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In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term saint depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation.[1] Official ecclesiastical recognition, and consequently a public cult of veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval.[2]

While the English word saint originated in Christianity, historians of religion tend to use the appellation \"in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people\", referring to the Jewish tzadik, the Islamic walī, the Hindu rishi or Sikh Bhagat and guru, the Shintoist kami, the Taoist shengren, and the Buddhist arhat or bodhisattva also as saints.[3][4] Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official ecclesiastical declaration, as in the Catholic faith, or by popular acclamation (see folk saint).[5]

Many religions also use similar concepts (but different terminology) to venerate persons worthy of some honor.[3] Author John A. Coleman of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, wrote that saints across various cultures and religions have the following family resemblances:[8]

The anthropologist Lawrence Babb in an article about Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba asks the question \"Who is a saint\", and responds by saying that in the symbolic infrastructure of some religions, there is the image of a certain extraordinary spiritual king's \"miraculous powers\", to whom frequently a certain moral presence is attributed. These saintly figures, he asserts, are \"the focal points of spiritual force-fields\". They exert \"powerful attractive influence on followers but touch the inner lives of others in transforming ways as well\".[9]

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, \"The patriarchs, prophets, and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the church's liturgical traditions.\"[14]

The Catholic Church teaches that it does not \"make\" or \"create\" saints, but rather recognizes them. Proofs of heroic virtue required in the process of beatification will serve to illustrate in detail the general principles exposed above[16] upon proof of their holiness or likeness to God.

On 3 January 993, Pope John XV became the first pope to proclaim a person a saint from outside the diocese of Rome: on the petition of the German ruler, he had canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg. Before that time, the popular \"cults\", or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous and were confirmed by the local bishop.[17] Pope John XVIII subsequently permitted a cult of five Polish martyrs.[17] Pope Benedict VIII later declared the Armenian hermit Simeon of Mantua to be a saint, but it was not until the pontificate of Pope Innocent III that the Popes reserved to themselves the exclusive authority to canonize saints, so that local bishops needed the confirmation of the Pope.[17] Walter of Pontoise was the last person in Western Europe to be canonized by an authority other than the Pope: Hugh de Boves, the Archbishop of Rouen, canonized him in 1153.[18][19] Thenceforth a decree of Pope Alexander III in 1170 reserved the prerogative of canonization to the Pope, insofar as the Latin Church was concerned.[18]

Alban Butler published Lives of the Saints in 1756, including a total of 1,486 saints. The latest revision of this book, edited by Herbert Thurston and Donald Attwater, contains the lives of 2,565 saints.[20] Monsignor Robert Sarno, an official of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints of the Holy See, expressed that it is impossible to give an exact number of saints.[21]

The veneration of saints, in Latin cultus, or the \"cult of the Saints\", describes a particular popular devotion or entrustment of one's self to a particular saint or group of saints. Although the term worship is sometimes used, it is only used with the older English connotation of honoring or respecting (dulia) a person. According to the church, Divine worship is in the strict sense reserved only to God (latria) and never to the saints. One is permitted to ask the saints to intercede or pray to God for persons still on Earth,[22] just as one can ask someone on Earth to pray for him.

A saint may be designated as a patron saint of a particular cause, profession, or locale, or invoked as a protector against specific illnesses or disasters, sometimes by popular custom and sometimes by official declarations of the church.[23] Saints are not believed to have power of their own, but only that granted by God. Relics of saints are respected, or venerated, similar to the veneration of holy images and icons. The practice in past centuries of venerating relics of saints with the intention of obtaining healing from God through their intercession is taken from the early church.[24] For example, an American deacon claimed in 2000 that John Henry Newman[25] (then blessed) interceded with God to cure him of a physical illness. The deacon, Jack Sullivan, asserted that after addressing Newman he was cured of spinal stenosis in a matter of hours. In 2009, a panel of theologians concluded that Sullivan's recovery was the result of his prayer to Newman. According to the church, to be deemed a miracle, \"a medical recovery must be instantaneous, not attributable to treatment, disappear for good.\"[26]

