The earliest source to use the term neomartys is the Narrationes of Anastasius of Sinai, who died around 700.
The title continued to be used for the next three hundred years to refer to victims of Umayyad and Abbasid persecution.
[1] The Greek Orthodox Church traditionally gives the title to those who had been tortured and executed during Ottoman rule in Greece in order to avoid forced conversion to Islam.
Sectarian conflicts of the 19th century within the Ottoman Empire and Communist persecution in eastern Europe also generated saints considered neomartyrs.
[4] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the third Sunday after Pentecost is known as the "Commemoration of All New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke.