Soldier saint

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Demetrios of Thessaloniki , 12th century Greek mosaic from Kiev

Soldier saints are saints whose vita was partly shaped by soldier life. Often these are also seen as patrons of protection for soldiers.

history

The persecution of Christians under Diocletian or other emperors often formed the background for hagiographies by early Christian soldier saints. In these hagiographies it is usually a Roman soldier who converts to Christianity. He suffered the torture, but miraculously withstood it and refused to make sacrifices in the imperial cult as well as to apostate. After suffering martyrdom , he becomes a "fighter of Christ". In late antiquity , other Christian hagiographers such as Sulpicius Severus drew based on that of Martin of Tours also an image of piety with more military-critical features that takes into account the changed intellectual, political and social ideals of a post-Roman society.

Depiction of the Archangel Michael in the monastery of St. Jerome in Granada

The archangel Michael is the model for the warrior of Christ and the patron saint of soldiers . Michael was therefore the patron saint of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation since 955 and is also considered the patron saint of Germany.

In Orthodoxy , the veneration of soldier saints has by and large taken on a more pronounced form than in the Western Church, especially since Byzantium was shaken by military crises. In iconography they usually appear equipped with weapons and armor. The best known are the hll. Georg , who is considered an arch martyr in the Eastern Church, Demetrios (both often depicted together on icons, mounted or on foot), and Theodor Tiro , who is nicknamed "the recruit". The holy princes Boris and Gleb have been considered soldier saints since the conversion of the Slavs in Orthodoxy.

Other saints who are considered the patron saints of soldiers are the hll. Wilhelm von Gellone , Otger, Gerald von Aurillac , Johanna von Orleans and Ignatius von Loyola , who applied the principles of military discipline to the preparation of his retreats and the establishment of the Society of Jesus .

St. Gereon of Cologne , 15th century

The representation of St. George as an active fighter, winner and triumphator, while depictions of the hll. Sebastian and Mauritius mostly deal with suffering martyrdom.

Saints who are also considered to be the patron saints of the military

Boris and Gleb , the first East Slavic soldier saints. Moscow, early 14th century

literature

  • John Edward Damon, 2003. Soldier Saints and Holy Warriors: Warfare and Sanctity in the Literature of Early England . (Burlington (VT): Ashgate Publishing Company) ISBN 075460473X
  • Paul Werner Roth, Soldier Saints , Graz, Vienna, Cologne: Verl. Styria, 1993, ISBN 3222121850

Web links

Commons : Military Saints  - collection of images, videos and audio files