Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of

holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

, likeness, or closeness to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, Oriental Orthodox, and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

are considered to be saints, but a selected few are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor In many

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches, the word ''saint'' is used more generally to refer to anyone who is a Christian. This is similar in usage to Paul's numerous references in the New Testament of the Bible. In this sense, anyone who is within the

Body of Christ In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus Christ's words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it ...

(i.e., a professing Christian) is a saint because of their relationship with Christ Jesus. Many Protestants consider intercessory prayers to the saints to be idolatry, since what they perceive to be an application of divine worship that should be given only to God himself is being given to other believers, dead or alive. Within some Protestant traditions, ''saint'' is also used to refer to any born-again Christian. Many emphasize the traditional

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

meaning of the word, preferring to write "saint" to refer to any believer, in continuity with the doctrine of the

priesthood of all believers The priesthood of all believers is the common Priest, priesthood of all Christians (a concept broadly accepted by all churches), while the term can also refer to a specific Protestantism, Protestant understanding that this universal priesthood pre ...

Baptist

"Saints" in Baptist theology refers to the body of 'born-again believers'. The reference 'saints' is a derivative of the word 'sanctified', which means 'set apart for a holy purpose'. In the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he addresses the recipients as saints: "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours". (1 Corinthians 1:2, ESV)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The use of "saint" within

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) is similar to the Protestant tradition. In the New Testament, saints are all those who have entered into the Christian covenant of baptism. The qualification "latter-day" refers to the doctrine that members are living in the latter days before the Second Coming of Christ, and is used to distinguish the members of the church, which considers itself the restoration of the ancient Christian church. Members are therefore often referred to as "

Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

" or "LDS", and among themselves as "saints".

Other religions

In some theological literature, the use of the term ''saint'' tends to be used in non-Christian contexts as well. In many religions, there are people who have been recognized within their tradition as having fulfilled the highest aspirations of religious teaching. In English, the term ''saint'' is often used to translate this idea from many world religions. The Jewish ''ḥasīd'' or ''tsaddiq'', the Islamic ''qidees'', the Zoroastrian ''Fravashi'', the Hindu ''Shadhus'', the Buddhist ''Arahant'' or ''Bodhisattva,'' the Daoist ''Shengren,'' the Shinto ''Kami,'' and others have all been referred to as saints.

African diaspora

Cuban

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...

, Haitian Vodou, Trinidad Orisha-Shango, Brazilian

Umbanda Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...

, Candomblé, and other similar syncretist religions adopted the Catholic saints, or at least the images of the saints, and applied their own spirits/deities to them. They are worshipped in churches (where they appear as saints) and in religious festivals, where they appear as the

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

. The name ''santería'' was originally a pejorative term for those whose worship of saints deviated from Catholic norms.

Buddhism

Buddhists in both the

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

and

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

traditions hold the '' Arhats'' in special esteem, as well as highly developed

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, ''Enlightenment in Buddhism, bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal n ...

. Tibetan Buddhists hold the ''

tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is an individual recognized as the reincarnation of a previous spiritual master (lama), and expected to be reincarnated, in turn, after death. The tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibet ...

s'' (reincarnates of deceased eminent practitioners) as living saints on earth.

Druze faith

Due to the Christian influence on Druze faith, two Christian saints become the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

's favorite venerated figures:

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and Saint Elijah. Thus, in all the villages inhabited by Druzes and Christians in central Mount Lebanon a Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them. According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: Saint George because he confronted the dragon and Saint Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of Baal and won over them. In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted to warrior saints that resemble their own militarized society.

Hinduism

Hindu saints are those recognized by

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

as showing a great degree of holiness and sanctity. Hinduism has a long tradition of stories and poetry about saints. There is no formal

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

process in Hinduism, but over time, many men and women have reached the status of saints among their followers and among Hindus in general. Unlike in Christianity, Hinduism does not canonize people as saints after death, but they can be accepted as saints during their lifetime. Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

s, sadhus,

rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

s, devarishis, rajarshis, saptarishis, brahmarshis, swamis, pundits, purohits, pujaris,

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings i ...

pravaras In Hindu culture, a ''Pravara'' (Sanskrit for "most excellent") refers to a system of identity, particularly a family line. The Pravar system is based on the descendants of a rishi (sage) after whom a "gotra" (clan) is named, and these descendant ...

