In the Christian understanding, a martyr is the person, who is killed, because of his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw this happen in Abu Korkas, where some Moslem extremists entered the church and killed the worshippers. Despite the fact that they knew nothing about them, they killed them just because they were Christians. There is also a higher degree of martyrdom, in which the person, who is suffering, is given the opportunity to escape death if he denies his faith, and he refuses.
However, when there is a quarrel between a Christian and non-Christian over a piece of land or any other reason, and the Christian person is killed, he is not considered a martyr, even if he was a victim and was killed unfairly. Therefore, not every Christian, who was killed unjustly or by mistake, is considered a martyr. We pray for all those innocent souls, who were killed, and offer our deepest condolences and compassion to their families. But in the Christian understanding, they are not considered martyrs.
There is yet another example of martyrdom, the confessors, who suffer for the sake of Christ without losing their lives
