The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el, νεο-, ''neo''-, the prefix for "new"; and μάρτυς, ''martys'', "witness") is conferred in some denominations of

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 ...

to distinguish more recent martyrs and confessors from the old martyrs of the persecution in the Roman Empire. Originally and typically, it refers to victims of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic persecution.. The earliest source to use the term ''neomartys'' is the ''Narrationes'' of

Anastasius of Sinai Anastasius Sinaita (died after 700), also called Anastasius of Sinai or Anastasius the Sinaite, was a Greek writer, priest and abbot of Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai. Life What little is known about his life is gathered from his own ...

, who died around 700. The title continued to be used for the next three hundred years to refer to victims of

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

and

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

persecution. It was mainly used in Greek sources, but is occasionally found in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

and Syriac sources. Between the 11th and 14th centuries, the Byzantine–Seljuq wars also generated a number of neomartyrs. The

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

traditionally gives the title to those who had been tortured and executed during

Ottoman rule in Greece Most of the areas which today are within modern Greece's borders were at some point in the past part of the Ottoman Empire. This period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence ...

in order to avoid forced conversion to Islam. This meaning is the dominant one, so much so that pre-Ottoman use of the term has been almost ignored in academia. Sectarian conflicts of the 19th century within the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and Communist persecution in eastern Europe also generated saints considered neomartyrs.

List of new martyrs

Under Umayyad rule

Euphemia of Damascus 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 ...

(before 700) *

Sixty Martyrs of Jerusalem 60 (sixty) () is the natural number following 59 and preceding 61. Being three times 20, it is called '' threescore'' in older literature ('' kopa'' in Slavic, ''Schock'' in Germanic). In mathematics * 60 is a highly composite number. Because i ...

(725)

Under Abbasid rule

Elias of Heliopolis Elias of Heliopolis (759–779), also called Elias of Damascus, was a Syrian carpenter and Christian martyr revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox churches. He is known from a Greek hagiography. Dates The ''Prosopographi ...

(779) * Romanus (780) *

Theophilus the New Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...

(780s) *

Abo of Tbilisi The ABO blood group system is used to denote the presence of one, both, or neither of the A and B antigens on erythrocytes. For human blood transfusions, it is the most important of the 43 different blood type (or group) classification syste ...

(786) * Bacchus-Ḍaḥḥāk (786/7) * George-Muzāḥim (978)

Under Turkish rule

The first new martyrs were recorded after the Seljuk invasion of Asia Minor (11th century). 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 ...

, the third Sunday after

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

is known as the "Commemoration of All New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke." *

Ahmed the Calligrapher Ahmet the Calligrapher was a seventeenth-century Ottoman Empire official venerated as a Christian saint. According to Christian beliefs he converted to Christianity and was martyred on 3 May 1682; thus he is commemorated as a martyr on this day ...

or ''Ahmed Kalfas'') * Akylina of Chalkidike *

Anthimos the Georgian Anthimus, also spelled Anthimos, Anthinos or Anthinus, is a Greek name for males. In Italian and Spanish, the name is rendered as Antimo. The name may refer to: *Anthimus of Nicomedia, bishop and martyr who died during a persecution in the earl ...

Aquilina of Thessalonica Saint Aquilina of Thessalonica (also spelled ''Akylina'') was an 18th-century Greek Orthodox Christian saint and martyr. She was born in Zagliberi, a village near Thessalonica in Greece at a time when Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Empir ...

* Athanasios the Neomartyr *

Boris the Pomak Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

* Chrestos the Albanian * Chrysostomos of Smyrna * Constantin Brâncoveanu *

Constantine Hagarit Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

Cosmas of Aetolia Kosmas the Aetolian, sometimes Cosmas the Aetolian or Patrokosmas "Father Kosmas" ( el, Κοσμᾶς ὁ Αἰτωλός, ''Kosmas Etolos''; born between 1700 and 1714 – died 1779), was a monk in the Greek Orthodox Church. He is recognized as ...

