View source for Saint

{{Short description|Person recognized by a religion as being holy}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{use American English|date=November 2022}}
[[File:Greek School - Icon of Saint John the Baptist - 1102557 - National Trust.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[John the Baptist]] pictured with a [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]]. In [[Christian iconography]], saints may also be depicted with [[wreath (attire)|wreath]]s, [[palm branch]]es, [[white lilies]] and other [[Saint symbolism|attributes]].]]
In [[Christianity|Christian]] belief, a '''saint''', also known as a '''hallow''', is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of [[sanctification in Christianity|holiness]], [[imitation of God|likeness]], or closeness to [[God in Christianity|God]]. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and [[Christian denomination|denomination]].<ref name="Woodward1996">{{cite book |last=Woodward |first=Kenneth L. |authorlink=Kenneth L. Woodward|title=Making Saints|date=1996|publisher=Simon & Sachier
|isbn=978-0-684-81530-5 |page=16 |quote=Among other Christian churches, the Russian Orthodox retains a vigorous devotion to the saints, especially the early church fathers and martyrs. On rare occasions, new names (usually monks or bishops) are grafted onto their traditional list of saints ... Something like the cult continues among Anglicans and Lutherans, who maintain feast days and calendars of saints. But while the Anglicans have no mechanism for recognizing new saints, the Lutherans from time to time do informally recommend new names (Da Hammarskjold, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Pope John XXIII are recent additions) for thanksgiving and remembrance by the faithful. The saint, then, is a familiar figure in all world religions. Only the Roman Catholic Church has a formal, continuous, and highly rationalized process for 'making' saints.}}</ref> Official [[Ecclesiastical polity|ecclesiastical]] recognition, and [[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.<ref name="bebis">{{cite web
|url=http://www.goarch.org/resources/saints
|first=George |last=Bebis
|title=The Lives of the Saints |date=n.d.
|work=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
|access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Glorification of the Saints in the Orthodox Church |url=https://www.oca.org/fs/glorification-of-saints |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=www.oca.org}}</ref> The saints are honored in the liturgical calendars of [[Lutheranism|Evangelical Lutheranism]] and [[Anglicanism]].<ref name="LCMS2025">{{cite web |title=Commemorations |url=https://www.lcms.org/worship/church-year/commemorations |publisher=[[Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod]] |access-date=9 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In other nonconformist denominations, such as the [[Plymouth Brethren]], and following from [[Paul the Apostle|Pauline]] usage, ''saint'' refers broadly to any holy [[Christian]] without special recognition or selection.

