Saint titles

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The holy ones of the Orthodox Church have various customary saint titles with which they are commemorated on the Church Calendar and in divine services.


The following list explains the references:

  • Confessor: one who has suffered for the faith but not martyred outright
  • Enlightener of N.: the saint who first brought the faith to a people or region, or who did major work of evangelization there
  • Equal-to-the-Apostles: one whose work significantly built up the Church
  • Fool-for-Christ: a saint known for his apparent, yet holy insanity
  • Great-martyr: one who was martyred for the faith and suffered torture
  • Hieromartyr: a martyr who is also a clergyman
  • Martyr: one who has died for the faith
  • Merciful: one known for charitable work, especially toward the poor
  • Myrrh-streaming: the relics of the saint exude holy and sweet-smelling (and often miraculous) oil
  • New-martyr: a martyr often bearing the same name as a more ancient martyr, but usually more recent in the Church's history
  • Passion-bearer: one who faced his death in a Christ-like manner
  • Protomartyr: the first martyr in a given region (in the case of Stephen the Protomartyr, the first martyr of the whole Church)
  • Righteous: a holy person under the Old Covenant (Old Testament Israel) but also sometimes used for married saints of the New Covenant (the Church)
  • Venerable: a monastic saint
  • Venerable-martyr: a martyred monastic
  • Virgin-martyr: an unmarried, non-monastic, chaste female martyr
  • Wonder-worker: a saint renowned for performing miracles


See also