A martyrologist is a person who researches and memorializes the lives of martyrs from different religions. Many religions have a central theme of religious faith requiring sacrifice and suffering. Martyrologists study the lives of martyrs and their sacrifices, as well as the significance of martyrdom in religious tradition. A martyrologist’s main concerns are authenticating the details of martyrs’ lives and attempting to verify religious truth.
Local priests and devout Catholics kept lists of people who died during Roman rule for the sake of their faith in Jesus Christ, and these early Christian martyrologies were written by them. As neighboring churches merged their lists of martyrs, the number of martyrs grew. The Hieronymian Martyrology, the first well-known Catholic martyrology, was compiled in Italy in the second half of the fifth century, and St. Jerome was mistakenly credited as the martyrologist. Lists of martyrs and saints from eastern churches, as well as Roman churches and African sources, are among the sources for the Hieronymian Martyrology.
Bede, a monk who wrote in the eighth century, and Usuard, another monk who wrote in the ninth century, are two well-known martyrologists. In 790, St. Aengus and St. Maelruain published the Tallaght Martyrology in a Dublin monastery. Their martyrology was based on religious writings and folklore. Pope Gregory XIII published an edition of the Roman Martyrology in 1584, which became the Catholic Church’s official martyrology. One of the six main books of Catholic liturgy is the Roman Martyrology.
The Catholic Church’s list of recognized saints is updated on a regular basis, and Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints in 2009. There are several steps to becoming a Catholic saint. The Vatican starts by looking into a person’s life. The individual must have exemplified “heroic virtue” throughout his or her life. A person must perform two miracles in order to be canonized or declared a saint.
Martyrs can be found in both Protestant and Catholic religions. The Englishman John Foxe, who published Foxe’s Book of Martyrs in 1563, is perhaps the most famous protestant martyrologist. Foxe’s book compiled a list of Christian martyrs, with a focus on Protestant martyrs.
A martyrology is a list of names, or a list of names and biographical information about martyrs. Saints are listed in a Catholic martyrology according to their feast day on the calendar. When used in the context of religion, the term martyr refers to someone who publicly declares his or her religious beliefs and is persecuted as a result. In Catholicism, a martyr is someone who dies for their faith. The martyr’s religious beliefs are generally incompatible with other civil or religious ways of thinking.