Military saint

This article is about Christian saints associated with the military. For the concept of warrior saints in Sikhism, see Khalsa.
Saint George, perhaps the most famous of military saints, including patron saint of the cavalry. Here depicted in a classical motive along with the dragon and the Princess.
Saint Michael, archangel and military saint and patron saint of soldiers.
Saint Maurice, a Roman general turned Christian and a prominent coloured military saint.
Joan of Arc, a prominent female military saintand a patron saint of female soldiers and of France.
Saint Barbara, another prominent female military saint and patron saint of the artillery.
James, son of Zebedee, Spanish: Santiago Matamoros, "Saint James the Moor-slayer", often associatted with the Iberian Reconquista.
A depiction of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312), involving the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Eusebius of Caesarea recounts that Constantine and his soldiers had a vision of the Christian God promising victory if they daubed the sign of the Chi-Rho, the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek, on their shields.
Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors.
Saint Martin of Tours from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany.
Saint Eustace, patron saint for hunters, difficult situations and for fire prevention.
Saint Longinus, who pierced the side of the body of Christ on the cross.
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" or "champion of Christ" (athleta Christi).

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 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.[1] 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.

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.

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

Theban Legion:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Damon, John Edward. Soldier Saints and Holy Warriors: Warfare and Sanctity in the Literature of Early England. (Burlington (VT): Ashgate Publishing Company), 2003, ISBN 0-7546-0473-X
  2. ↑ "Martyr Adrian of Nicomedia", Orthodox Church in America
  3. ↑ Saint Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral
  4. ↑ "Saints & Martyrs", Columbia University
  5. ↑ "The story of Saint Florian, the patron saint of the fire service", City of Columbia, Missouri
  6. ↑ Robinson, Paschal. "St. Francis of Assisi." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 20 Mar. 2013
  7. ↑ "Saint Ignatius of Loyola", Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
  8. ↑ "Saints John and Paul, soldier martyrs"

Bibliography

External links

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