Athos and the Preparation of Martyrs
The Holy Mountain’s role in the neomartyr phenomenon, and the genuine intra-Orthodox tension it raises. The first file treats the Athonite and Kollyvades elders who prepared would-be martyrs — the discernment, the seclusion “alone with God,” the confession and Communion, the accompanying of the confessor to his death. The second treats the canonical caution: the ancient Church’s warnings against voluntary and provoked martyrdom, set against the Ottoman-era practice — a real tension the Church has not formally resolved, presented from both sides per METHODOLOGY §4.2.
Tradition: Greek Orthodox / Athonite
Overview
Two of the three paths to neomartyrdom (see The Word and the Three Paths) — the returned apostate and the open confessor — involved a Christian’s deliberately bringing upon himself the death the law prescribed. This made the neomartyrdoms not only a matter of endurance but of decision and preparation, and it raised a question the ancient Church had faced and largely answered in the direction of caution. This section treats both the practice and the tension.
The first file, The Elders and the Training, describes how the Athonite and Kollyvades spiritual fathers prepared would-be martyrs: testing the resolve to be sure it came from God and not from vainglory or despair, secluding the aspirant for intense prayer, fasting, confession, and Communion, and — in a number of cases — accompanying the confessor to the place of his martyrdom and afterward recovering his relics.
The second file, The Canonical Caution, treats the genuine intra-Orthodox tension (§4.2): the ancient canons and Fathers who warned against seeking or provoking martyrdom (the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the Council of Elvira, Clement of Alexandria), set against the Ottoman-era practice of confessing and even provoking a martyr’s death, and the theological defense St. Nikodemos gave it. The positions are named; the tension is not adjudicated.
Contents
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| the-elders-and-the-training.md | The Athonite and Kollyvades spiritual fathers; the discernment of the call; the seclusion “alone with God”; confession, Communion, and the accompanying of the martyr; the “anointer” (aleiptes) |
| the-canonical-caution.md | The §4.2 tension: the ancient warnings against voluntary/provoked martyrdom vs the Ottoman-era practice; Nikodemos’s defense; the positions named and not adjudicated |
See Also
- The Word and the Three Paths — the paths that raise the voluntary-martyrdom question
- The Neon Martyrologion — the Kollyvades collection that promoted the martyrs
- St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite — the Kollyvades compiler and defender of the neomartyrs
- Mount Athos — the Holy Mountain, the milieu of the preparation
References
- Russell, Norman. “Christian identity, sharia law and voluntary martyrdom in the Ottoman Empire.” International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 18, nos. 2–3 (2018).
- Vaporis, Nomikos Michael. Witnesses for Christ. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2000.
- Nikodemos the Hagiorite, St., and St. Makarios of Corinth, comps. Neon Martyrologion. Venice, 1799.