As I recall reading the Lives of the Saints, many peculiar things come to mind. Some female virgins killed themselves so that they would not be "defiled"; they are considered martyrs. In one story, an old lady is tortured with her sons; the sons are put to death, but she is eventually released. She dies sometime later, apparently not because of the wounds inflicted by the torture (since these were miraculously healed by God); nonetheless, she is considered a saint because of her witness (martus). Another type of story that comes to mind is the kind in which someone is being persecuted, but God "takes them" before they can actually be put to death; the Church nonetheless considers these people martyrs. And there are probably other examples of atypical martyrs. It seems to me--and maybe I'm way off here, please let me know--that martyrdom is not about how you die, but about sacrificing yourself as a witness for the true faith and true God.
Supposing that the above is agreeable, I have a question. Is Tryfonas* a martyr? And why do you say as you do? Personally--and this is just my opinion and I am ready to conform my view to the Church's view--I think that he is a martyr.