While the English word ''saint'' (deriving from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|sanctus}}) originated in Christianity, [[History of religion|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 Hindu [[rishi]], Sikh [[bhagat]] or [[Sikh Guru|guru]], the Shintoist [[kami]], the Taoist [[xian (Taoism)|immortal]] or [[zhenren]], the Jewish [[tzadik]], the Islamic [[walī]]/[[fakir]], and the Buddhist [[Arhat (Buddhism)|arhat]] or [[bodhisattva]] also as saints.<ref name="EoR">{{cite book
|title=Thomson Gale Encyclopedia of Religion
|editor-first=Lindsay |editor-last=Jones|publisher=Macmillan |date=2005
|edition=2nd|chapter=Sainthood|page=8033
|quote=Historians of religion have liberated the category of sainthood from its narrower Christian associations and have employed the term in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people. The Jewish ''ḥasīd'' or ''tsaddiq'', the Muslim ''waliy'', the Zoroastrian ''fravashi'', the Hindu ''rsi'' or ''guru,'' the Buddhist ''arahant'' or ''bodhisattva,'' the Daoist ''shengren,'' the Shinto ''kami'' and others have all been referred to as saints.}}</ref><ref name="Saint Britannica">{{cite web |first=Mensching |last=Gustav|author-link=Gustav Mensching|title=Saint – Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/saint|access-date=13 January 2020|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|quote=Shintō, the native Japanese religion, is concerned with the veneration of nature and with ancestor worship; it does not have saints according to the standards of ethical perfection or of exceptionally meritorious performance. According to Shintō belief, every person after his death becomes a kami, a supernatural being who continues to have a part in the life of the community, nation, and family. Good men become good and beneficial kamis, bad men become pernicious ones. Being elevated to the status of a divine being is not a privilege peculiar to those with saintly qualities, for evil men also become kamis. There are in Shintō, however, venerated mythical saints—such as Ōkuninushi ("Master of the Great Land") and Sukuma-Bikona (a dwarf deity)—who are considered to be the discoverers and patrons of medicine, magic, and the art of brewing rice.}}</ref> Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official declaration, as in Roman Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy or Eastern Orthodoxy, or by popular acclamation (see [[folk saint]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Coptic Church Recognizes Martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians |url=https://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2015/02/21/coptic_church_recognizes_martyrdom_of_21_coptic_christians_/en-1124824 |publisher=Vatican Radio Archive |access-date=31 October 2025 |date=21 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Ben-Ami1998">{{cite book
|first=Issachar |last=Ben-Ami|title=Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hk9wCuiT7bEC&pg=PA13
|access-date=7 September 2012
|date=1998|publisher=Wayne State University Press
|isbn=978-0-8143-2198-0|page=13 |quote=Veneration of saints is a universal phenomenon. All monotheistic and polytheistic creeds contain something of its religious dimension ...}}</ref>
== Etymology ==
The word ''hallow'' is synonymous with ''saint'', the former derived from the [[Old English]] ''hālig'', the same root as “holy,” and refers to holy individuals. It is preserved in certain names and traditions celebrating saints, such as ''[[Allhallowtide]]'', a period that includes ''[[All Hallows' Eve|All Hallows’ Eve]]'' (Halloween) and ''[[All Hallows' Day|All Hallows’ Day]]'' (November 1). The word ''saint'' itself derives from the Latin ''sanctus'', meaning “holy” or “consecrated,” and entered English through [[Old French]] ''seint'' and [[Middle English]] ''saint'', retaining its meaning as a holy person and historically used to refer to individuals regarded as holy.

== General characteristics ==
The English word ''saint'' comes from the Latin {{lang|la|sanctus}}, with the Greek equivalent being {{lang|grc-x-biblical|ἅγιος}} (''hagios'') 'holy'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/fs/canonization|title=Canonization|website=oca.org|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-19}}</ref> The word {{lang|grc-x-biblical|ἅγιος}} appears 229 times in the Greek [[New Testament]], and its English translation 60 times in the corresponding text of the [[King James Version]] of the [[Bible]].<ref name="biblepages">{{cite web | url= http://www.biblepages.net/gg03.htm | title= What does the word 'saint' mean in the Bible? | access-date= 16 November 2020}}</ref>

The word ''{{lang|la|sanctus}}'' was originally a technical one in [[ancient Roman religion]], but due to its [[ecumene|globalized]] use in Christianity the modern word ''saint'' is now also used as a translation of comparable terms for persons "worthy of veneration for their holiness or sanctity" in other religions.

Many religions also use similar concepts (but different terminology) to venerate persons worthy of some honor.<ref name="EoR" /> Author John A. Coleman of the [[Graduate Theological Union]], Berkeley, California, wrote that saints across various cultures and religions have the following [[family resemblance]]s:<ref>Coleman, John A.  "Conclusion: After sainthood", in Hawley, John Stratton, ed. ''Saints and Virtues'' Berkeley: [[University of California Press]], 1987. pp.&nbsp;214–217. {{ISBN|0-520-06163-2}}</ref>

# exemplary model
# extraordinary teacher
# [[wonderworker]] or source of benevolent power
# [[Intercession of saints|intercessor]]
# a life often refusing material attachments or comforts
# possession of a special and [[revelation|revelatory]] relation to the [[holy]].

