Stand Alone Pages on 'Musings of an Old Curmudgeon'

17 February 2021

Eastern Rite - Great Martyr

Today is the Feast of the Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias, and Misael.
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A great martyr (also spelt greatmartyr or great-martyr) or megalomartyr (from Byzantine Greek μεγαλομάρτυς [megalomártus], from μέγας [mégas "great"] + μάρτυς [mártus "martyr"]; Church Slavonic: великомꙋ́ченикъ; Romanian: mare mucenic; Georgian: დიდმოწამე) is a classification of saints who are venerated in those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.

Generally speaking, a greatmartyr is a martyr who has undergone excruciating tortures—often performing miracles and converting unbelievers to Christianity in the process—and who has attained widespread veneration throughout the Church. These saints are often from the first centuries of the Church, before the Edict of Milan. This term is normally not applied to saints who could be better described as hieromartyrs (martyred clergy) or protomartyrs (the first martyr in a given region).

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