Altruistic Suicide or Altruistic Martyrdom? Christian Greek Orthodox Neomartyrs: a Case Study

This article focuses on martyrdom, posing the question: altruistic suicide or altruistic martyrdom? The author suggests that the ancient Greek & the more modern Christian Greek Orthodox worlds show that many people preferred death rather than apostasy. The author argues that martyrdom can be explained in terms of Christian Orthodox faith, culture, & history, & concludes that altruistic martyrdom by the “neo-martyrs” of the Christian Greek Orthodox Church is martyrdom, not suicide. (29 refs)