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 person'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".<ref>Babb, Lawrence A. "Sathya Sai Baba's Saintly Play", in Hawley, John Stratton, ed. ''Saints and Virtues''. Berkeley: [[University of California Press]], 1987. pp. 168–170. {{ISBN|0-520-06163-2}}.</ref>

== Christianity ==

=== Old Testament ===
In the [[Hebrew Bible]], English "saints" most often renders terms of holiness, especially the adjective ''qādôš'' ("set apart, consecrated, holy"), and in the plural it appears as "holy ones" or "saints," with emphasis on consecration and ideally the absence of moral and ceremonial defilement. <ref name="TenneySilva2011OT">{{cite book |last1=Tenney |first1=Merrill C. |title=Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary |last2=Silva |first2=Moisés |date=2011 |publisher=Zondervan |language=en |quote=In the OT, this English word is used primarily to render the Hebrew adjective qādôš H7705, which means “set apart, consecrated, holy.” When the plural is used substantivally, it is translated “holy ones” or “saints” (Ps. 16:3 et al.). The focus of this term is on the CONSECRATION of the subject involved, but all people consecrated to God are ideally to be free from moral and ceremonial defilement.}}</ref> The [[Old Testament]] does not present a fixed category of individual "saints," though related ideas appear in prophet and martyr traditions in later narratives.<ref name="JenniWestermann19973">{{cite book |title=Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament |date=1997 |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |editor-last1=Jenni |editor-first1=Ernst |language=en |quote=The notion of individual “saints” does not occur in the OT, although the concept is present in the prophet and martyr legends in canonical and noncanonical literature. |editor-last2=Westermann |editor-first2=Claus}}</ref>

=== Apostolic Age ===
In the [[Christianity in the 1st century|Apostolic Age]], New Testament writers use "saints" predominantly in the plural as a collective designation for Christians in a given locality; the only clear singular instance is distributive in [[Epistle to the Philippians|Philippians 4:21]] ("every saint"), so the term marks the church as a people set apart for God rather than an elite subgroup.<ref name="Harrison1960">{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=E. F. |title=Baker’s Dictionary of Theology |publisher=Baker Book House |year=1960 |page=468 |language=en |quote=In the NT, however, saint is applied to all believers. It is a synonym for Christian brother (Col. 1:2). Except for Phil. 4:21, it is not used in the singular, and even there it reflects the corporate idea -"every saint."}}</ref><ref name="TenneySilva2011">{{cite book |last1=Tenney |first1=Merrill C. |title=Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary |last2=Silva |first2=Moisés |publisher=Zondervan |year=2011 |language=en |quote=In the NT the adjective hagios G41, when used as a noun, usually refers to members of the Christian church. It is used once in the Gospels (Matt. 27:52) of the saints of the former age. The other references are in Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation. All believers are called “saints,” even when their character is dubiously holy. The term is applied usually to the group of Christians constituting a CHURCH, rather than to one individual Christian (e.g., Acts 9:13; Rom. 8:27; Rev. 5:8).}}</ref><ref name="Elwell2001">{{cite book |last=Elwell |first=W. A. |title=Evangelical Dictionary of Theology |publisher=Baker |year=2001 |pages=235–236 |language=en |quote=Though rare in Acts, this is a common title in Paul and Revelation, appearing almost exclusively in the plural as a collective....In the NT also the fundamental idea of sainthood is separation to God or belonging to God. Thus the "holiness" of Christians is, in the first place, objective(1 Cor. 7:14). They are saints or holy by virtue of their being people of God (Eph. 2:19-22), chosen and loved by God (Col. 3:12), called (Rom. 1:7), inChrist (1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 1:1), and the objects of the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thess. 2:13). The ethical dimension, subjective holiness or saint-hood, is thus secondary, though no less important (Eph. 5:3; Heb. 12:14). The name thus bound believers to their holy God, to the great acts by which he separated them to himself, and to a life corresponding to his holiness.The name survived as a general title for Christians only through the second century.}}</ref>

