History's Great Christian Lives:

Paul
The early martyrs
Augustine
St. Patrick Bernard of Clairvaux
Francis of Assisi
Clare of Assisi
Catherine of Siena
Thomas More
Martin Luther
John Wesley
The Monks of Mount Athos
Teresa of Calcutta
Martin Luther King

It is ultimately futile to create the definition of a great Christian - we will nevertheless suggest some qualities that just about all of the people on our list share:

1. All are rooted in scripture.
2. All the people we examined were willing to sacrifice their lives for Christ, in imitation of Christ himself.
3.All perceived the need to practice Christian love and live as part of the visible body of Christ on Earth.
4. The virtue of humility is a universal attribute of great Christians.
5. All were conscious of finding a relationship between the active and contemplative dimensions of Christianity.



Source credit: Professor William R. Cook, State University of New York