What are the constituent elements of Christian martyrdom?
Vatican II describes the fundamental elements in these words: “The Church considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love. By martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his Master by freely accepting death for the salvation of the world—as well as his conformity to Christ in the shedding of his blood” (Lumen Gentium, 42). This is why the Fathers of the Church viewed martyrdom as a “second baptism,” a “second regeneration,” whose effectiveness derives from the Passion of Christ. And this is why the Church has made memory of martyrs from the very beginning of her history as an acknowledgment of Christ’s continuing Presence in human experience. The canonization of martyrs is thus not a raising of monuments to old and honored heroes, but the confession of this Presence; it is making memory of the Christian’s essential vocation. Thus martyrdom manifests not only the truth of Christ, but also of the Church. St Augustine (Enarrationes in Ps. 34) says that