Paul makes this corporate sense explicit by identifying "the saints" with "you" in [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] 6:2, so that ''oi hagioi'' functions as a self-designation for all Christians; he also addresses communities as "saints" in letter openings/closings and often speaks of "all the saints" to emphasize corporate unity across locations ([[Romans 1|Romans]] 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; [[Epistle to the Colossians|Colossians]] 1:2).<ref name="Trebilco129">{{cite book |last=Trebilco |first=Paul |title=Identity in the New Testament |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |editor-last=Crossley |editor-first=J. G. |page=129 |language=en |quote=In 1 Cor 6:2 the saints are identified as “you” … Clearly, “the saints” is a designation for all God’s people in Corinth.}}</ref><ref name="Trebilco130">{{cite book |last=Trebilco |first=Paul |title=Identity in the New Testament |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Crossley |editor-first=J. G. |pages=129–130 |language=en |chapter=Self-designations and group identity in the New Testament |quote=Paul often uses ''oi hagioi'' as a way to designate his readers in the openings of his letters … the use of “all the saints” … emphasising the “corporate-ness” of the Christian communities … unity and oneness.}}</ref>

In practical matters he urges "service" and aid "for the saints," including the Jerusalem poor, sometimes with abbreviated phrasing that presumes this shared self-designation (e.g., 1 Cor 16:1; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:1, 12 ≈ Rom 15:26).<ref name="Trebilco131">{{cite book |last=Trebilco |first=Paul |title=Identity in the New Testament |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Crossley |editor-first=J. G. |pages=130–131 |language=en |chapter=Self-designations and group identity in the New Testament |quote=εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους … is an abbreviation for “εἰς τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῶν ἁγίων τῶν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ” (Rom 15:26).}}</ref> Scholars also observe [[Covenant theology|covenantal]]–[[Eschatology|eschatological]] and temple/priestly overtones in such language (e.g., judging the world/angels; participation in Christ’s altar).<ref name="Barton201">{{cite book |last=Barton |first=Stephen |title=Holiness: Past and Present |publisher=T&T Clark |year=2003 |page=201 |language=en |quote=Of great significance is the common designation “saints” (''hagioi''), a biblical term with eschatological connotations … “called to be saints.”}}</ref><ref name="TandTClark325">{{cite book |last=Sumner |first=D. |title=T&T Clark handbook of Christology |last2=Tilling |first2=C. |publisher=T&T Clark |year=2025 |page=325 |language=en |quote=When Paul addresses believers … as “saints” (1 Cor 1:2), the terminology reflects a new priestly identity … explaining roles such as judging angels (6:3) and participation in the altar of Christ.}}</ref><ref name="DPL">{{cite book |last=McKnight |first=S. |title=Dictionary of Paul and His Letters |last2=Cohick |first2=L. H. |last3=Gupta |first3=N. K. |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2023 |language=en |quote=The primary terminology associated with holiness in the Pauline corpus is from the ''hagios'' word group … Paul applies ''hagioi'' to believers … implying that holiness is an essential characteristic of the church community and all its members, not just a special class.}}</ref><ref name="WitheringtonNTE289">{{cite book |last=Witherington III |first=Ben |title=New Testament Theology and Ethics |publisher=IVP Academic |year=2016 |page=289 |language=en |quote=Calling believers "saints" or "holy ones" (hagioi) was common in the early church, and originally it may have implied something about their moral rectitude. If so, Jude is contrasting his audience, with whom he has basic affinities, with the false teachers, who are morally corrupt. It is interesting that Jude calls Jesus "master" (despotes) in Jude 4 (cf. 2 Pet 2:1, which probably is based on this text). Jesus is both Lord and Master of the believoners, but these false teachers are disowning him by their words and deeds. This was no way to treat God's gracious offer of salvation through the gospel. It should not be seen as an opportunity for moral perversity.}}</ref> Other New Testament writers vary: calling believers ''hagioi'' is common in [[Hebrews 1|Hebrews]] and [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]],<ref name="WitheringtonLHJC603">{{cite book |last=Witherington III |first=Ben |title=Letters and Homilies for Jewish Christians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Hebrews, James and Jude |publisher=InterVarsity Press |year=2007 |page=603 |language=en |quote=Calling believers saints or holy ones (''hagioi'') was common in the early church … Jude’s vocabulary … has precedent or parallels in Paul’s letters.}}</ref> it is frequent in [[Revelation 1|Revelation]] with an emphasis on prayer/endurance and is used for the same group as "believers/Christians,"<ref name="EasleyMorgan">{{cite book |title=The Community of Jesus: A Theology of the Church |publisher=Broadman & Holman |editor-last1=Easley |editor-first1=Kendell H. |pages=89–90 |language=en |quote=Revelation uses “saints” more frequently than Acts … As in Acts, so in Revelation the “saints” are identical with “believers/Christians.” |editor-last2=Morgan |editor-first2=Christopher W.}}</ref> while [[First Epistle of Peter|1 Peter]] does not use ''hagioi'' as Paul does (even as it speaks extensively of holiness).<ref name="Boring1Pet206">{{cite book |last=Boring |first=M. E. |title=1 Peter (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries) |publisher=Abingdon |year=1999 |page=206 |language=en |quote=Paul often refers to the Christian community as “holy ones” (“saints,” ''hagioi''), but … a key ecclesiological term for Paul is absent from 1 Peter.}}</ref><ref name="Senior1Pet190">{{cite book |last=Senior |first=Donald |title=1 Peter |last2=Harrington |first2=D. J. |publisher=Liturgical Press |year=2008 |page=190 |language=en |quote=Here “saints” (''hagioi'') is another term for Christians … They have been made holy by their contact with God the holy one.}}</ref>

