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{{Short description|Patron saints associated with the military}}
[[File:Damaskenos Michael - Four military saints - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|300px|''Four Military Saints'' by [[Michael Damaskinos]] (16th century, [[Benaki Museum]]), showing [[Saint George]] and [[Theodore of Amasea]] on the left, and [[Demetrius of Thessaloniki]] and [[Theodore Stratelates]] on the right, all on horseback, with angels holding wreaths over their heads, beneath [[Christ Pantocrator]].]]
[[File:Mary with George and Dimitry (Greeсe, 1754) 2.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Triptych]] of the [[Theotokos|Bogomater]] flanked by Saints George and Demetrius as horsemen (dated 1754)]]

{{about|the Christian concept| warrior saints in Sikhism|Sant Sipahi}}
The '''military saints''', '''warrior saints''' and '''soldier saints''' are [[patron saint]]s, [[martyr]]s and other [[saint]]s associated with the [[military]]. They were originally composed of the [[early Christian]]s who were soldiers in the [[Roman army]] during the [[persecution of Christians]], especially the [[Diocletianic Persecution]] of AD 303&ndash;313.

Most of the early Christian military saints were soldiers of the [[Roman Empire]] who had become Christian and, after refusing to participate in [[Imperial cult (Ancient Rome)|Imperial cult]] [[Votum#Public vota|rituals of loyalty]] to the [[Roman Emperor]], were subjected to corporal punishment including [[torture]] and [[martyr]]dom. 

Veneration of these saints, most notably of [[Saint George]], was reinforced in the [[Latin Church]] during the time of the [[Crusades]]. The title of "[[athleta Christi|champion of Christ]]" (''athleta Christi'') was originally used for these saints, but in the [[late Middle Ages|late medieval period]] also conferred on contemporary rulers by the [[Pope]].

Since the Middle Ages, more saints have been added for various military-related patronages.

==Hagiography==
In [[Late Antiquity]], Christian writers of [[hagiography]], prominently including [[Sulpicius Severus]] in his account of the heroic, military life of [[Martin of Tours]], created a literary model that reflected the new spiritual, political, and social ideals of a post-Roman society.  
In a study of Anglo-Saxon soldier saints (Damon 2003), J. E. Damon has demonstrated the persistence of Sulpicius's literary model in the transformation of the pious, peaceful saints and willing martyrs of late antique hagiography to the Christian heroes of the early Middle Ages, who appealed to the newly converted societies led by professional warriors and who exemplified accommodation with and eventually active participation in holy wars that were considered just.<ref>Damon, John Edward. ''Soldier Saints and Holy Warriors: Warfare and Sanctity in the Literature of Early England''. (Burlington (VT): Ashgate Publishing Company), 2003, {{ISBN|0-7546-0473-X}}</ref>

==Iconography==
The military saints are characteristically depicted as soldiers in traditional Byzantine iconography from about the 10th century ([[Macedonian dynasty]]) and especially in [[Slavic Christianity]].<ref>"The 'warrior saints' or 'military saints' can be distinguished from the huge host of martyrs by the pictorial convention of cladding them in military attire." (Grotowski 2010:2)</ref> 
While early icons show the saints in "classicizing" or anachronistic attire, icons from the 11th and especially the 12th centuries, painted in the new style of {{lang|grc|τύπων μιμήματα}} ("imitating nature"), are an important source of knowledge on medieval [[Byzantine military|Byzantine military equipment]].<ref>(Grotowski 2010:400)</ref>

The angelic prototype of the Christian soldier-saint is the [[Archangel Michael]], whose earliest known [[Cult (religious practice)|cultus]] began in the 5th century with [[Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo|a shrine at]] [[Monte Gargano]].
The iconography of soldier-saints  [[Saint Theodore Tiro|Theodore]] and [[Saint George and the Dragon|George]]
as cavalrymen develops in the early medieval period.
The earliest image of St Theodore as a horseman (named in Latin) is from [[Vinica, North Macedonia]] and, if genuine, dates to the 6th or 7th century. Here, Theodore is not slaying a dragon, but holding a [[Draco (military standard)|''draco'' standard]].
Three equestrian saints, Demetrius, Theodore and George, are depicted in the "Zoodochos Pigi" chapel in central Macedonia in Greece, in the prefecture of [[Kilkis (regional unit)|Kilkis]], near the modern village of Kolchida, dated to the 9th or 10th century.<ref>Melina Paissidou, [http://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/278662/files/Heroes_Cults_Saints_M_Paisidu.pdf "Warrior Saints as Protectors of the Byzantine Army in the Palaiologan Period: the Case of the Rock-cut Hermitage in Kolchida (Kilkis Prefecture)"], in: Ivanka Gergova Emmanuel Moutafov (eds.), ''ГЕРОИ • КУЛТОВЕ • СВЕТЦИ / Heroes Cults Saints'' Sofija (2015), 181-198.</ref>
The "dragon-slaying" motif develops in the 10th century, especially iconography seen in the  Cappadocian [[Churches of Göreme|cave churches of Göreme]], where frescoes of the 10th century show military saints on horseback confronting serpents with one, two or three heads.<ref name=Stephenson179>Paul Stephenson, ''The Serpent Column: A Cultural Biography'', Oxford University Press (2016),  [https://books.google.com/books?id=O72SDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA179  179&ndash;182].</ref>
In later medieval Byzantine iconography, the pair of horsemen is no longer identified as Theodore and George, but as George and Demetrius.

