Yes, the Orthodox Church recognizes different categories of saints based on how they lived and witnessed to Christ. But here’s what matters first: all saints are equal in holiness. The categories aren’t ranks or levels. They’re descriptions of different paths to the same destination.
Think of it like this. If you asked me about the workers at one of the refineries around Beaumont, I might tell you about engineers, operators, welders, and safety managers. Different jobs, same company, all essential. Saints work the same way. Different callings, one Church, all united to Christ.
The Main Categories
Martyrs died for the faith. They gave their blood as witness to Christ. The word “martyr” literally means witness. When a priest or bishop dies as a martyr, we call him a hieromartyr. St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of our own Antiochian saints, was a hieromartyr. He was bishop of Antioch and got thrown to wild beasts in Rome around 107 AD. His letters on the way to his death are still read today.
Confessors suffered for Christ but didn’t die as martyrs. They endured persecution, imprisonment, torture, exile. They confessed the faith when it cost them everything except their lives. A hieroconfessor is a priest or bishop who fits this category. Plenty of twentieth-century Russian saints fall here.
Hierarchs are bishops who excelled at teaching and defending the faith. St. John Chrysostom is a hierarch. So is St. Basil the Great. When you hear “Great Hierarch,” that usually refers to Basil, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom specifically. These men shaped how we understand Scripture and the liturgy. Every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (which is most Sundays), we’re using prayers he wrote or compiled.
Monastics pursued holiness through asceticism, prayer, and withdrawal from the world. St. Simeon Stylites, another Antiochian saint, lived on top of a pillar near Aleppo for decades. Sounds extreme, and it was. But thousands came to him for spiritual counsel. St. Anthony of Egypt founded desert monasticism. St. Seraphim of Sarov is a more recent example from Russia.
Righteous or Just saints lived holy lives in the world as laypeople or married clergy. They didn’t withdraw to monasteries. They raised families, worked jobs, served their communities. St. Anna and St. Joachim, the Theotokos’s parents, are righteous saints.
Apostles and Prophets are their own categories. The Twelve Apostles, the Seventy Apostles (like St. Ananias who baptized St. Paul in Damascus), and the Old Testament prophets. St. Paul gets called “Apostle to the Gentiles.” St. Mary Magdalene is “Equal to the Apostles” because she first proclaimed the Resurrection.
Then there are specialized titles. Unmercenaries were physicians who healed without charging fees, like Sts. Cosmas and Damian. Theologians is reserved for just three: St. John the Theologian (the Apostle), St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Symeon the New Theologian. That’s it. Writing good theology doesn’t get you the title. These three shaped doctrine itself.
How We Use These Categories
You’ll see these titles in the church calendar and during services. When we commemorate a saint, we use their full title: “Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer” or “Our Father Among the Saints John Chrysostom.” It’s not just formality. The title tells you something about how they lived and died.
Icons often include these titles too. Look at the icons around St. Michael’s and you’ll see the words written right there. It helps us understand who we’re venerating and asking for prayers.
But don’t get hung up on the categories. They overlap all the time. St. Luke was an Apostle, an Evangelist, and tradition says he painted the first icon of the Theotokos, making him an iconographer too. St. Ignatius was a bishop (hierarch), a martyr (hieromartyr), and called “God-bearer” because of how he carried Christ within him.
What This Means for You
When you’re new to Orthodoxy, all these titles can feel overwhelming. You don’t need to memorize them. Just know that the Church honors different ways of following Christ. Some people are called to die for him. Others to teach. Others to pray in silence for decades. Others to raise godly children while working at the plant.
The categories remind us that holiness isn’t one-size-fits-all. You don’t have to become a monk or a bishop to become a saint. You have to become united to Christ right where you are. The righteous saints prove that. So do the unmercenary physicians who kept their day jobs while serving the poor.
And here’s the beautiful part: we ask all of them for prayers. The newest saint and the oldest apostle both stand before God’s throne. They’re all alive in Christ, all part of the Church, all praying for us. When you light a candle before St. Michael’s icon or St. Ignatius’s icon at church, you’re not picking a more powerful saint. You’re asking a brother or sister in Christ to pray with you.
