The iconography of holy warriors of the Christian East and West

+e holy soldiers are one of the most venerated groups of saints in Eastern Christianity. +ey were, according to hagiographic literature, soldiers of the Roman army who believed in Christ and were martyred for their faith. Because of their military status, these saints were venerated in the Byzantine Empire as guardians and allies in war, as the patron saints of warriors, rulers and their families. +e cult of holy soldiers, however, was not restricted to Byzantium. It was also strong in all the countries that fell under the Byzantine influence. +e invocation of holy soldiers in military conflicts was restricted to a rather small number of saints. +e most famous and venerated of these were addressed in prayer. +e miracles attributed to the holy soldiers most o7en concern SS George, Demetrius, +eodor Stratelat and +eodor Teron. Descriptions of their interventions in battles became topoi in the written sources. During battles, the given holy soldier always appeared unexpectedly in armour, on a white horse, helped the army to victory and then vanished suddenly. Veneration of the Byzantine holy soldiers was not widespread in the West. St George, however, was an exception. His cult enjoyed a surprising popularity in the Western, Central European world. During military conflicts, numerous countries fled under his..