Standard reference works concur that ''hagioi'' designates all believers (not a special class), that the plural, collective usage predominates, and that the underlying idea is consecration/belonging to God.<ref name="Unger2009">{{cite book |last=Unger |first=Merrill F. |title=The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary |publisher=Moody Publishers |year=2009 |language=en |quote=Positionally, every NT believer; experientially, a person eminent for piety and virtue: a consecrated person. Applied to the pious Israelites (Pss. 16:3; 34:9), Heb. qādôsh, elsewhere “godly ones,” “holy ones.” Also applied to members of the Body of Christ. All the saved of the NT era are saints (hagioi) by virtue of their position “in Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2; cf. Rom. 6:3–4; 8:1; Eph. 1:3; etc.). The NT refutes the idea of a special class of “saints.”}}</ref><ref name="Erickson1986">{{cite book |last=Erickson |first=Millard J. |title=Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology |date=1986 |publisher=Baker |page=147 |language=en |quote=Saint. In the New Testament, anyone who is a genuine believer in Christ …}}</ref><ref name="Thorsen2010">{{cite book |last=Thorsen |first=Don |title=Thorsen Pocket Dictionary of Christian Theology |date=2010 |publisher=Barbour |page=62 |language=en |quote=All who are saved, who have been made righteous because of Jesus Christ's atonement, are described in Scripture as saints (e.g., 1 Corinthians 1:2). They have been set apart for God as the church, and they are to live godly lives.}}</ref> Later Christian traditions (e.g. Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism) developed distinct practices of recognizing exemplary figures, but this stands apart from the New Testament’s collective usage.<ref name="Patte1123">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity |date=2010 |publisher=CUP |editor-last=Patte |editor-first=Daniel |page=1123 |language=en |quote=Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism have various understandings … The Protestant Reformers … consider all Christians to be “saints” (1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; Col 1:2) …}}</ref><ref name="Elwell2001" /><ref name="TenneySilva2011" />

