(note: It is said that the intercession of the Martyrs, especially against temptation and evil is an effective prayer. One reason is that of all the Saints, their life and death is closest in similarity to Christ. In the Litany of the Saints, the Martyrs are grouped after the Apostles, and placed before the group of Bishops and Doctors of the Church, signifying the quality of their witness.)
The Christian Martyrs of the First Centuries
Martyrs: Called to Live and Die Like Christ
Jesus, Martyr Par Excellence
Martyrdom has its roots in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Christ sacrificed His own Body and Blood by dying on the cross, to save all humanity from sin. During His entire public ministry Christ preached the values of God's Kingdom. The Sanhedrin at the time were not open to what He preached and even doubted the origin of the miracles He was performed. Because of allegiance to legal traditions, their minds were closed to the confines of the Jewish Law. But Jesus went beyond the legal confines of old Jewish traditions and opened a new tradition of love, forgiveness, gratitude and service. The Kingdom of God Christ preached caused Him a terrible martyr's death on the Cross. But it was the example of His whole life, teaching, works and martyr's death that inspired many believers to follow Christ also to the point of shedding their own blood for the faith and life of the Church. It began with the Apostles and then with the Christian martyrs.
The early Christian martyrs
The example of Christ has sparked inspiration among many in the early Church. The first martyr who followed Him was Stephen (note: the story of his martyrdom is chronicled in the book of the Acts of the Apostles). St. Stephen was stoned to death because the Jews believed his speech was blasphemy. Stephen became the first martyr of the Christian faith together with the early apostolic community.
The early sporadic persecutions of Christians
Christians were seen as a threat by the Roman authorities, particularly by Nero. In one instance of unexplained behavior, Nero had set Rome on fire - playing the lyre while letting Rome burn in flames. This naturally angered the Roman populace. Nero publicly made the Christians the scapegoat, and blamed them before the Roman populace for the burning of Rome. This began greater hatred towards those who placed their faith in Christ; it was the onset of Christian persecutions. Persecutions at this time were sporadic; not yet full-fledged and completely developed. But the persecutions were utterly cruel. The description of some accounts say that the Christians were poured with pitch and tar, set high on poles, and then set on fire to burn to death. If one reads the many accounts of the martyrs' deaths, you will really be inspired because they are remarkably heroic.
The following are brief descriptions of the martyrs' deaths:
St. Appollonia (Feast day: Feb 9) - Appollonia was attacked by a mob and thrown into a bonfire, because she refused to curse Christ; but this they did after they had pulled out all her teeth. This is one reason she is made patroness of dentists and toothache sufferers.
Sts. Perpetua and Felicity (feast: Feb 9) - Perpetua was a noble woman and mother of an infant, and Perpetua was her pregnant slave girl; Perpetua chose death rather than renounce her faith; she gave her child to her pagan father, and went off to martyrdom together with Felicity; both of them were under the mercy of a mad bull; the mad bull gored Felicity first and then went for Perpetua, although Perpetua was only maimed; a Roman soldier was going to stab her to death, but she courageously guided the sword of the soldier so that her martyrdom will be certain.
St. Lawrence - Lawrence, like St. Stephen, was a deacon; he was grilled alive on a gridiron; he was so courageous that he laughingly told his persecutors and tormentors that he was already "done" on one side, and was ready to be "flipped" over.
St. Ignatius of Antioch - Ignatius was a bishop and wrote a lot about the Christian faith; he said that he was willing to be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts that he may be turned into the pure bread of Christ; he was thrown to the wild beasts.
St. Agatha (Feast day: Feb 5) - Agatha spurned the advances of a Roman counsel; the Roman counsel was angered and had her stretched on a rack, her breasts cut off, and then threw Agatha naked on top of burning coals.
St. Sebastian - Sebastian rose to a high rank in the Emperor's personal guard; the Emperor suddenly discovered he was a Christian, and so had him tied up to a tree for target practice by the other soldiers.
