Icons of Martyrs

Those who gave their lives for the faith

A martyr is a Christian who accepted death rather than deny Christ. From St. Stephen, stoned outside Jerusalem, to St. Maximilian Kolbe, who gave his life for another prisoner in Auschwitz, the martyrs are the most direct witnesses of the faith the Church has — and the most frequently depicted after Christ and the Virgin Mary.

How martyrs are shown in icons

Martyr icons are recognised at a glance: a red robe, the palm branch of victory, the crown of martyrdom, and the instrument of their death — a sword for St. Sebastian, a wheel for St. Catherine, a gridiron for St. Lawrence, an arrow for St. Ursula. The red is not a colour of mourning: it is the colour of blood and of the Holy Spirit.

The most loved martyrs

St. Stephen the protomartyr; St. George, patron of soldiers and of England; St. Barbara, patron of those in danger of sudden death; St. Agnes, St. Agatha, St. Lucy and St. Cecilia, the great Roman martyrs; St. Florian, patron of firefighters; St. Joan of Arc; St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Edith Stein — twentieth-century martyrs of the concentration camps. Our collection includes all of them, together with the Martyrs of Cordoba, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, and the patron saints of Poland, St. Stanislaus and St. Andrew Bobola.

Choosing a martyr icon

Martyrs are chosen as patrons of professions and causes — and as name-day gifts, because so many common first names belong to a martyr. Every icon is printed on alder wood and gilded by hand in Poland, in sizes from small devotional formats upwards.

Learn more: guides and articles

• Icons of Martyrs: Symbols of Faith and Witness
• Saint Symbols: How to Recognize Saints in Icons