=== Catholic Church ===
{{anchor|Catholic Church|Catholic|Catholicism}}
{{Further|List of Catholic saints|General Roman Calendar}}
[[File:San Francesco.jpg|thumb|left|A portrait depicting [[Saint Francis of Assisi]] by the Italian artist [[Cimabue]] (1240–1302)]]
According to the [[Catholic Church]], a saint may be anyone in [[Heaven in Christianity|Heaven]] (besides [[God in Catholicism|God]]), whether recognized on Earth or not, who forms the "great cloud of [[evangelism|witnesses]]" ([[Hebrews 12]]:1).<ref name="Francis2018" /><ref name="CHURCH">{{cite web|last1=Kevin Cotter|title=How Does Someone Become a Saint? A 5-Step Process|url=https://focusoncampus.org/content/how-does-someone-become-a-saint-a-5-step-process|website=focusoncampus, CHURCH|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> These "may include our own mothers, grandmothers or other loved ones (cf. [[2 Timothy 1:5]])" who may have not always lived perfect lives, but "amid their faults and failings they kept moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord".<ref name="Francis2018">{{cite web |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html |title=Gaudete et exsultate: Apostolic Exhortation on the call to holiness in today's world|date=19 March 2018|publisher=[[Holy See]]|language=en|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref> The title ''Saint'' denotes a person who has been formally [[canonization|canonized]] &ndash; that is, officially and authoritatively declared a saint &ndash; by the church as holder of the [[Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven]], and is therefore believed to be in Heaven by the [[Grace in Christianity|grace of God]]. There are many persons who the church believes to be in Heaven who have not been formally canonized and who are otherwise titled saints because of the fame of their holiness.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/explained.asp |title=What is a saint? Vatican Information Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013120338/http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/explained.asp |archive-date=1999-10-13 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Sometimes the word saint also denotes living Christians.<ref name="cat2">{{cite web|url=http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p5.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church (Second Edition) |publisher=Scborromeo.org |access-date=12 October 2013}}</ref> The [[Second Vatican Council]] noted that some saints are commemorated by the whole church because they "are truly of universal importance", while many others have significance for "a particular Church or nation or [[religious order|family of religious]]" and their lives should be celebrated within those particular contexts.<ref>Second Vatican Council, [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html ''Sacrosanctum Concilium''], paragraph 111, published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 28 July 2025</ref>

According to the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', "The [[Patriarchs (Bible)|patriarchs]], [[Prophets in Christianity|prophets]], and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the church's liturgical traditions."<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' Chapter 2, Article 1, 61</ref>

In his book ''Saint of the Day'', editor Leonard Foley says that the "[Saints'] surrender to God's love was so generous an approach to the total surrender of [[Jesus]] that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ."<ref>''Saint of the Day'', edited by Leonard Foley, OFM, (Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2003), xvi. {{ISBN|0-86716-535-9}}</ref>

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<ref>The [http://www.kofc.org/un/catechism/getsection.action?part=1&sec=2&chap=3&art=9&parasec=3&subsec=2&hdr=0&par=828&paratype=a ''Catechism of the Catholic Church''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812112425/http://www.kofc.org/un/catechism/getsection.action?part=1&sec=2&chap=3&art=9&parasec=3&subsec=2&hdr=0&par=828&paratype=a |date=12 August 2011 }}, from the [[Knights of Columbus]] site</ref>{{which|date=June 2025}} 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 "[[Cult (religious practice)|cults]]", or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous and were confirmed by the local [[Catholic bishop|bishop]].<ref name="lr12">Luscombe, David and Riley-Smith, Jonathan. 2004. ''New Cambridge Medieval History: c.1024–c.1198'', Volume 5. p. 12.</ref> [[Pope John XVIII]] subsequently permitted a cult of five Polish [[martyrs]].<ref name="lr12" /> [[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.<ref name="lr12" /> [[Walter of Pontoise]] was the last person in [[Western Europe]] to be canonized by an authority other than the Pope: [[Hugh of Amiens|Hugh de Boves]], the [[Archbishop of Rouen]], canonized him in 1153.<ref name="smith">William Smith, Samuel Cheetham, ''[https://archive.org/details/adictionarychri00cheegoog A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities]'' (Murray, 1875), 283.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.saint-mike.org/library/papal_library/AlexanderIII/biography.html |title=Alexander III |newspaper=Saint-mike.org |access-date=12 October 2013 |archive-date=15 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015044654/http://www.saint-mike.org/library/papal_library/alexanderiii/biography.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thenceforth a decree of [[Pope Alexander III]] in 1170 reserved the prerogative of canonization to the Pope, insofar as the [[Latin Church]] was concerned.<ref name="smith" />

