Military saint

The military saints, warrior saints and soldier saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution of Christians, especially the Diocletianic Persecution of AD 303–313.

Most of the early Christian military saints were soldiers of the Roman Empire who had become Christian and, after refusing to participate in Imperial cult rituals of loyalty to the Roman Emperor, were subjected to corporal punishment including torture and martyrdom.

Veneration of these saints, most notably of Saint George, was reinforced in the Latin Church during the time of the Crusades. The title of "champion of Christ" (athleta Christi) was originally used for these saints, but in the late medieval period also conferred on contemporary rulers by the Pope.

Since the Middle Ages, more saints have been added for various military-related patronages.

Hagiography In Late Antiquity, Christian writers of hagiography, prominently including 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.Damon, John Edward. Soldier Saints and Holy Warriors: Warfare and Sanctity in the Literature of Early England. (Burlington (VT): Ashgate Publishing Company), 2003,

Iconography The military saints are characteristically depicted as soldiers in traditional Byzantine iconography from about the 10th century (Macedonian dynasty) and especially in Slavic Christianity."The 'warrior saints' or 'military saints' can be distinguished from the huge host of martyrs by the pictorial convention of cladding them in military attire." (Grotowski 2010:2) While early icons show the saints in "classicizing" or anachronistic attire, icons from the 11th and especially the 12th centuries, painted in the new style of ("imitating nature"), are an important source of knowledge on medieval Byzantine military equipment.(Grotowski 2010:400)

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 iconography of soldier-saints Theodore and George as cavalrymen develops in the early medieval period. The earliest image of

St Theodore as a horseman (named in Latin) is from Vinica, North Macedonia and, if genuine, dates to the 6th or 7th century. Here, Theodore is not slaying a dragon, but holding a draco standard. Three equestrian saints, Demetrius, Theodore and George, are depicted in the "Zoodochos Pigi" chapel in central Macedonia in Greece, in the prefecture of Kilkis, near the modern village of Kolchida, dated to the 9th or 10th century.Melina Paissidou, "Warrior Saints as Protectors of the Byzantine Army in the Palaiologan Period: the Case of the Rock-cut Hermitage in Kolchida (Kilkis Prefecture)", in: Ivanka Gergova Emmanuel Moutafov (eds.), ГЕРОИ • КУЛТОВЕ • СВЕТЦИ / Heroes Cults Saints Sofija (2015), 181-198. The "dragon-slaying" motif develops in the 10th century, especially iconography seen in the Cappadocian cave churches of Göreme, where frescoes of the 10th century show military saints on horseback confronting serpents with one, two or three heads.Paul Stephenson, The Serpent Column: A Cultural Biography, Oxford University Press (2016), 179–182. In later medieval Byzantine iconography, the pair of horsemen is no longer identified as Theodore and George, but as George and Demetrius.

List

Catholic (NB: some saints on the list remain unclassified as of 2021) Image Name Martyrdom Location Church Patronage Agathius 303 Byzantium Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church SoldiersAdrian of Nicomedia306NicomediaCatholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox ChurchSoldiers, Royal guardAndrew the General 300 Taurus MountainsCatholic Church, Eastern Orthodox ChurchArmy, soldiers Demetrius of Thessaloniki 306ThessalonikiAnglicanism, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodox ChurchesSoldiersBarbara267Aglipayan, Anglicanism, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches Artillery, combat engineer, missileers including those of the Strategic Rocket Forces, the Missile and Artillery Forces, and the Air Defense Forces, Space Forces and the United States Army Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery Branches Cornelius the CenturionPre-CongregationunknownAnglican Communion, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox ChurchSoldiersChrysogonus303 AquileiaCatholic Church, Eastern Orthodox ChurchCity of Zadar, 112th brigade and 7th regiment of the Croatian army George303 Nicomedia in Bithynia Anglicanism, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodox Churches Patronages Gereon 304 Cologne Catholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Church Knights James the Great44JerusalemAnglicanism, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodox ChurchesSoldiers, knights, Military Archbishopric of Spain Joan of Arc1431 Rouen, Normandy Catholic Military personnel, US Women's Army Corps, WAVES John the Warrior4th century Somewhere in Constantinople (modern Istanbul) Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church Soldiers Ignatius of Loyola1556Rome, Papal States Anglican Communion, CatholicSoldiers, Military Ordinariate of the Philippines Maurice 287 Agaunum in Alpes Poeninae et GraiaeCatholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox ChurchesAlpine troops, Swiss Guard Martin of Tours 397Martin is not a martyr, and not a classical military saint. He came to be venerated as "military saint" in 19th to 20th-century French nationalism due to his successful promotion as such during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1. Brennan, Brian, The Revival of the Cult of Martin of Tours in the Third Republic (1997).Candes-Saint-Martin, GaulCatholic and Eastern Orthodox ChurchUS Army Quartermaster Corps, infantrymen,Mercurius250Caesarea in Cappadocia Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches Michael the Archangel Anglicanism, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodox Churches Military; paratroopers; policemen. Our Lady of Mount Carmel1226approved by Pope Honorius III Catholic Spanish NavyEndorsed by Cristóbal Colón, 14th Duke of Veragua Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Airmen Pope John XXIII Catholic Italian ArmySebastian288ItalyAglipayan, Anglicanism, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox ChurchesSoldiers, infantrymen, archersSergius and Bacchus 306 Resafa and Barbalissos in MesopotamiaAssyrian Church of the East, Catholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox ChurchesArmy, soldiersTheodore of Amasea 306 Amasea Amasya in HelenopontusCatholic Church and Eastern Orthodox ChurchSoldiersTypasius 304Tigava, Mauretania Caesariensis Vardan Mamikonian451Avarayr Plain, Vaspurakan, ArmeniaArmenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Catholic Church, Armenian Evangelical ChurchVarus307 AlexandriaCoptic ChurchesVictor Maurus 303 MilanCatholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, LutheranismForty Martyrs of Sebaste 320 Sebaste

Eastern Orthodox Church In the Romanian Orthodox Church:

Michael the Archangel: protector of the Romanian Army, and, as the patron saint of Michael the Brave and as the symbol of the Romanian victory in the Great War, the protector of the unity of all Romanians. Saint George: patron of the Romanian Land Forces Saint Elijah: patron of the Romanian Air Forces Virgin Mary: patron of the Romanian Naval Forces

Russian Orthodox Church +IconNamePatronageGeorgeRussian Armed Forces, Russian Ground ForcesMichael the ArchangelRussian Armed Forces, Russian National GuardAlexander NevskyRussian Ground Forces, Russian Naval Infantry, Russian Special Operations ForcesElijahRussian Aerospace Forces, Russian Airborne ForcesAndrew the First-CalledRussian NavyNicholas the WonderworkerRussian NavyFyodor UshakovRussian NavyBarbaraStrategic Rocket ForcesDaniel of MoscowRussian Engineer TroopsBoris and GlebRussian Railway TroopsDmitry DonskoyMilitary Police of the Russian Armed ForcesSeraphim of Sarov12th Chief DirectorateJohn of KronstadtFinancial and Economic Service of the Russian Armed ForcesJoseph VolotskyLogistical Support of the Russian Armed ForcesArchangel GabrielState Secret Protection Service of the Russian Armed ForcesSergius of RadonezhRussian Construction TroopsTheodore StratelatesOrthodox soldiers.Nikita the GothOrthodox soldiers.Mercury of SmolenskWarrior-martyr: soldiers.John the WarriorSoldiers.Vladimir of KievIsaiahAlexander Peresvet and Rodion Oslyabya Radonezhskiy holy monk-warriors.

Military saint

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