A great martyr (also spelled greatmartyr or great-martyr) or megalomartyr (from

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

, , from , 'great' + , 'martyr'; cu, великомꙋ́ченикъ; ro, mare mucenic; ka, დიდმოწამე) is a

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s who are

venerated Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...

in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

and those

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

which follow the

Rite of Constantinople The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours are ...

. The term is also used in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

especially by parishes dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

in reference to him (San Ġorġ Megalomartri). Generally speaking, a greatmartyr is a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

who has undergone excruciating

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

s—often performing

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s and converting unbelievers to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

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 The Edict of Milan ( la, Edictum Mediolanense; el, Διάταγμα τῶν Μεδιολάνων, ''Diatagma tōn Mediolanōn'') was the February 313 AD agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. Frend, W. H. C. ( ...

. This term is normally not applied to saints who could be better described as

hieromartyr In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Analogously, a monk who is a priest is known as a hieromonk. See also *New Martyr The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el ...

s (martyred clergy) or

protomartyr A protomartyr (Koine Greek, ''πρότος'' ''prótos'' "first" + ''μάρτυρας'' ''mártyras'' "martyr") is the first Christian martyr in a country or among a particular group, such as a religious order. Similarly, the phrase the Protom ...

s (the first martyr in a given region).

Partial list of megalomartyrs

* Saint Anastasia *Saint Apostolos of St. Laurence * Saint Artemius *

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Acc ...

*Prince Bidzin, Prince Elizbar, and Prince Shalva of Georgia *

Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

* Saint Christina *

Saint Demetrius Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica ( el, Ἅγιος Δημήτριος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, (); bg, Димитър Солунски (); mk, Свети Димитрија Солунски (); ro, Sfântu ...

Saint Euphemia Euphemia ( el, Εὐφημία; "well-spoken f), known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin, who was martyred for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was arrested for refusing to offer ...

Saint Eustace Saint Eustace (Latinized Eustachius or Eustathius, Greek Εὐστάθιος Πλακίδας ''Eustathios Plakidas'') is revered as a Christian martyr. According to legend, he was martyred in AD 118, at the command of emperor Hadrian. Eusta ...

*Saint George the New at Sophia (1515) * Saint Haralambos * Saint Irene *John the New of

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...

* Ketevan, Queen of Georgia *

Kostanti-Kakhay Konstanti Kakhay or Konstanti Kakhi ( ka, კონსტანტი კახაჲ; კონსტანტი კახი) (768 – November 10, 853) was a Christian Georgian nobleman from Kartli, who was seized captive by the Abbasid gener ...

, of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

* Saint Lazar of Serbia * Saint Marina *

Saint Menas Menas of Egypt (also Mina, Minas, Mena, Meena; el, Άγιος Μηνάς, ; 285 – c. 309), a martyr and wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Coptic saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his i ...

Saint Mercurius Mercurius ( el, Ἅγιος Μερκούριος, cop, Ⲫⲓⲗⲟⲡⲁⲧⲏⲣ Ⲙⲉⲣⲕⲟⲩⲣⲓⲟⲥ; 224/225 – 250 AD) was a Saracen soldier who became a Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. He was born in the city of Esken ...

* Saint Michael-Gobron of Georgia *

Saint Pantaleon Saint Pantaleon ( el, Παντελεήμων, russian: Пантелеи́мон, translit=Panteleímon; "all-compassionate"), counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Heal ...

* Saint Paraskeva * Saint Kyriaki *

Saint Phanourios Saint Phanourios (Greek: Άγιος Φανούριος), also known as St. Phanourios the Newly-Manifest (Greek: Άγιος Φανούριος ο Νεοφανής) is recognized as a saint by the Greek Orthodox Church. He is commemorated on August ...

* Saint Procopius * Saint Sabbas the Goth *Theodore Gavra of Atran in Chaldea * Saint Theodore Stratelates *

Theodore Tiron : ''For another Saint Theodore, see: Theodore Stratelates or Saint Theodore (disambiguation)''. Saint Theodore Tiron ( grc-gre, Ἅγιος Θεόδωρος Τήρων) is one of the two recognized saints called Theodore who are venerated as w ...

Saint Tryphon Saint Tryphon, Triphon or Trifon may refer to: Saints *Tryphon of Campsada, 3rd-century saint *Tryphon of Constantinople, Patriarch of Constantinople (928–931) *Tryphon of Pechenga, 16th-century saint * Tryphon of Vyatka, 16th-century Russian sa ...

*Xenia of Peloponnesus