==List==
{{see|List of early Christian saints||20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia}}

===Catholic===
(NB: some saints on the list remain unclassified as of 2021)
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Image !! Name	!! [[Martyr]]dom !! Location !! Church !! [[Patron saint|Patronage]] 
|-
|[[File:Agathius-Acacius-Acacio-martyrdom.jpg|100px]]
|[[Agathius]] || <!--303-->[[Diocletian persecution|303]] ||[[Byzantium]] 
| [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
| [[Soldiers]]
|-
|[[file:Adrien.jpg|100px]]
|[[Adrian of Nicomedia]]
|306
|[[Nicomedia]]
|[[Catholic Church]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|Soldiers, [[Royal guard]]
|-
|[[File:SaintAndrewStratelates.jpeg|100px]]
|[[St. Andrew the General|Andrew the General]]|| [[Maximian|300]]|| [[Taurus Mountains]]
|[[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|[[Army]], soldiers
|-
| [[File:Michael of salonica.jpg|100px|[[Demetrius of Thessaloniki]], 12th century Greek mosaic from [[Kiev]]]]
|[[Demetrius of Thessaloniki]]	|| [[Galerius#Persecution of Christians|306]]||[[Thessaloniki]]
|[[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Lutheranism]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
|Soldiers
|-
|[[File:St-barbara.jpg|100px]]
|[[Saint Barbara|Barbara]]
|267
|
|[[Philippine Independent Church|Aglipayan]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
| [[Artillery]], [[combat engineer]], [[missile combat crew|missileers]] including those of the [[Strategic Rocket Forces]], the Missile and Artillery Forces, and the Air Defense Forces, [[Space Forces]] and the United States Army [[Field Artillery Branch (United States)|Field Artillery]] and [[Air Defense Artillery Branch (United States Army)|Air Defense Artillery Branches]]
|-
| [[File:'Saint Cornelius and Angel', stained glass lancet windows by Tiffany Studios, c. 1910.JPG|100px|Saint Cornelius and the Angel]]
|[[Cornelius the Centurion]]
|[[Pre-Congregation]]
|''unknown''
|[[Anglican Communion]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|Soldiers
|-
| [[File:Hans Süß von Kulmbach (zugeschr.) - Heiliger Georg.jpg|100px]]
|[[St. George|George]]
|303
| [[Nicomedia]] in [[Bithynia]]  
| [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Lutheranism]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
| [[Patronages of Saint George|Patronages]]
|-
|[[File:SaintGereonoakpanel.jpg|100px|[[Saint Gereon]], by a 15th-century German artist]] || [[Gereon]] || [[Maximian|304]]
| [[Cologne]]
| [[Catholic Church]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
| [[Knights]]
|-
| [[File:Giovanni Battista Tiepolo - St Jacobus in Budapest.jpg|100px]]
| [[James the Great]]
|44
|[[Jerusalem]]
|[[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Lutheranism]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
|Soldiers, knights, [[Military Archbishopric of Spain]]
|- 
| [[File:Albert Lynch - Jeanne d'Arc.png|100px]]
| [[Joan of Arc]]
|1431
| [[Rouen]], [[Normandy]]
| [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
| [[Military personnel]], US [[Women's Army Corps]], [[WAVES]]
|-
| [[File: John the warrior1.jpg|100px]]
| [[John the Warrior]]
|4th century
| Somewhere in Constantinople (modern Istanbul)
| [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
| Soldiers
|-
| [[File:Ignatius of Loyola (militant).jpg|100px]]
| [[Ignatius of Loyola]]
|1556
|[[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
| [[Anglican Communion]], [[Latin Church|Catholic]]
|Soldiers, [[Military Ordinariate of the Philippines]]
|-
| [[File:Mathis_Gothart_Gr%C3%BCnewald 011.jpg|100px|, [[Saint Maurice]] by [[Matthias Grünewald]]]]
|[[Saint Maurice|Maurice]] || 287 ||	[[Agaunum]] in [[Alpes Poeninae et Graiae]]
|[[Catholic Church]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
|Alpine troops, [[Swiss Guard]]
|-
|[[File:Saint Martin Grandes Heures Anne de Bretagne XVIe.jpg|100px|[[Saint Martin of Tours]] from the [[Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany]].]]