, yogis, yoginis, and other names. Some Hindu saints are given god-like status, being seen as incarnations of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

, and other aspects of the Divine—this can happen during their lifetimes, or sometimes many years after their deaths. This explains another common name for Hindu saints: godmen, is invention of western Abrahamic media to a Pagan Ideas.

Islam

Besides prophets, according to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, saints possess blessings (Arabic: بركة, "baraka") and can perform miracles (Arabic: كرامات, ''Karāmāt''). Saints rank lower than prophets. However, they can intercede for people on the Day of Judgment, but their intercession is limited compared to the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad. Both the tombs of prophets and saints are visited frequently ''( Ziyarat)'' as well as visiting modern-day living saints. People seek the advice of a saint in their quest for spiritual fulfilment. Unlike saints in Christianity, Muslim saints are said to be given their rank by God and some with public duties are officially acknowledged by their Sheikh with an ''ijaz''a, a verbal and written permission to be a spiritual guide. Unlike prophets, women like Rabia of Basra were accepted as saints. Saints are recognized as having specific traits they can be identified through. These include: floating lights appearing above their tomb, the body not decaying, a pleasant and miraculous odor coming from the body, appearing in the dreams of others who they pray on behalf of, appearing in two places at once, and having normally impossible knowledge. Islam has had a rich history of veneration of saints (often called '' wali'', which literally means 'Friend f God),See John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); Idem., ''Tales of God Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009) which has declined in some parts of the Islamic world in the twentieth century due to the influence of the various streams of Salafism. In

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

, the veneration of saints became a very common form of devotion early on, and saints came to be defined in the eighth-century as a group of "special people chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to work miracles."Radtke, B., "Saint", in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. The classical Sunni scholars came to recognize and honor these individuals as venerable people who were both "loved by God and developed a close relationship of love to Him." "Belief in the miracles of saints (''karāmāt al-awliyāʾ'') ... ecame arequirement in Sunni Islam uring the classical period" with even medieval critics of the ubiquitous practice of grave visitation like

Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...

emphatically declaring: "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, and acknowledged by all Muslim scholars. The

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

has pointed to it in different places, ''"A messenger who has instructed them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them." (Qur'an 2:129)'' and the sayings of the Prophet have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are innovators or following innovators." The vast majority of saints venerated in the classical Sunni world were the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

s, who were all Sunni mystics who belonged to one of the four orthodox legal schools of Sunni law. Veneration of saints eventually became one of the most widespread Sunni practices for more than a millennium, before it was opposed in the twentieth century by the Salafi movement, whose various streams regard it as "being both un-Islamic and backwards ... rather than the integral part of Islam which they were for over a millennium." In a manner similar to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, the specific traditional practices which Salafism has tried to curtail in both

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

and Shia contexts include those of wali, the veneration of saints, ziyara, visiting their graves, tawassul, seeking their intercession, and relics, honoring their relics. As Christopher Taylor has remarked: "[Throughout Islamic history] a vital dimension of Islamic piety was the veneration of Muslim saints ... [Due, however to] certain strains of thought within the Islamic tradition itself, particularly pronounced in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries ... [some modern day] Muslims have either resisted acknowledging the existence of Muslim saints altogether or have viewed their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations." Despite attempts by the Salafis to minimise the importance of saints in Islam, there are many living saints with huge popularity, often with millions of followers, mainly found in the Sufi orders or ''Tariqa, tariqat''. They follow the teachings of the Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad and are usually direct descendants of him. They are also scholars of the religion. Well-known modern-day saints include Nazim Al-Haqqani, Sheikh Nazim al Haqqani, Sheikh Hisham Kabbani, Mehmet Adil, Sheikh Mehmet al Rabbani of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Umar bin Hafidz of the Ba'Alawi Tariqat, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi of the Shadhili Tariqa. Famous Islamic saints in history include Rumi, Ibn Arabi and Al-Ghazali, Al Ghazzali.

