traditor

Etymology

From Latin trāditor (“betrayer”), from trādō (“to hand over”). Doublet of traitor.

Why this word is great

TRADITOR — [Noun] A deliverer; specifically, a Christian who handed over scriptures or church property to persecutors to save their own lives, earning infamy. From Latin trāditor ("betrayer"), derived from trādō ("to hand over"). Doublet of traitor. Unlike "traitor" (a general term for one who betrays any cause) or "apostate" (one who renounces faith entirely), a traditor is a figure of agonized compromise—one who clings to belief even as they surrender its artifacts. It is the trembling hand passing sacred texts to the flames, the hollow echo of a church stripped of its relics, the whispered confession under torture. To betray what you love, and still love it, is the slowest martyrdom.

noun

A deliverer; a name of infamy given to Christians who delivered the Scriptures, or the goods of the church, to their persecutors to save their lives.“A number of bishops cooperated with him , piqued that they had not been called to the ordination of Cæcilian . Seventy bishops , a number of whom had been traditors , met thus together at Carthage , to depose Cæcilian.”