Claim: Catherine of Alexandria died.

Great Martyr or Great-Martyr -LRB- μεγαλομάρτυρ , megalomartyr , from megas , `` great '' + `` martyr '' -RRB- is a classification of saints who are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Rite of Constantinople .   Generally speaking , a Great Martyr is a martyr who has undergone excruciating tortures -- often performing miracles and converting unbelievers to Christianity in the process -- and who has attained widespread veneration throughout the Church . These saints are often from the first centuries of the Church , before the Edict of Milan . This term is normally not applied to saints who could be better described as hieromartyrs -LRB- martyred clergy -RRB- or protomartyrs -LRB- the first martyr in a given region -RRB- .