Cyril VI of Constantinople Cyril VI ( el, Κύριλλος ΣΤ΄), lay name Konstantinos Serpetzoglou (Κωνσταντίνος Σερπεντζόγλου) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between the years 1813 and 1818. He was born in 1769 in Edirne, whe ...

, ethnomartyr *

Demetrios Doukas Demetrios Doukas of Crete (, ; c.1480–c.1527) was a professor of Greek in Spain and teacher of many Spanish humanists. Originally a member of the Greek community in Venice (dating from the Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinop ...

Demetrios of Philadelphia Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

* Demetrios the Neomartyr *

Ephraim the Neomartyr St. Ephraim the Neomartyr, Ephraim the Martyr, or Ephraim of Mount Amomon (Greek: Άγιος Εφραίμ ο μάρτυρας / του Όρους των Αμώμων), believed to have lived from 1384 to 1426, is venerated as a martyr and miracle-wo ...

* Gabriel I of Pec *

Patriarch Gabriel II of Constantinople Gabriel II ( el, ), (? – 3 December 1659) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for one week in 1657. In 1659 he was hanged by the Ottoman Sultan for having baptized a converted Muslim, and after refusing to abjure his own Christian fai ...

* George of Ioannina *

George the New George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

* George of Kratovo (d. 1515) * Gregory V of Constantinople * Hasan
John Calphas ("the Apprentice")
* John of Ioannina, a.k.a. John the Tailor *

John the New of Suceava John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

*Archbishop Kyprianos of Cyprus *

Makarios the Monk Macarius is a Latinized form of the old Greek given name Makários (Μακάριος), meaning "happy, fortunate, blessed"; confer the Latin '' beatus'' and ''felix''. Ancient Greeks applied the epithet ''Makarios'' to the gods. In other langua ...

Michael Mavroudis Michael Mavroudis ( el, Μιχαήλ Μαυρουδῆς) was a martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce ...

*Niketas the Young * Paisius and Habakkuk *

Panteleimon Dousa Panteleimon or Panteley may refer to: People * Pantaleon, also called Panteleimon, king in Bactria and India (reigned BC) * Saint Pantaleon, also called Saint Panteleimon * Panteley Dimitrov, Bulgarian football midfielder * Panteley Kiselov, Bulg ...

Paul of Constantinople
6/19 April 1683 *

Paul the Russian Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

Philothei Saint Philothei of Athens, (also known as Philotheia or Philothea) ( el, Άγια Φιλοθέη η Αθηναία) (November 21, 1522 - February 19, 1589), née Revoula Benizelos (Ρεβούλα Μπενιζέλου), was a Greek Orthodox religio ...

* Theocharis of Nevşehir (Neapoli) *

Teodor of Vršac Teodor ( sr-cyr, Теодор; fl. 1594) was the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Vršac (епископ вршачки), who in 1594 was the leader of the Banat Uprising against Ottoman occupation amidst the Long War (1593-1606). After talks with Sig ...

Theodore Gabras Theodore Gabras ( el, Θεόδωρος Γαβρᾶς) was a Byzantine governor in the Pontus who was involved in a minor unsuccessful rebellion against the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos around the year 1091. Theodore Gabras is an Eastern Orthodox mart ...

Theodore of Komogovina Saint and Holy Martyr Theodore of Komogovo ( sr, свети мученик Теодор (Сладић) комоговински,

* Thomas Paschidis * Zlata of Meglen

Under Communist rule

In the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, the Sunday closest to 25 January (7 February on the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

) is the "Sunday of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia." The date of 25 January was chosen because that was the date in 1918 of the martyrdom of St. Vladimir (Bogoiavlensikii),

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, who is referred to as the " Protomartyr of the communist yoke in Russia." *

Alexander Hotovitzky Saint Alexander Hotovitzky (or Hotovitsky) (1872-1937) was a Russian Orthodox hieromartyr. He was ordained to the priesthood while working in the United States in the 1890s. He was ordered back to Europe in 1914, where we worked as a vicar in Be ...