| [[Martin of Tours]] ||397<ref>Martin is not a martyr, and not a classical military saint. 
He came to be venerated as "military saint" in 19th to 20th-century [[French nationalism]] due to his successful promotion as such during the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870/1. 
Brennan, Brian, ''The Revival of the Cult of Martin of Tours in the Third Republic'' (1997).</ref>
|[[Candes-Saint-Martin]], [[Gaul]]
|[[Latin Church|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2019/11/11/103285-saint-martin-the-merciful-bishop-of-tours|title=Saint Martin the Merciful Bishop of Tours|website=Orthodox Church in America}}</ref>
|US Army Quartermaster Corps, infantrymen,
|-
|[[File:Byzantine icon St-Mercurius 1295.jpg|100px]]
|[[St. Mercurius|Mercurius]]||250||[[Kayseri|Caesarea]] in [[Cappadocia]] 
|[[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
|-
| [[File:Anónimo - San Miguel Arcángel, 1708.jpg|100px]]
| [[Michael the Archangel]]
|
|
| [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Lutheranism]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
| Military;  paratroopers; policemen.
|-
|[[File:Virgen_del_Carmen.JPG|100px]]
| [[Our Lady of Mount Carmel]]
|1226<ref>approved by [[Pope Honorius III]]</REF>
|
| [[Latin Church|Catholic]]
| Spanish Navy<ref>Endorsed by [[Cristóbal Colón, 14th Duke of Veragua]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/actividades/aniversarios/Conmemoraciones/Patronos_Patronas/VirgendelCarmen/|title=Portal Cultura de Defensa|website=Ministerio de Defensa}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Our Lady of Loreto.jpg|100px]]
| [[Basilica della Santa Casa|Our Lady of Loretto]]
|
|
| [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
| Airmen<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/actividades/aniversarios/Conmemoraciones/Patronos_Patronas/|title=Santos Patrones de las FAS y la Guardía Civil|last=Ministerio de Defensa|first=Portal Cultura de Defensa}}</ref>
|-
| [[File:Pope St. John XXIII portrait (unframed).jpg|100px]]
| [[Pope John XXIII]]
|
|
| [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
| [[Italian Army]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2017/09/06/vaticaninsider/ita/news/san-giovanni-xxiii-sar-patrono-dellesercito-LCfCqLz5bD5RtxZiJXEDvL/pagina.html|title=San Giovanni XXIII sarà patrono dell'Esercito|newspaper=La Stampa|date=6 September 2017|author=Marco Roncalli|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Sebastia.jpg|100px]]
|[[Saint Sebastian|Sebastian]]
|288
|Italy
|[[Philippine Independent Church|Aglipayan]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
|Soldiers, infantrymen, archers
|-
|[[File:Sergius and Bacchus (Menologion of Basil II).jpg|100px]]
|[[Sergius and Bacchus]] ||[[Galerius#Persecution of Christians|306]]||	[[Resafa]] and [[Barbalissos]] in [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]]
|[[Assyrian Church of the East]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
|[[Army]], soldiers
|-
|[[File:Theodore Tyro.jpg|100px]]
|[[Theodore of Amasea]]	||306||	Amasea [[Amasya]] in [[Pontus (region)#Roman province|Helenopontus]]
|[[Catholic Church]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|Soldiers
|-
|
|[[Typasius]]	||304||[[Tigava]], [[Mauretania Caesariensis]] 
|
|
|-
|[[File:Vardan Mamikonyan 3.jpeg|100px]]
|[[Vardan Mamikonian]]
|451
|[[Avarayr Plain]], [[Vaspurakan]], [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]]
|[[Armenian Apostolic Church]], [[Armenian Catholic Church]], [[Armenian Evangelical Church]]
|
|-
|[[File:Varus, and with him six monk-martyrs (Menologion of Basil II).jpg|100px]]
|[[Saint Varus|Varus]]||307|| [[Alexandria]]
|[[List of Coptic saints|Coptic Churches]]
|
|-
|[[File:Museo del Duomo - Milan - St Victor - Milanese sculptor (last decade of 15th century).jpg|100px]]
|[[Victor Maurus]] || 303 || [[Milan]]
|[[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Lutheranism]]
|
|-
|[[File:Fortymartyrs.jpg|100px]]
|[[Forty Martyrs of Sebaste]] ||[[Licinius|320]] ||[[Sivas|Sebaste]]  
|-
|}

