Q&A Home > M > Martyrs/Martyrdom

• Are martyrs automatically canonized like the 21 in Libya?
• If a person commits a lot of sin and even murder but they die because of their faith and proclaim Jesus's name before dying, do they go to heaven?
• If someone is martyred, does he automatically become a saint?
• Is the Christian martyr the one who shed his blood willingly in the name of Christ and because of his/her faith, or unwillingly?
• Were the youth that were killed during the bombing at the Alexandrian church, or in any other church during a terrorist attack, automatically considered martyrs? In other words, if one is killed when he is not "actively" resisting attacks against Christianity (e.g., innocent bystander randomly injured in the crossfire during an attack), does he/she qualify as a martyr? I know the reflex answer is "yes," but I (and the youth that I was discussing this with) can not quite grasp the idea that a person who was the victim of collateral damage wears the same crown as does St. Stephen, etc.
• What is the exact definition of a Christian martyr?
  1. Should he/she be a believer or not?
  2. Should he/she die naturally or by shedding his/her blood in the name of Christ?
  3. What about if he/she was prepared by confession, communion, and good deeds or not?
  4. What about if he/she has been baptized and was present with the believers only by his body (but in his/her spirit, he/she has many bad things), but is killed due to his/her faith?
• With the terrible attacks that happened in Alexandria, and other places alike; why do we classify the 23 who were murdered as martyrs? What's the actual definition of one? As I am accustomed, martyrs are those who willingly choose to die because they wouldn't give up their faith. Can we indeed call the 23 Martyrs? Is it simply a term used to comfort the congregations, families, etc.? I also recently saw that on the 3rd of Tobe, we commemorate the Slain of the Children of Bethlehem. The Synexarium reading states that they were martyred. Are there different types of martyrdoms? Is there a process used it add/classify saints or martyrs? I'm aware that there's some 50 year canonization waiting period that some popular saints go through after their death. Is there anything else?