John Allen Chau and the Designative Authority of Martyrdom

Abstract

This article describes two journeys. The first is the journey undertaken by Christian missionary John Allen Chau to North Sentinel Island, where he planned to preach the Christian gospel to the island’s inhabitants despite the fact that they have been cut off from the outside world for sixty thousand years. Chau’s efforts ended in his death at the hands of the islanders. The second journey recounted in the article is that from missionary to saint undertaken following Chau’s death. The article examines several issues related to certain philosophical problems in respect of the authority required to designate a victim of violent death a martyr or a saint.