St. Venantius - Venantius was whipped, hanged upside down over a fire, then they smashed his jaws and threw him to the lions who showed no interest in his almost lifeless form; finally, his persecutors and tormentors had to cut off his head to silence his constant prayers.
St. Polycarp (Feast day: Feb 23) - Polycarp was 86 years old when he was martyred; he was a bishop; when the Roman soldiers came for him, he still showed charity by inviting them to dinner; but then they eventually arrested him, and had him burned alive; legends say that the flames formed like gentle sails around Polycarp's body, as if not touching him; because of this the Romans stabbed him to death; after the stabbing, it was said that a dove flew out from his side; with his death, people rushed to get his bones, because they believe that the bones of the martyrs had immense power to intercede with God.
Religious tolerance after the Constantine edict
The persecution of Christians ceased, and religious tolerance was imposed, when the Roman emperor Constantine saw a vision in the sky. In the vision, he saw a cross, and heard a voice say, "by this sign, conquer". He believed the vision and the message, and was able to obtain victory in his military conquests. After this experience, Emperor Constantine made a decree not to persecute the Christians of Rome anymore. Christians now had the opportunity to promote and propagate their faith. Since Christianity became an official religion of the Roman empire, many kings defended their Christian domains, and conquered and converted new ones: King Wenceslaus, was murdered because he converted Bohemia. Edmund of East Anglia died fighting the Viking invaders. Oswald was dismembered because he wanted to bring all of England into the Christian fold.
Two great martyrs we must also recognize for our contemporary times are St. Thomas a Beckett and St. Joan of Arc.
St. Thomas a Beckett was not serious with his Christian faith until Henry II, King of England, made him Archbishop of Canterbury. After Thomas became Archbishop of Canterbury, he suddenly took religion seriously, and started to oppose Henry II in matters of Church against state. This angered Henry II, and in a fit of rage muttered that he wanted Thomas, who was also his friend, dead. The soldiers of the King took him at his word, and killed Thomas at the Cathedral, while he was saying Mass.
Another great martyr and patron saint of France was St. Joan of Arc. Not yet 20 years old, she was burnt on the stake because the English Catholic church believed she was a witch who 'heard voices'. But Joan only confessed that it was the Lord who commissioned her to help the Dauphin of France become King. It was her conviction of the veracity of the 'voices' as of divine origin that she led the army of France to victory against the English. By leading the French military to victory, the Dauphin was crowned King. However, something happened that led to the capture of Joan by the English Catholics. She was tried by the court of the English church and found guilty of witchcraft. She was condemned to death by being burned on a stake. But after her death, Joan's mother worked for the vindication of her daughter, and the sentence was reversed. Eventually, Joan was canonized as a saint in the Catholic church. St. Joan of Arc is probably the only saint in the history of the Church that was killed also by another arm of the Church itself.
A new concept of martyrdom: Martyr of charity
When we look to modern times, a new model of martyrdom bloomed and came to fruition through the example and witness of St. Maximillian Kolbe, a Polish priest. This is the story of St. Maximillian.
Maximillian Kolbe was arrested together with other Poles when Germany invaded Poland at the beginning of World War II. They were imprisoned. The description of his martyrdom is heroic. In the cell block where St. Maximillian Kolbe was imprisoned, certain prisoners have escaped. In a fit of rage, the German soldiers picked out randomly certain men to die in behalf of those who escaped. Among that group sentenced to death was a man who protested to the German commandant because he had a wife and children. It was here that Maximillian Kolbe stepped in, and said that he would take the man's place. And so the man stepped back to the prison, and Maximillian Kolbe stepped up to martyrdom. The Church was a bit baffled at first as to how they would categorize this saint's martyrdom because Maximillian did not die out of a people's animosity for his Christian faith. Rather, he died because he wanted to save the life of a man and his family. The Church therefore, especially those in charge for the Cause of the Canonization of Saints, said that the concept of martyrdom had to be broadened, to include those who gave up their lives in order to save others. And thus St. Maximillian Kolbe became the first martyr of charity. He was canonized under the papal administration of St. John Paul II, the first Polish pope.