Judaism

The term ''Tzadik'', 'righteous', and its associated meanings developed in Rabbinic literature, rabbinic thought from its Talmudic contrast with ''Hasid (term), Ḥasīd'', 'pious', to its exploration in Musar literature, ethical literature, and its esoteric spiritualization in Kabbalah. In Hasidic Judaism, Ḥasidic Judaism, the institution of the Tzadik assumed central importance, combining former elite mysticism with social movement for the first time. In Muslim majority countries, particularly Morocco, Jewish saint veneration resembles local Muslim practices. However, the ideas and rituals in this specific context are still thoroughly situated within Judaism. The bodies of the saintly dead are treated like Torah scroll, Torah scrolls, with their shrines being their ark, and pilgrimages taking on the ritual trappings of a Torah service. Icons of saints also are paralleled to Torah scrolls; both are manifestations of the sacred. They are also given frames made from velvet in the same style as Torah mantles, and are physically handled in similar ways. The stories and poems produced about saints match the conventions of other Rabbinic literature. Saints may be venerated by both Jews and Muslims, and are typically Torah scholars, miracle workers, and divine mediators. The similarities of Moroccan Jewish and Muslim practices, including saint veneration, were used by colonial powers to claim Morocco was unified and consisted of a distinct nation, but were not sufficiently united to resist imperialism. Today, these similarities are used to emphasize and display tolerance of religious minorities.Beyond Exoticism and Syncretism: Situating Moroccan Pilgrimage in Jewish Studies by Oren Kosansky

Sikhism

The concept of ''Sant Mat, sant'' or ''

bhagat Bhagat is a term used in the Indian subcontinent to describe religious figures who have obtained high acclaim in their communities for their acts and devotion. It is also a term ascribed to one of the clans in the Mahar caste, with their clan ...

'' is found in North Indian religious thought including Sikhism, most notably in Guru Granth Sahib, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee . Figures such as Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev, and others are known as ''Sants'' or ''Bhagats''. The term ''Sant'' is applied in the Sikh and related communities to beings that have attained enlightenment through God realization and spiritual union with God via repeatedly reciting the name of God (Naam Japo, Naam Japn). Countless names of God exist. In Sikhism, ''Naam'' (spiritual internalization of God's name) is commonly attained through the name of Waheguru, which translates to "Wondrous Guru". Sikhs are encouraged to follow the congregation of a Sant (Sadh Sangat) or "The Company of the Holy". ''Sants'' grace the Sadh Sangat with knowledge of the Divine God, and how to take greater steps towards obtaining spiritual enlightenment through ''Naam''. ''Sants'' are to be distinguished from "Guru" (such as Guru Nanak) who have compiled the path to God enlightenment in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhism states however, that any beings that have become one with God are considered synonymous with God. As such, the fully realized Sant, Guru, and God are considered one.

New religious movements

Thelema is a new religious movement with a list of saints including individuals such as Roger Bacon.

References

Citations

Sources

* Beyer, Jürgen, et al., eds. ''Confessional sanctity (c. 1550 – c. 1800)''. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2003. * Cunningham, Lawrence S. ''The Meaning of Saints''. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980. * Hawley, John Stratton, ed. ''Saints and Virtues''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987. . * Hein, David. "Saints: Holy, Not Tame". ''Sewanee Theological Review'' 49 (2006): 204–217. * Jean-Luc Deuffic (ed.), ''Reliques et sainteté dans l'espace médiéval'
L'expert de la décoration haut de gamme
* O'Malley, Vincent J. ''Ordinary Suffering of Extraordinary Saints'', 1999. . * Perham, Michael. ''The Communion of Saints''. London: Alcuin Club/SPCK, 1980. * Woodward, Kenneth L. ''Making Saints''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

External links

Today's Saints on the Calendar

Saints and Their Legends: A Selection of Saints

Biographies of Saints and Gurus in the Indian Tradition
{{Authority control Saints, Sainthood, Religious terminology Titles and occupations in Hinduism