SAINTS

This subject is extremely important, for all protestant heresies exert extremely harsh criticism against the Orthodox Church, upholding that we worship the saints and look to them for salvation, not to Christ our Saviour!

It is therefore a pastoral need to explain in what sense the Orthodox Church honours the saints and where this honour finally goes to. To stress in what relation we stand with the saints; and what this relation implies. We must also answer to the objection of the protestants, that the saints are not present everywhere and therefore do not hear our prayers. To interpret the miracles that are performed by the saints and to secure them hagiographically; to refer to the first Church, in order to find out if this honour to the saints existed in Her, and, most of all, to establish clearly the distinction between honour and worship, worship-related veneration and veneration as the expression of honour and love, that is granted by us to the saints.

According to the faith of our Church the saints reflect the glory of the Lord (2 Corinth. 3:18) and radiate the uncreated light of God (Matth. 5:14. John 8:12. Ephes. 5:8. Collos. 1:12. Revel. 22:5).

The glory of the saints and of the angels is not independent of the glory of Christ, for they are members of His body (Ephes. 1:23. 4:16. 5:23. Collos. 1:18.24). They are named beloved of God (2 Omiss./Chron. 20:7. Isai. 41:8), friends of God (Psalms 138:17, according to the O' (70). John 15:14. James 2:23), brothers of Christ (Matth. 12:50). They are temple and abode of God (1 Corinth. 3:16-17. 6:19. 2 Corinth. 6:16), children of God (John 1:12. Galat. 3:26-27), heirs and co-heirs of Christ (Rom. 8:17). The memorial of the saints is eternal (Psalms 111/112:1-9. Proverbs 10:7. Hebr. 11:4-38).

God himself, via the holy Body of Christ, comes in a personal communion with man and transmits the holiness to him. This is about the holiness of the Body of Christ, not about the holiness of man, independent of his communion with Christ (John 14:23. 1 Corinth. 3:5-17. 6:19. 2 Corinth. 6:16. Ephes. 2:22). This way Christ comes out triumphant through the saints (John 21:19. 2 Corinth. 2:14).

In John's Revelation, the twenty four presbyters, that represent the triumphant Church, have "on their heads crowns of gold" (Revel. 4:4). The innumerable masses of saints, that "have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revel. 7:14), are standing "before the throne and before the Lamb" as winners (Revel. 7:9-10); to them it was that "thrones" were given in order to reign "for a thousand years", until the Second Coming, when the body of Christ, the Church, will be handed over by her own head to the Trinity God, in order for God to be then "all in all" (Revel. 20:4. 1 Corinth. 15:23-28).

Christ is the only "Paraclete", the unique "mediator" and "saviour" (1 John 2:1. John 14:6. 13-14. 1 Tim. 2:5. Acts 4:12); only via Christ's blood can the reconciliation be realised (1 Peter 1:18-19); the "other Paraclete", the Holy Spirit, energises for our sake the gifts of Christ via the holy mysteries: He enters us in the Body of Christ by baptism (Galat. 3:27. c.f. 1 Corinth. 12:3); He feeds us with the "bread of life" (John 6:48-53) via the divine communion. In an absolute sense, there does not exist neither another saviour nor a second mediator.

However in the holy Bible there is mention of mediation of men and angels, via prayer and paraclesis (Gen. 18:23-33. 20:3-18. 32:9-14. Job 42:8-10. Proverbs 15:8. Zech. 1:12-13. Jerem. 7:16). Men are called "ambassadors" (2 Corinth. 5:18-20. Ephes. 6:20) and "saviours", in the sense though of leading to the only Saviour, Christ (1 Corinth. 9:22). God reassures the prophet that if even one holy man is found, for his sake He will save the whole city (Jerem. 5:1. Ezek. 22:30).

But could this "mediation" in a relative sense of the word refer only to the living? No; God tells prophet Jeremiah: "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people" (Jer. 15:1); which means that in other occasions God would respond to the entreaties of the holy men, for the sake of the people. In Revelation we see the triumphant Church (the 24 presbyters) holding "golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints", i.e. of the faithful ones living on earth which (prayers) they unite with their own prayers (Revel. 5:8).

The heavenly Church accepts our invocations; in fact She mediates to the Lord to stop the torture of their brothers on earth (Revel. 6:9-11), which is something that is eventually granted by God (Revel. 7:9-11. 8:3-5. 11:16-18. 14:14-20. c.f. 4/2 Kings 20:4-6. 2 Mac. 15:12-16).

Therefore when we call out for the saints, our hopes are not in vain; the saints are connected to us with the connection of love, which "never faileth" (1 Corinth. 13:8). In other words, we believe that we are truly "fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Ephes. 2:19-20).

Are the saints "present everywhere" in order to listen to our invocations? No, the saints, independently of the grace of God are not present everywhere, and are not informed with their own powers what is taking place away from them. However, showered in the uncreated divine grace, via the Holy Spirit, as members of the body of Christ, which is united with the Divinity, can surpass the terms of nature and participate in the life of their brothers on earth.

