What Is a Saint?
Holy ones, set apart for God, whom the Church recognizes.
In the Orthodox Church a saint is one who is holy, set apart for God's service: a person whose life has shown most clearly what it means to follow Christ. Scripture calls all the faithful saints, and the Church gives the title to particular men and women. The Church does not make saints; it recognizes those whom God has glorified.
Whom the Church recognizes
From the beginning the Church honoured the righteous ancestors of Christ, the prophets who foretold His coming, and the apostles and evangelists who proclaimed the Gospel. Then came the martyrs and confessors who risked their lives in witness to Christ, the ascetics who followed Him through self-denial, and bishops and priests who defended the faith.
Today holy people in every walk of life can be recognized as saints. The calendar names them by these callings, and the kinds of saints below gather them.
How a saint is glorified
Glorification, also called canonization, is the Church's official recognition of a saint. It begins long before any inquiry, when the faithful where a person lived and died keep their memory, pray for their soul and ask for their prayers, and that memory spreads through the Church.
Requests then come, usually through the diocesan bishop. A committee often reviews the person's life, and the Holy Synod of the local Church decides whether to number them among the saints. If the bishops agree, an icon is painted and services are composed.
In many local Churches the rite of glorification begins with a memorial service. Vespers and Matins are then sung with hymns to the new saint, and the icon is unveiled. A feast day is set, the life is published, and the other Orthodox Churches are told, so that they can add the saint to their calendars.
St Païsios of the Holy Mountain is a recent example: his life, on this site, records that in January 2015 the Ecumenical Patriarchate placed him formally among the saints.
Why the Church honours them
Saints are not held to be perfect or infallible. The Church praises them because of the work of Christ in them: because His face is seen in theirs, the faithful honour them, ask their prayers, and encourage one another to follow their example.
Questions
- What does glorification mean in the Orthodox Church?
- Glorification, also called canonization, is the Church's official recognition of a person as a saint, the recognition that God's holiness has been shown in their life.
- Who decides that someone is a saint?
- The Church holds that only God makes a saint. The faithful first honour the person; then, usually through the diocesan bishop, a committee often reviews the life, and the Holy Synod of the local Church decides whether to number them among the saints.
- Are the saints perfect?
- No. Saints are not thought of as perfect or infallible; the Church praises them for the work of Christ in them.