[[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.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862347,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214112751/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862347,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 December 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Religion: 2,565 Saints | date=6 August 1956 | access-date=23 May 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keeping-saints-alive/ | work=CBS News | title=Keeping Saints Alive | date=4 April 2010}}</ref>

The [[veneration of saints]], in [[Latin]] {{lang|la|cultus}}, or the "[[Cult (religious practice)|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 ''[[Christian worship|worship]]'' is sometimes used,{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} it is only used with the older English connotation of honoring or respecting (''[[veneration|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,<ref>[http://www.catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp The Intercession of the Saints] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619002648/http://www.catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp |date=19 June 2009 }} on Catholic.com</ref> 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, church or locale, or invoked as a protector against specific illnesses or disasters, sometimes by popular custom and sometimes by official declarations of the church.<ref>[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Patron Saints|Patron Saints]] from Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) on Wikisource.org</ref> 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]].<ref>''Acts of the Apostles'', 19: 11–2</ref> For example, an American [[deacon]] claimed in 2000 that [[John Henry Newman]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-50032640|title=Cardinal Newman declared a saint by the Pope|date=2019-10-13|access-date=2020-01-19|language=en-GB}}</ref> (then a [[Beatification|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."<ref>Jenna Russell, "Marshfield man's prayer an answer in sainthood query", ''The Boston Globe'', 28 April 2009, B1, 4.</ref>

Some of the saints have a special iconographic [[saint symbology|symbol]] by tradition, e.g., [[Saint Lawrence]], deacon and martyr, is identified by a [[Gridiron (cooking)|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]].

==== Stages of canonization ====
Formal [[canonization]] is a lengthy process, often of many years or even centuries.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_saints_en.html Table of the Canonizations during the Pontificate of His Holiness John Paul II] on Vatican.va</ref> There are four major steps to become a saint.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.mic.com/articles/53125/john-paul-ii-sainthood-4-steps-to-becoming-a-catholic-saint| title = John Paul II Sainthood: 4 Steps to Becoming a Catholic Saint| newspaper = Mic| date = 6 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.catholichawaii.org/media/314379/canonization_4_steps_to_becoming_a_saint.pdf| title = 4 Steps to Becoming a Saint| access-date = 27 January 2020| archive-date = 30 October 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201030024209/https://www.catholichawaii.org/media/314379/canonization_4_steps_to_becoming_a_saint.pdf| url-status = dead}}</ref> The first stage in this process is an investigation of the candidate's life by an expert. After this, the official report on the candidate is submitted to the bishop of the pertinent diocese and more study is undertaken. The information is then sent to the [[Dicastery for the Causes of Saints]] of the [[Holy See]] for evaluation at the universal level of the church.<ref name="how6191" /> If the application is approved the candidate may be granted the title ''[[The Venerable|Venerable]]'' (stage 2).<ref name="how6191">{{cite web|url=http://people.howstuffworks.com/question6191.htm|title=The Steps of Canonization|work=HowStuffWorks|date=20 April 2001}}</ref> Further investigation, step 3, may lead to the candidate's [[beatification]] with the title ''Blessed'',<ref name="how6191" /> which is elevation to the class of the ''[[beatification|Beati]]''. Next, and at a minimum, proof of two important miracles obtained from God through the intercession of the candidate are required for formal canonization as a saint. Finally, in the last stage, after all of these procedures are complete, the [[pope]] may canonize the candidate as a saint<ref name="how6191" /> for veneration by the universal church.