(A small parenthesis here: If you ever wondered how it could happen for two people in the world that decided to seek the help of a Saint and the Lord sees fit for the Saint to appear in front of them simultaneously, for a specific purpose, the answer is that only one of the two appearing will be the true Saint whereas the other one would be an angel of light come in the shape of the Saint, for, the Saint cannot be present everywhere at the same time; only God can. The same is true of Panagia.)

If the people of God that live on earth can surpass the terms of nature with the grace of God, we can only conclude that this can be feasible much more to the members of the triumphant Church. Indicatively, we mention a few examples from the holy Bible.

Elisha's "heart" went with Gehazi and was able to know that which happened far away (4/2 Kings 5:25-27). Abraham "saw" the day of the Lord "and was glad" (John 8:56). Apostle Peter knew of the cunning of Ananias (Acts 5:3).

God reveals the miraculous things "via the Spirit for the best"; everything is energised by the Holy Spirit, without Him being tied down by natural terms, which natural conditions God placed for a specific purpose (1 Corinth. 12:7-11, c.f. 2 Corinth. 12:2-4). The Lord Himself assures us regarding the communion of love with the heavenly Church, which is informed of the events of our life and is glad with every sinner's return to the right path (Luke 15:7-10).

God performs miracles via the saints and the righteous ones (3/1 Kings 17:21-22. 4/2 Kings 4:33-35. Acts 5:12-16. 12:11-12); not only via the living ones on earth, but also via the deceased saints. Thus, prophet Isaiah receives an order to communicate "to Ezekias, the prior of the people" how he will save the town from the Assyrians "via David my servant", i.e. thanks to David, who had already died (4/2 Kings 20:4-6).

To say that the bond of love between the militant (living) and the triumphant (heavenly) Churches reduces the power of the mediating office of the Paraclete, is naivety; for saints do not have power of their own in order to perform miracles and intervene in our life, independently of the grace of God. The spirit of Elijah which "rested on Elisha" was the grace of the Holy Spirit; not something independent from Him; for this reason, the "sons of the prophets" bow before him in deep repentance (4/2 Kings 2:14-15). We notice the same thing with the resurrection of that man who had been buried in Elisha's sepulchre (4/2 Kings 13:21). It is not the honourable bones the ones performing miracles, but the divine grace that surrounds them and 'graces' the whole of man, not just his spirit.

The honour and respect to the saints is also expressed in the Orthodox Church by means of proskynesis. This is not a proskynesis of worship, that is strictly forbidden by the holy Bible (Exod. 20:4-5. Deuter. 6:12-14. Matth. 4:10), for never has any Orthodox christian felt that he is bowing before whichever being (angel or man) as a god; only then would the proskynesis be absolute, i.e. worship.

We pay respect to the saints without misinterpreting their nature, without, that is, considering them as gods, for we admit openly that proskynesis is not always an expression of worship. If the one we bow before, we do not accept him as a God, then with proskynesis we do not worship him; it is an expression of honour and love. In this honouring sense, David bows before Jonathan (1 Kings / 1 Sam. 20:41) and Saul (1 Kings / 1 Sam. 24:9); Nathan bows before David (3/1 Kings 1:23), the sons of the prophets bow before Elisha (4/1 Kings 2:15), Nebuchadnezzar bows before Daniel (Dan. 2:46). Even in the New Testament the prison guard bows before Paul and Silas (Acts 16:29), whereas the Lord Himself promises that He will make the Jews bow before the bishop of Philadelphia (Revel. 3:9. c.f. 1 Kings/ 1 Sam. 5:4).

Those that reject the honouring and proskynesis of the saints, refer to cases from the holy Bible (Acts 14:11-15 and Revel. 19:10. 22:8-9).

In the Acts 14:11-15 it can be clearly seen, that the people considered Paul and Barnabas as gods; for this reason the apostles rightfully responded as such to this. Such proskynesis did not belong to them, for it was worshipping.

In the other case, John, stunned by the things he had been worthy to witness, under the influence of the vision of the Lord Himself (Revel. 1:17-18), thought that it was the Lord once again; for this reason, he rushes to bow before him. But the angel brings him back to the truth of the events: "I am your co-servant", such proskynesis does not belong to me, only to God!

If we admit that John wanted to bow before the angel in order to honour him, he had that right (Numbers 22:31. Joshua 5:14); and of course in this case the proskynesis would not be of a worshipping nature. Then the refusal of the angel would be a sign of modesty. Otherwise how could John dare bow before the angel a second time? (Revel. 22:8-9).

