The stoning to death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, in a painting by the 16th-century Spanish artist Juan Correa de Vivar
In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was or is killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus.[1] In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word martyr comes from the Koine word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness" or "testimony".
At first, the term applied to the Apostles. Once Christians started to undergo persecution, the term came to be applied to those who suffered hardships for their faith. Finally, it was restricted to those who had been killed for their faith. The early Christian period before Constantine I was the "Age of Martyrs".[2] "Early Christians venerated martyrs as powerful intercessors, and their utterances were treasured as inspired by the Holy Spirit."[3]
In western Christian art, martyrs are often shown holding a palm frond as an attribute, representing the victory of spirit over flesh, and it was widely believed that a picture of a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was buried there.[4]
^Myers, Edward P. (2019). "Martyr". In Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C.; Beck, Astrid B. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 861. ISBN 978-1-4674-6047-7. The word originally referred to one who was a legal witness, but came to refer to one whose testimony for Jesus ends in death (i.e., martyrdom) ... Later use of the word implies only dying for one's faith in Christ.
^"From the Editor Emeritus: Early Church: The classic age of martyrs (June 5, 2015)". archindy.org. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
^Cross, F. L., ed. (2005). "Martyr". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
^Hassett, M. (1911). "Palm in Christian symbolism". The Catholic Encyclopedia.
for their faith. The early Christian period before Constantine I was the "Age of Martyrs". "Early Christians venerated martyrs as powerful intercessors...
This is a list of reputed martyrs of Christianity; it includes only notable people with Wikipedia articles. Not all Christian denominations accept every...
A martyr (Greek: μάρτυς, mártys, 'witness' stem μαρτυρ-, martyr-) is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing...
Geṓrgios; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christianmartyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition...
and Plato), in whose works he was well studied, as unknowing Christians. Justin was martyred, along with some of his students, and is venerated as a saint...
to lay flowers at the eternal flame. This day is also called "Armenian Martyrs Day". The date 24 April commemorates the deportation of Armenian intellectuals...
all a reliable index of the sufferings of the Christians as a whole". Acts of the MartyrsChristianmartyrs Damnatio ad bestias Hellenistic religion Interpretatio...
c. AD 5 – c. 34) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was a deacon...
Λεωνίδης) was a Greek early Christianmartyr who lived in the second and early third centuries AD. According to the Christian historian Eusebius, Leonides'...
The Martyrs of Japan (Japanese: 日本の殉教者, Hepburn: Nihon no junkyōsha) were Christian missionaries and followers who were persecuted and executed, mostly...
former times, was little known. An obscure Christianmartyr Severianus was, about the year AD 300, martyred in the following way, according to one tale:...
have led to her being remembered by groups of evangelical Christians as a Christianmartyr. She was posthumously the subject and co-writer of several...
protomartyr (Koine Greek, πρῶτος prôtos 'first' + μάρτυς mártus 'martyr') is the first Christianmartyr in a country or among a particular group, such as a religious...
Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christian origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death...
the Hurons martyred during warfare between the Iroquois (particularly the Mohawk people) and the Huron. Elias and companions: five Christians from Roman...
The Colchester Martyrs were 16th-century English Protestant martyrs. They were executed for heresy in Colchester, Essex, during the reigns of Henry VIII...
The First Apology was an early work of Christian apologetics addressed by Justin Martyr to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. In addition to arguing against...
She is one of several virgin martyrs commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass, and one of many Christiansmartyred during the reign of the Roman...
a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, which...
was during this time that the 26 martyrs were executed. By 1630, Catholicism had been driven underground. When Christian missionaries returned to Japan...
30 Ethiopian Christians. The victims, all but one being members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, were formally declared saints and martyrs in February of...
Alexandra of Rome (Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρα) was a reputed Christianmartyr and saint, known from Martyrdom of Saint George as either Emperor Diocletian's wife...
major source for identifying Christianmartyrs in this period. Martyr narratives flourished later as a genre of Christian literature, but are not contemporary...
(Latin: Sancta Lucia) (and better known as Saint Lucy) was a Roman Christianmartyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a...
Church on 19 April. Expeditus was probably born in Armenia. He was a Christianmartyr, but not much else is known about him.[citation needed] Information...
2nd-century Christianmartyr and apologist (not to be confused with Apollinaris Claudius, another contemporary apologist) who was martyred in 185 under...
Daniel of Padua (died 168), Italian martyr, feast day January 3 Daniel of Daniel and Verda (died 344), Christianmartyr in Persia, feast day 21 February...
Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes 222 Orthodox Christians who died during the Boxer Rebellion as Holy Martyrs of China. On the evening of 11 June 1900 leaflets...
Christianmartyr who died in Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France) during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In the first two centuries of the Christian era...
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