Questions tagged [martyrdom]

The suffering of death as punishment for advocating a forbidden belief

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Which Church Fathers were martyred?

I understand that Foxe's Book of Martyrs (first published in English in 1563) is an exhaustive account of Christian martyrs, both pre- and post-Reformation. However, at a daunting 1,570 pages in ...
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How is St. Maria Goretti a martyr?

St. Maria Goretti was stabbed several times for her refusal to consent to sin against purity; Alessandro Serenelli, her "would-be rapist" (ch. 25 of Modern Saints: Their Lives and Faces vol. ...
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Who were the Old Testament's martyred Prophets?

We read in Matthew 22, on the Parable of the Wedding Feast, in Verse 6, the king's servants deputed to bring the invited, are killed by the invitees. That is not something which happens in normal ...
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Is denying Christ under the threat of death not a mortal sin? [duplicate]

I heard that if martyrs denied Christ when forced under the punishment of death, the sin would not count since it was not freely chosen. Basically, they wouldn't commit a mortal sin since the mortal ...
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Was there a transformation in the artistic depiction of the Crucifixion after the 12th century?

I am reading Ivan Illich's 1987 essay "Hospitality and Pain" (freely available to consult here) which concerns the Western conception of pain and the body. Illich claims, on page 13, that, ...
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Is John the Baptist a Christian Martyr? [closed]

Merriam-Webster defines martyr as "a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion." John the Baptist did suffer death, the first ...
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Is there any extra-biblical evidence that shows the apostles were martyred?

Church tradition tells us that most of the 12 apostles were martyred, with the apostle John being the only one considered to die an old death. Is there any extra-biblical evidence that shows the ...
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Was any Doctor of the Church martyred?

Was any Doctor of the Church martyred?
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How do Latter-day Saints respond to the non-LDS argument that Joseph Smith's death was not comparable to the martyrdom of the ancient apostles?

This question is offered as a counterpoint to: How do non-LDS Christians respond to the LDS argument that Joseph Smith died as a Martyr for God, just like the Apostles? In particular, an argument from ...
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How do non-LDS Christians respond to the LDS argument that Joseph Smith died as a Martyr for God, just like the Apostles?

In Christian apologetics, a common argument for the reliability of the eyewitness accounts of the apostles is the fact that they were willing to withstand persecution and even martyrdom for what they ...
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Has Mark 10:39 been fulfilled? Death of John

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with... I know about James but what is reported in the later writings about the death of John?
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Why is Green Martyrdom green?

I'd heard of green martyrdom a few times on the radio, but never gave it much thought Three kinds of martyrdom that are counted as a cross to man, i.e. white martyrdom, green martyrdom, and red ...
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How did the Apostle Matthew die?

I see different sources of Apostle Matthew's death staked or impaled to the earth by spears and then beheaded killed by a sword wound natural death he angered a local king who ordered him nailed to a ...
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Who ordered Saint Stephen to death?

I have learnt that some of the Jews linked to the early Jewish council stoned St. Stephen to death and Paul as a witness. But I have a bit of confusion that who ordered the decree of Stephan's death.
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Historical evidence of Slaughter of the Innocents besides St. Matthew's Gospel?

Besides Matthew 2:16, Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry: and sending killed all the menchildren that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from ...
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Did any early church Christian writers ever place Origen in a early martyrology or menologium?

Did any early church Christian writers ever place Origen in a early martyrology or menologium? There are many early Church Fathers. Some are canonized saints, while some are not. Origen is not ...
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What evidence exists to support church traditions regarding the deaths of the following apostles?

The Bible tells us that King Herod had James killed by the sword (Acts 12:2) but says nothing about the death of Peter, although Jesus made reference to his martyrdom (John 21:18). Is there any ...
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Was any early martyr of the Church sawn in two, as mentioned in Hebrews?

In Hebrews 11:35–37 the author writes: ...Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and ...
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What are the sources concerning the deaths of Peter and Paul

Where do we learn that the deaths of Peter and Paul were during the Neronic persecutions of 64 - 68 AD? What is the source of this information and is it considered valid?
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Fr. Pedro de Corpa and Companions

Franciscan Media: Saint Pedro de Corpa and Companions’ Story Another Saint of the Day for September 10 These five friars were martyred in Georgia for their insistence on monogamy in Christian ...
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Can a person lose salvation if publicly denies Jesus but keeps living a christian life? (Catholic)

I just watched the movie "Silence" and made me wonder if a person can lose his salvation if he keeps publicly denying Christ but privately(secretly) still living a Christian life? Matthew 10:33 ...
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Why did Jesus predict martyrdom of some of his disciples?

At Luke 21:16-19 (RSVCE) we read : You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s ...
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Does Dietrich Bonhoeffer fit the requirements to be declared an official martyr?

I'm wondering what the Roman Catholic church stance is on this man and whether they will ever declare him a martyr? I'm guessing he is too protestant to ever have any recognition in the Catholic ...
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Can an act of martydom include the taking of another's life?

In Islam it seems that "martyrs" can be defined to include those who intentionally take life. Specifically, those who die killing, or during battle with, enemies of the faith. Does Catholicism or ...
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Where is there official writings from Perpetua or Felicity?

Supposedly there was a diary written by a woman named "Perpetua" just before she was killed in the arenas for her faith. Another similar account is concerning Felicity. Did these women actually ...
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Is a claim of 50,000,000 Baptist martyrs accurate?

In the book The Trail of Blood by James M Carroll, the author makes the claim that 50,000,000 early Baptists were martyred under persecution by the Catholic Church. The author makes the claim ...
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When was it established that there were 14,000 innocents martyred?

In the Orthodox Church tradition, as I understand it, the Feast of the 14,000 Martyrs commemorates the deaths of the children massacred by Herod in what is otherwise known as the 'Massacre of the ...
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How pure were the witnesses of the martyrs? [closed]

Without question, as far as I know, all Christians join in revering and finding inspiration in the martyrs, especially the early ones. Especially at the founding of Christianity, many martyrs were ...
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How did the Apostles die?

For some reference as to why this question interests me, one of the evidences that is often given for proof that Jesus really did die and was resurrected is the change wrought in his original ...
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Were there any Roman Catholic Church martyrs in the 10–15th centuries?

Do we know of any martyrs from among the Roman Catholic Church that lived during the five centuries before Martin Luther (i.e., 10–15th centuries)? I am especially interested in those who have been ...
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What was the Christian response to death-loving practices of Ancient Roman society?

In Ancient Rome, gladiators would fight to the death for the amusement of the crowd. What did Christians do to stop this?
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Do Catholics refer to all martyrs as Saints?

At first I was thinking the only requirement to be canonized was to be killed for your faith. Is this accurate? How is someone deemed a Saint as opposed to a martyr in Catholicism?
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Did the apostle James the Greater travel to Spain and was he martyred in Jerusalem?

There are some legends that say that the apostle James the Greater (brother of John) traveled to the actual territory of Spain where he spread the Word. Also there are some accounts that place his ...
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