This is the interpretation of the Bible, according to the teaching of the Church (1 Tim. 3:15). This can also be witnessed in first-christian scriptures. The first christians would acknowledge:

"We shall not want neither to abandon Christ ever, the one that suffered for the salvation of the ones saved the world over, the one infallible for the sinners, nor to worship someone else. For we bow before Him as the Son of God, whereas we love the martyrs as disciples of the Lord, worthy due to their unsurpassable devotion to their king and teacher". This is mentioned at the martyrdom of St. Polycarp (d. 156). There, it is also noted that the christians collected the bones of the martyr, "the ones more honourable than precious stones, and more gentle than gold" and buried them in a suitable place, so that they could later on gather there and celebrate "the birthday of his martyrdom" (Martyr. Polyc. 17-18. also c.f. 3:2 and 3:9).

Origen (d. 253/4 AD) mentions that "the souls of the ones 'hewn' for confessing their faith to Christ, do not stand by the heavenly altar in vain, serving the ones wishing for absolution of sins" (Orig. Motion. to mart. 30. c.f. Revel. 20:4).

St. Basil (330-379 AD) refers to the festivities that used to take place in remembrance of the saints (Epistle 227, to the bishops of Pontos. Terms by width 8, 40) and to the invocation of the saints (Speech 4, to St. Mammas 1): "The one that is sad finds refuge to the (holy) forty (ones), the one that is happy goes to them. The first one (does so) in order to find a solution to his problems, the other in order to keep for himself the best goods ... your requests let them be in the company of the martyrs" (Basil the Great, Speech 5, to the holy forty ones 8). The honour to the holy forty ones, Basil the Great informs us, had been spread to many areas and these saints "adorn many fatherlands" (To the holy forty ones 8).

St. John Chrysostom (344-407 AD) talks about "litanies and paraclesies ... at the temple, where the relics of the apostles were", so that disasters could be avoided in town (Chrys., To those taking over the Church). The power of the holy martyrs, Chrysostom mentions, "lives daily and acts, drives demons away, takes sicknesses away, breathes life into whole towns and gathers masses (of people) here" (On the fruit of future things 2). He also underlines that the honour to the saints "will definitely be transferred to the Prelate" (When presb. come first 2. c.f. Matth. 5:16).

The same is mentioned by St. Gregory the Theologian (329-390 AD): "We must celebrate all the martyrs.." (Speech 24: 3-4 to St. Cyprian); "now the martyrs cause the heavens to open ... " (Speech 44:12, to New Kyriak.). "And now he is up in heaven and offers his sacrifices for us" (Speech 43:80, to Basil the Great). "We beg of you to watch over us good-naturedly from above and the people that are around you to lead them to perfection ..." (Speech 21:37, to Athanasios the Great).

Thus the Seventh Oecumenical Synod stated the faith of Orthodoxy: "On one hand, Christ as a God and Prelate; on the other the saints, for the Prelate common to all, as His genuine servants receiving honour and respect and proskynesis in a relative sense [i.e. not of a worshipping nature]" (Synodic of Orthodoxy of the Seventh Oec. Synod).

This is the orthodox teaching about the saints. We do not believe therefore that the saints can save themselves or other people. No matter what the acts of the saints, they do not suffice not even for their own salvation, for they do not surpass the carrying out of duty (Luke 17:10). But God counts their intention favourably and awards them without them deserving it. Consequently, this didache of Orthodoxy does not offend the redeeming work of Christ. For a more detailed information on the Intercession of Saints, please read here.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED IN THE CHAPTER

memorial service = commemoration of the dead. Normally, the memorial service takes place right after the Divine Liturgy or just before it finishes. We often conduct Liturgies for the dead, since the whole of the Church meets mystically during the Liturgy (Church Militant and Church Triumphant are both parts of the same Church). The Orthodox Church, which is the Church of Christ, is not formed by putting together the various Orthodox Churches around the world and making one great whole. The Church is wholly present in the local Church, within each temple, wherever that may be on Earth. For this reason we do not ignore those who have fallen asleep for they are part of the Church. The Orthodox Church is Christocentric, and not anthropocentric, like the Roman Catholic Church is

hagiographical = from the words hagios = saint and graphe = writing; biblical.

Panagia = from pan- (= for all) and haghia (= female saint) . It means 'very' saint, the one more holy than all (angels and saints), the one above all the holy saints and the holy angels.

didache = teaching. One of the earliest Christian writings after the New Testament is a short, but valuable little book known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles", known as "Didache" (Teaching), for short. While many Christian writers referred to it, the book, except for a few papyrus fragments, was lost. Then, in 1873, a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan discovered the manuscript, with the grace of God. Ten years later, he published it and caused a sensation among scholars. It was praised by early Church Fathers who recommended that all Christians could benefit by reading it. Scholars disagree about its original date, but it seems that it was written about the year 100 AD . It is invaluable for the Orthodox viewpoint because all the things mentioned in this book were kept within the Orthodox Tradition but do not even exist amongst the Protestants.

proskynesis = reverence, prostration; paying respect usually by bowing before the icon, doing the sign of the cross and kissing the holy icon of the saint. More generally, visiting a place for proskynesis has the same meaning as pilgrimage. Even proskynesis at a saint's grave or another holy place involves proskynesis in front of the saint's icon that will be present by his or her grave. Veneration.