In the Christian tradition, people who have suffered torment or even death for Jesus Christ and his teaching are called martyrs. Already in the first centuries of Christianity there were many holy martyrs.
Bethlehem babies
The first martyrs for Christ can be considered about two thousand Bethlehem babies who were killed at the behest of the King of Judah Herod. When Jesus Christ was born, the Magi came to Judea, to whom there was a revelation about the birth of the Messiah. They came to King Herod and told about it, asking how to find King Christ. Herod thought that Jesus would be the kind of king who would overthrow the current ruler from the throne. He found out from the Magi about where Christ should be born. Having received information about the city of Bethlehem, Herod, out of his anger and fear, sent soldiers there with the aim of killing all babies up to one year old who were born at the approximate time of the Savior's birth. Thus, many mothers lost their children. However, Christ remained alive, as the wise men told about the king's intention. The Mother of God, the elder Joseph and the baby Jesus fled to Egypt.
First Martyr Archdeacon Stephen
Among the first Christian martyrs, the Church mentions the holy archdeacon Stephen who suffered for his faith in Christ as God. The book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, written by Luke, tells of the death of the holy martyr. He was stoned by Jewish teachers of the law, scribes and Pharisees for confessing their faith in Christ. A certain Saul took part in the murder of the saint, who then himself converted to Christ and became known to the whole world under the name of the holy Primate Apostle Paul. The archdeacon was killed in about the fourth decade after the birth of Christ. The Orthodox Church celebrates his memory on January 9th. The saint himself was also one of the 70 apostles of Jesus Christ. He preached in Jerusalem, for which he was condemned by the Jewish Sanhedrin.
We can also say that the first Christian martyrs were the holy apostles. For example, it is known that of the 12 apostles of Christ, only John the Theologian died a natural death. The rest were tortured to death.
