Great martyr

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Icon of Great-Martyrs Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates (16th century, Monastery of the Transfiguration, Prilep, Macedonia).

Great Martyr or Great-Martyr (Greek: μεγαλομάρτυρ, megalomartyr, from megas, "great" + "martyr") is a classification of saints who are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Rite of Constantinople.

Generally speaking, a Great Martyr 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 1st 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).

Partial list of Great Martyrs

See also