Military saint

Military saint
See Khalsafor the concept of "warrior-saint" in Sikhism.
Saint Gereon, by a 15th-century German artist

The military saints or warrior saints (also called soldier saints) of the Early Christian Church are prominent in the history of Christianity. The persecution of Christians under Diocletian or other Roman Emperors usually furnished the background for soldier-saint hagiography which has a common theme: a soldier of the Empire who has become a Christian finds that his devotion conflicts with traditional religious practices of the Roman military. Refusing to participate in rituals of loyalty to the Emperor (see Imperial cult), he is subjected to corporal punishment that escalates to torture—which miraculously may not affect him—but he does not deny his faith and is martyred. Such a saint was an "athlete of Christ" (athleta Christi).

Contents

Significance

Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, 12th century Greek mosaic from Kiev

In Late Antiquity other Christian writers of hagiography, like Sulpicius Severus in his account of the heroic, military life of Martin of Tours, created a literary model that reflected the new spiritual, political, and social ideals of a post-Roman society. In a recent study of Anglo-Saxon soldier saints (Damon 2003), J.E. Damon has demonstrated the persistence of Sulpicius's literary model in the transformation of the pious, peaceful saints and willing martyrs of late antique hagiography to the Christian heroes of the early Middle Ages, who appealed to the newly-converted societies led by professional warriors and who exemplified accommodation with and eventually active participation in holy wars that were considered just. A similar development in the cult of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki has been observed; although always described as a soldier, depictions of him were in civilian dress for centuries until around the turn of the millennium, after which he is nearly always shown fully armed.[1]

The angelic prototype of the Christian soldier-saint is the Archangel Michael, whose earliest known cultus began in the 5th century with a shrine at Monte Gargano. The cult of soldier-saints followed the transformation of Michael into a Christian figure.

The Orthodox military saints are on the whole more prominent in the respective devotions of their churches than the Catholic ones, especially as the military crisis of the Byzantine Empire deepened. They are usually shown fully equipped for fighting, unlike many Catholic military saints. The most important are Saint George, Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki (these two very often paired, riding on horseback or on foot in icons), Saint Theodore the General, and Saint Theodore the Recruit. It is noticeable that a historical basis for all of these is essentially lacking. Boris and Gleb, historical princely figures, were added to the Orthodox list during the conversion of various Slavic countries.

Of these St George was imported to the West during the period of the Crusades; becoming perhaps the most important military saint depicted "on active service" in the Catholic world - St. Sebastian was nearly always depicted as a martyr. Like his Byzantine comrades, George is usually depicted fully armed.

Soldier-saints tended to appear in troubled times: a second wave of soldier-saints with sounder historical character appeared in the High Middle Ages, not least of whom is Joan of Arc.

A later type of soldier-saint is Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who gave up military service to form a religious order.

List of military saints

Boris and Gleb, the first East Slavic military saints. An early 14th-century icon from Moscow, essentially copying the usual Byzantine depiction of Saint George and Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki

See also

Bibliography

  • John Edward Damon, 2003. Soldier Saints and Holy Warriors: Warfare and Sanctity in the Literature of Early England. (Burlington (VT): Ashgate Publishing Company) ISBN 0-7546-0473-X.

External links

References

  1. ^ see his article

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Saint Vincent And The Grenadines — Introduction Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Background: Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969, and independence in 1979. Geography Saint… …   Universalium

  • Saint Kitts And Nevis — Introduction Saint Kitts and Nevis Background: First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and… …   Universalium

  • Saint Lucia — Introduction Saint Lucia Background: The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in… …   Universalium

  • Saint Helena — Introduction Saint Helena Background: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE s exile, from 1815 until… …   Universalium

  • Saint Pierre And Miquelon — Introduction Saint Pierre and Miquelon Background: First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France s once vast North American possessions. Geography Saint Pierre and Miquelon… …   Universalium

  • Saint Theodore — can refer to a person, place, church, or school:*Theodore of Amasea, or of Tyre, the Tyro , the Recruit , a 4th century military saint and martyr *Theodore of Euphraita, or of Heraclea , or Stratelates ( the General ). Another 4th century… …   Wikipedia

  • Saint Kitts and Nevis — <p></p> <p></p> Introduction ::Saint Kitts and Nevis <p></p> Background: <p></p> Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British began settlement in… …   The World Factbook

  • Saint Lucia — <p></p> <p></p> Introduction ::Saint Lucia <p></p> Background: <p></p> The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early… …   The World Factbook

  • Saint George — Infobox Saint name=Saint George birth date=between ca. AD 275 and 281 death date=April 23 303 feast day=April 23 venerated in=Anglicanism Eastern Orthodoxy Lutheranism Oriental Orthodoxy Roman Catholicism imagesize=200px caption=Painting by… …   Wikipedia

  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — <p></p> <p></p> Introduction ::Saint Vincent and the Grenadines <p></p> Background: <p></p> Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France… …   The World Factbook

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”