===Eastern Orthodox Church===
In the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]]:

* [[Michael (archangel)|Michael the Archangel]]: protector of the [[Romanian Armed Forces|Romanian Army]], and, as the patron saint of [[Michael the Brave]] and as the symbol of the [[Romania during World War I|Romanian victory in the Great War]], the protector of the unity of all [[Romanians]]. 
* [[Saint George]]: patron of the [[Romanian Land Forces]] 
* [[Elijah|Saint Elijah]]: patron of the [[Romanian Air Force|Romanian Air Forces]]
* [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]]: patron of the [[Romanian Naval Forces]]

The [[Russian Orthodox Church]]: 

*[[Michael the Archangel]]: military;  paratroopers; policemen (including MVD Police and the Military Police), heavenly guardian of the Russian lands.
*[[Saint Barbara|Barbara]]: [[missile combat crew|missile servicemen]] including those of the [[Strategic Missile Forces]], the [[Missile Forces and Artillery]] and the Air Defence Forces of the Ground Forces, Air Defence of the Air Force, [[Russian Space Forces]] and [[Russian Aerospace Defence Force]]
*Saint [[Alexander Nevskiy]]: soldiers protecting Russian lands, [[National Guard of Russia]], Spetsnaz.
*Saint [[Dmitry Donskoy]]: soldiers under the Tank Troops and all motorized rifle units
*[[Saint George]]: soldiers and all people protecting the nation, and patron saint of the city of Moscow. Also co-patron of cavalry and Tank Troops.
*Saints [[Alexander Peresvet]] and [[Rodion Oslyabya]]: Radonezhskiy holy monk-warriors.
*Saint [[Nicetas the Goth]] (Vesoron): Orthodox soldiers.
*Saints Boris and Gleb, holy Orthodox princes of Russia: soldiers.
*Saint [[John the Warrior]]: soldiers.
*Saint Merkuriy of Smolensk, warrior-martyr: soldiers.
*Saint Evgeniy Sevastiyskiy, warrior-martyr: soldiers.
*Prince Vladimir: Patron saint of the National Guard of Russia
*Saint Iliya Muromets: Patron of the [[Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation]]
*Saint [[Theodore Stratelates]]: Orthodox soldiers.
*Saint Elijah the Prophet: the [[Russian Air Force]].
*Saint [[Feodor Ushakov]]: the Navy, including nuclear submarines.
*[[Saint Andrew]]: [[Russian Navy]] (principal patron)
*Holy Prophet [[Isaiah]]: [[Russian Airborne Forces]]
*Saint [[Seraphim of Sarov]]: nuclear warhead specialists (12th GUMO)
*Saint Martin of Tura: cavalry and the Tank Troops

==See also==
{{Commons category|Military saints|military saints}}
* [[Christians in the military]]
* [[Saint George: Devotions, traditions and prayers]]
* [[Military ordinariate]]
* [[Military order (monastic society)]]
*[[Miles Christianus]]
*[[New Testament military metaphors]]
*[[List of patron saints by occupation and activity]]
*{{section link|Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA|Patron Saints}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*Monica White, ''Military Saints in Byzantium and Rus, 900–1200'' (2013).
*Christopher Walter, '' The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition'' (2003).
*Piotr Grotowski, ''Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints: Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843–1261)'',  Volume 87 of The Medieval Mediterranean (2010).

==External links==
*[http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/index.html David Woods, "The Military Martyrs"] (ucc.ie)
*[https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/the-warrior-saints/ The Warrior Saints (iconreader.wordpress.com)] (2012)
*[http://www.missioncapodanno.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=57&Itemid=91 Military Saints]. Mission Capodanno website. Catholics in the Military. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
*[http://www.missioncapodanno.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=55&Itemid=89 Military Blesseds]. Mission Capodanno website. Catholics in the Military. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
* http://kurufin.ru/html/Saints/saints-profession.html

{{Military ordinariates of the Catholic Church}}
{{Catholic saints}}

[[Category:Patron saints|Military]]
[[Category:Ante-Nicene Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:Christian iconography]]
[[Category:Byzantine art]]
[[Category:Lists of saints]]
[[Category:Military traditions]]
[[Category:Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian]]