Anastasia Hendrikova Countess Anastasia Vasilyevna Hendrikova (23 June 1887 – 4 September 1918), was a lady in waiting at the court of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. She was arrested by the Bolsheviks and shot to death outside Perm in the autumn of 1918. ...

Andronic Nikolsky Archbishop Andronik (also spelled Andronic; russian: Архиепископ Андроник, secular name Vladimir Alexandrovich Nikolsky, russian: Владимир Александрович Никольский; August 1, 1870 – July 7, 191 ...

* Bishop

Arcadius Ostalsky Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the e ...

, * Bishop

Arseny Zhadanovsky Arseny (officially transliterated as Arsenii) (also Arsenii and Arseniy) ( ua, Арсеній, russian: Арсений) is a name, derived from Arsenius. Notable people with the name include: Arseny * Arseny Avraamov (1886–1944), Russian avant-ga ...

, who was the last abbot of the Chudov Monastery which was also destroyed
Bishop Basil (Preobrashensky) of Kineshma
* Archbishop

Dimitry (Dobroserdov) Dimitri may refer People * Dmitry, a male given name, Slavic version of Greek name Demetrios * Dimitri (clown) (1935–2016), Swiss clown and mime * Dimitri Atanasescu, Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher * Dimitri from Paris, French DJ * Dimitri Flower ...

* Grand Duchess

Elizabeth Fyodorovna Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and

Nun Barbara Varvara Alexeyevna Yakovleva (russian: Варвара Алексеевна Яковлева; c. 1880 - July 18, 1918), called Nun Barbara (russian: Инокиня Варвара), was a Russian Orthodox nun in the convent of Grand Duchess Elizabe ...

* Dr.

Eugene Botkin Yevgeny Sergeyevich Botkin (russian: Евгений Сергеевич Боткин; 27 March 1865 – 17 July 1918), commonly known as Eugene Botkin, was the court physician since 1908 for Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. He sometimes ...

(see Romanov sainthood) * Bishop

Hermogenes (Dolganyov) Georgiy Yefremovich Dolganyov (Георгий Ефремович Долганёв; 25 April 1858 – April 1918) was a prominent Russian Orthodox religious figure, a monarchist and anti-communist, who supported the Union of the Russian People and ...

* Metropolitan

Benjamin of Petrograd Benjamin of Petrograd (russian: Вениамин Петроградский, Veniamin Petrogradsky, – ), born Vasily Pavlovich Kazansky (russian: Василий Павлович Казанский), was a hieromartyr, a bishop in the Russian ...

* John Kochurov of Tsarskoye Selo (First martyr of the Revolution) * Archpries
John Vostorgov

1938 * Archimandrite Kronid Lubimov * Archpries
Makary Kvitkin
* Margarete of Menzelinsk
Maria of Gatchina
c. 1930

23 June/6 July 1931 * Nicholas II of Russia with his immediate family and servants (see Romanov sainthood)
Fr. Nicholas Zagorovsky
1943 (confessor) * Bishop

Nikita Dilektorsky Nikita may refer to: * Nikita (given name) * Nikita, Crimea, a town in Crimea * Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore Film and television *''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film * ''La Femme Nikita'' (film), also known as ''Nikita'', a 19 ...

Nikodim of Solovki
* Archbishop Nikolay Dobronravov * Metropolitan

Peter of Krutitsy Peter of Krutitsy (Священному́ченик Пётр Крути́цкий, born Pyotr Fyodorovich Polyansky, Пётр Фёдорович Поля́нский; June 28, 1862 – September 27 O. S./October 10, 1937), was a Russian Orthodox ...

* Metropolitan Seraphim Chichagov of St. Petersburg *

Patriarch Tikhon Tikhon of Moscow (russian: Тихон Московский, – ), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (russian: Василий Иванович Беллавин), was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 5 November 1917 ( OS) he was ...

, 1925 (confessor) *

Vladimir Beneshevich Vladimir Nicolayevich Beneshevich (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Бенеше́вич; August 9, 1874 – January 17, 1938) was a Russian scholar of Byzantine history and canon law, and a philologer and paleographer of the ...

* Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) First hierarch martyred by the Bolsheviks. * Bishop

Platon (Kulbusch) Platon, born Paul Kulbusch (also spelled ''Kuhlbusch'' or ''Kuldbush''; – 14 January 1919) was an Estonian bishop and the first Orthodox saint of Estonian ethnicity.

Under Nazism

Alexander Schmorell Alexander Schmorell (; russian: Александр Гугович Шморель, translit=Aleksandr Gugovich Shmorel', ; 16 September 1917 – 13 July 1943) was a Russian-German student at Munich University who, with five others, formed a resist ...

, member of the White Rose

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

group * Bishop Gorazd of Prague * Archimandrite

Grigol Peradze Saint Grigol Peradze ( ka, გრიგოლ ფერაძე; 13 September 1899 – 6 December 1942) was a prominent Georgian ecclesiastic figure, philologist, theologian, historian, and professor of patristics in the interwar period. Li ...

Maria Skobtsova Maria Skobtsova (20 Old_Calendar.html"_;"title="_Old_Calendar">_Old_CalendarDecember_1891_–_31_March_1945),_known_as_Mother_Maria_(russian:_Мать_Мария),_Saint_Mary_(or_Mother_Maria)_of_Paris,_born_Elizaveta_Yurievna_Pilenko_(),_Kuz ...

of Paris and Ravensbrück, nun

Serbia

The feast of "All New Martyrs of Serbia" is celebrated on . * Đorđe Bogić *

Gorazd Pavlik Gorazd is a given name. It is a Slavic version of the Hebrew given name Gilad which means Hill Of Testimony, Monument. Notable people with the given name include: *Gorazd Hiti (born 1948), Slovene ice hockey player *Gorazd Kocijančič (born 19 ...

Joanikije Lipovac Metropolitan Joanikije Lipovac (16 February 1890 – 18 June 1945) was the Metropolitan of the Diocese of Montenegro and the Littoral. He was executed by the Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans for his collaboration with occupying Axis powers duri ...

* Saint Prince Lazar *

Petar Zimonjić Petar Zimonjić ( sr-cyr, Петар Зимоњић; 24 June 1866 – June 1941) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church serving as the metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1920 until the beginning of World War II. ...

* Platon Jovanović * Rafailo of Šišatovac *

Sava Trlajić Sava Trlajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Сава Трлајић; 19 July 1884 – August 1941) was a Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church serving as Bishop of the Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1938 until the beginning of W ...

Vukašin Mandrapa Vukašin Mandrapa ( sr-Cyrl, Вукашин Мандрапа; died 1942/43) is a saint and a martyr of the Serbian Orthodox Church canonized as Saint Vukašin of Klepci (''Свети Вукашин из Клепаца''). His surname and place ...

Boxer Rebellion

is celebrated as the feast of the "New Martyrs of China Slain During the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

" *

Ia the Teacher IA, Ia, or ia may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ia'', an 1892 novelette by Arthur Quiller-Couch * "Iä", a fictional word in the works of H. P. Lovecraft * International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which also goes by ...

* Holy Martyrs of China

Austria-Hungary

* Hieromartyr Maximus Sandovic, 24August/6 September 1914

Post-Soviet Russia

Daniel Sysoyev Daniel Alexeyevich Sysoev (russian: Даниил Алексеевич Сысоев; 1974–2009) was a married Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox priest, the rector of St. Thomas' church in southern Moscow and a prominent missionary. He ...

Muscovite priest and missionary assassinated by an Islamist militant *

Yevgeny Rodionov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Rodionov (russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Родио́нов; 23 May 1977 – 23 May 1996) was a Russian soldier who was taken prisoner of war by Chechen rebels in the First Chechen War and later ex ...

, a Russian soldier who fought in

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

, was taken prisoner, tortured and eventually murdered for his refusal to convert to Islam the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

has not glorified either of the martyrs listed above, but each has received widespread popular veneration.

References

{{reflist

External links

Calendar of Orthodox Church England contains NeoMartyrs
Eastern Orthodox martyrs of the Late Modern era Canonised servants of the Romanov household 20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs Types of saints