V. Beregovyi, Master’s Student
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0001-8708-0725
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2022.151.10
HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF THE FORMATION OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN PHENOMENON OF VENERATION OF MARTYRDOM
The Institute of Saints is a phenomenon in the history of the Christian Church. This article examines one of the main sources of veneration of Christian saints - the phenomenon of early Christian martyrdom. The author focuses on the early stages of the Christian Church's existence and aims to find the origins of the veneration of holiness in Christian martyrdom, which is a feature of the period of pre-Nicene Christianity.
The article examines the main reason for the strained relations between the official authorities of the Roman Empire and the early Christian ecclesia, which led to the emergence of the phenomenon of martyrdom. The reasons for the veneration and sacralization of martyrs in the early Christian pre-Nicene period have been clarified. In order to prove the available examples of sacralization of Christian martyrdom in the pre-Nicene period of the Church's history, the author has previously studied the works of early Christian apologists of the II-III centuries AD - the basis of the early Christian tradition. Because of this, the author draws attention to the Jewish origins of the phenomenon of the sanctity of martyrdom. Accordingly, the article also focuses on the books of the Old Testament.
The spiritual and ideological factor of Christian doctrine, which encouraged Christians to glorify martyrs as heroes, is also traced. Key and formative aspects of samples of early hagiography are revealed. According to these sources, an analysis of the places of death of early Christian martyrs and their burials that became fundamental elements to the foundation of the institution of honoring martyrdom is made.
The evolution of the glorification of martyrs from the early existence of Christian ecclesia to the period of the conciliar Christian Church in alliance with the Roman state is traced. To this end, the sources of the Church Fathers of the IV-V centuries AD are considered. Based on the treatises of John Chrysostom, the author concludes that the veneration of the days of remembrance of the martyrs was canonically established in the late antique Christian Church. Evidences of the official sacralization of the martyrs is also given by elaborating the texts of the Local and Ecumenical Church Councils. Based on these sources, there are a lot of evidences of the Church's official veneration of martyrs in the initial period of the Church's legal existence in the Roman Empire. Given that the initial veneration of saints took place through the prism of the sacralization of early Christian martyrdom, this article is an integral part of the study of the field of hagiography and the institution of holiness within the history of the Church.
Key words: martyrs, ecclesia, early Christianity, apology, pre-Nicene Сhurch, hagiography, holiness, sacralization.
Submitted: 10.10.2021
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