Once a person has been canonized, the deceased body of the saint is considered holy as a relic.[27] The remains of saints are called holy relics and are usually used in churches. Saints' personal belongings may also be used as relics.[27] Some of the saints have a special symbol by tradition, e.g., Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr, is identified by a gridiron because he is believed to have been burned to death on one. This symbol is found, for instance, in the Canadian heraldry of the office responsible for the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a saint is defined as anyone who is in Heaven, whether recognized here on Earth, or not.[2] By this definition, Adam and Eve, Moses, the various prophets, except for the angels and archangels are all given the title of \"Saint\". Sainthood in the Orthodox Church does not necessarily reflect a moral model, but the communion with God: there are countless examples of people who lived in great sin and became saints by humility and repentance, such as Mary of Egypt, Moses the Ethiopian, and Dysmas, the repentant thief who was crucified. Therefore, a more complete Eastern Orthodox definition of what a saint is, has to do with the way that saints, through their humility and their love of humankind, saved inside them the entire Church, and loved all people.

Orthodox belief considers that God reveals saints through answered prayers and other miracles. Saints are usually recognized by a local community, often by people who directly knew them. As their popularity grows they are often then recognized by the entire Church. The word canonization means that a Christian has been found worthy to have his name placed in the canon (official list) of saints of the Church. The formal process of recognition involves deliberation by a synod of bishops.[2] The Orthodox Church does not require the manifestation of miracles; what is required is evidence of a virtuous life.

As a general rule, only clergy will touch relics in order to move them or carry them in procession, however, in veneration the faithful will kiss the relic to show love and respect toward the saint. The altar in an Orthodox Church usually contains relics of saints,[33] often of martyrs. Church interiors are covered with the Icons of saints. When an Orthodox Christian venerates icons of a saint he is venerating the image of God which he sees in the saint.

Because the Church shows no true distinction between the living and the dead, as the saints are considered to be alive in Heaven, saints are referred to as if they are still alive, and are venerated, not worshiped. They are believed to be able to intercede for salvation and help mankind either through direct communion with God or by personal intervention.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the title Ὅσιος, Hosios (f. Ὁσία Hosia) is also used. This is a title attributed to saints who had lived a monastic or eremitic life equivalent to the more usual title of \"Saint\".[citation needed]

In the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, the title of Saint refers to a person who has been elevated by popular opinion as a pious and holy person. The saints are seen as models of holiness to be imitated, and as a \"cloud of witnesses\" that strengthen and encourage the believer during his or her spiritual journey (Hebrews 12:1). The saints are seen as elder brothers and sisters in Christ. Official Anglican creeds recognize the existence of the saints in heaven.

In high-church contexts, such as Anglo-Catholicism, a saint is generally one to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated) a high level of holiness and sanctity. In this use, a saint is therefore not merely a believer, but one who has been transformed by virtue. In Catholicism, a saint is a special sign of God's activity. The veneration of saints is sometimes misunderstood to be worship, in which case it is derisively termed \"hagiolatry\".

So far as invocation of the saints is concerned,[34] one of the Church of England's Articles of Religion \"Of Purgatory\" condemns \"the Romish Doctrine concerning...(the) Invocation of Saints\" as \"a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God\". Anglo-Catholics in Anglican provinces using the Articles often make a distinction between a \"Romish\" and a \"Patristic\" doctrine concerning the invocation of saints, permitting the latter in accordance with Article XXII. Indeed, the theologian E.J. Bicknell stated that the Anglican view acknowledges that the term \"invocation may mean either of two things: the simple request to a saint for his prayers (intercession), 'ora pro nobis', or a request for some particular benefit. In medieval times the saints had come to be regarded as themselves the authors of blessings. Such a view was condemned but the former was affirmed.\"[35] 59ce067264

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