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Saints are thought to be able to act as intermediaries between God and people by praying to God on behalf of specific people, sometimes at the request of believers. Though some individuals are widely held to be saints in their lifetimes, they are not recognized so by churches. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word "sanctus" which means "holy." A few English-speaking Eastern Orthodox believers prefer to use the English word "holy" rather than "saint", or use the two terms interchangably, and so will refer to St. Peter as "Holy Peter" or "the Holy Apostle Peter" for example. In most other languages, the word for "saint" would be more literally translated "holy", such as hagios in Greek, santo in Spanish, saint or sacre in French, etc. A related word in English is "sanctify", which means "to make holy". So in the broad sense of the word, "saint" can mean all those who have been sanctified, or all believers. The narrower and more common sense of the word today is those whom the Church has widely recognized as having been sanctified, as demonstrated in a number of different ways. |
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Saints are thought to be able to act as intermediaries between God and people by praying to God on behalf of specific people, sometimes at the request of believers. Though some individuals are widely held to be saints in their lifetimes, they are not recognized so by churches. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus which means "holy." A few English-speaking Eastern Orthodox believers prefer to use the English word "holy" rather than "saint", or use the two terms interchangably, and so will refer to St. Peter as "Holy Peter" or "the Holy Apostle Peter" for example. In most other languages, the word for "saint" would be more literally translated "holy", such as hagios in Greek, santo in Spanish, saint or sacre in French, etc. A related word in English is "sanctify", which means "to make holy". So in the broad sense of the word, "saint" can mean all those who have been sanctified, or all believers. The narrower and more common sense of the word today is those whom the Church has widely recognized as having been sanctified, as demonstrated in a number of different ways. This practice also explains why the names of angels are usually preceded by the name 'saint' despite their lack of a human existence - Saint Michael never had to be canonized; the name means 'Holy Michael'. |
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Even inside the Roman Catholic church, there are different extents of devotion. Some saints' days are observed only in one diocese? {I don't know of any actual examples of that, but it's canonically possible}. Many are honored as saints in their own home region, and others are honored as saints only by a particular religious order. For instance, each monastic order honors many individuals with special saint-days who are ignored in the wider structure of parishes. In many Eastern Orthodox parishes, it is the custom to remember the names of members of that parish as part of the liturgical prayers long after those members have died. |
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Even inside the Roman Catholic church, there are different extents of devotion. Some saints' days are observed only in one diocese? {I don't know of any actual examples of that, but it's canonically possible}. Many are honored as saints in their own home region, and others are honored as saints only by a particular religious order. For instance, each monastic order honors many individuals who were members of that order with special saint-days who are ignored in the broader structure of parishes. In many Eastern Orthodox parishes, it is the custom to remember the names of members of that parish as part of the liturgical prayers long after those members have died. |
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