Tărnovo the sacred space of the Thessalonican shrine of St. Demetrius in
order to convince the Bulgarian rebels of the “true” presence of St. Demetrius among them.
The parallel is drawn between the celebration in Tărnovo and another well-known “hierotopic
project” of the late 12th cent., performed by prince Vsevolod III in Vladimir-on-Kljaz’ma, Russia,
which also encompassed the construction of the church in the name of St. Demetrius, where his mir-
acle-working relics from Thessalonica were housed. The similarity between the two “projects“ is ob-
vious, but they must have been inspired by clearly different causes: if Vsevolod III tried only to raise
the authority of his power to that of the grand princedom, being an absolutely legitimate ruler, then
Peter and Asen had to justify the legitimacy of their own, questioning that of the Byzantine Empire.

Anastasia Dobyčina
Department of Southern and Western Slavic History
Faculty of History
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russia, 119992, Moscow Lomonosovsky prospekt, 27-4
[email protected]