Once a person has been canonized, the deceased body of the saint is considered holy as a [[relic]].<ref name="newadv">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Relics |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12734a.htm |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> The remains of saints are called holy relics and are usually used in churches. Saints' personal belongings may also be used as relics.<ref name="newadv" /> 

=== Eastern Orthodoxy ===
{{Further|Glorification|List of Eastern Orthodox saint titles|Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar}}
[[File:Святой, фреска 12 века из церкви св. Георгия в Старой Ладоге.jpg|thumb|''Saint'', 12th-century fresco in [[Staraya Ladoga]]]]
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], a saint is defined as anyone who is in [[Heaven]] besides God, whether recognised here on earth, or not. By this definition, [[Adam and Eve]], [[Moses]], the various [[Prophets in Christianity|prophets]], and [[Archangel|archangels]] are all given the title of "Saint". Sainthood does not necessarily reflect a moral model, but communion with God; there are many examples of people who lived in great [[sin]] and became saints by [[humility]] and [[repentance]]: Saints [[Mary of Egypt]], [[Moses the Ethiopian]], and [[Dismas]], the repentant thief who was crucified with [[Jesus Christ]]. Therefore, a more complete Orthodox definition of what a saint is, has to do with the way that saints, through their humility and their love of mankind, saved inside them the entire Church, and loved all people.

==== Canonization ====
The Orthodox belief is that God [[Revelation|reveals]] saints through answered [[Prayer|prayers]] and other [[Miracle|miracles]]. Saints are usually recognised by their local community, often by people who directly knew them. As their popularity grows they are often then recognised by the entire Church through the [[Holy Spirit]]. 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.<ref name="bebis" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Saints of the Orthodox Church |url=https://www.goarch.org/-/the-saints-of-the-orthodox-church |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America |language=en-US}}</ref> The Orthodox Church does not require the manifestation of miracles, as it does in [[Roman Catholicism]]; what is required is evidence of a virtuous life and prior [[local veneration]] of the saint.<ref name=":0" />

If the ecclesiastical review is successful, this is followed by a service of glorification in which the saint is given a day on the [[liturgical calendar]] to be celebrated by the entire Church.<ref>Frawley J., ''[http://www.oca.org/FS.NA-Document.asp?ID=83 The Glorification of the Saints in the Orthodox Church]'' at Orthodox Church in America, Syosset, New York</ref> This does not, however, make the person a saint; the person already was a saint and the Church ultimately recognized it.

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,<ref>Hopko T., "[http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-building/altar-table The Orthodox Faith]"</ref> often of [[martyr]]s. Church interiors are covered with the [[icon]]s of saints. When an Orthodox Christian venerates icons of a saint he is venerating the image of God which he sees in the saint.

[[File:Saint Onuphrius Emmanuel Tzanes.png |thumb|upright|''[[Saint Onuphrius (Tzanes)|Eremitic Saint Onuphrius]]'' by [[Emmanuel Tzanes]], 1662]]
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 [[worshipped]]. They are believed to be able to [[Intercession of saints|intercede]] for the living for [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] or other requests and help mankind either through direct communion with God or by personal [[miraculous]] intervention.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the title [[wikt:ὅσιος|Ὅσιος]], ''Hosios'' (f. {{Lang|el|Ὁσία}} ''Hosia'') is also used. This is a title attributed to saints who had lived a [[monastery|monastic]] or [[Hermit|eremitic]] life equivalent to the more usual title of "Saint".<ref>{{cite book |last= Cotsonis  |first= John A.  |author-link= |date= 1994 |title= Byzantine Figural Processional Crosses |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vhGH8gRUYyUC&dq=Hosios+saint&pg=PA70 |page=70|publisher= Dumbarton Oaks |isbn= 9780884022282 }}
</ref>

=== Oriental Orthodoxy ===
The [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches ‒ the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], the [[Orthodox Tewahedo|Tewahedo Church]], [[Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church]], and the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] ‒ follow a canonization process unique to each church. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, for example, has the requirement that at least 50 years must pass following a prospective saint's death before the Coptic Orthodox Church's [[Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|pope]] can canonize the saint.

=== Evangelical Lutheranism ===
{{Further|Calendar of saints (Lutheran)|Liturgical calendar (Lutheran)}}
[[File:AugsburgConfessionXXIOfTheWorshipoftheSaints.JPG|right|thumb|"Scripture does not teach calling on the saints or pleading for help from them. For it sets before us Christ alone as mediator, atoning sacrifice, high priest, and intercessor."—[[Augsburg Confession|A.C.]] Article XXI.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ig5PF6Tf07UC&pg=PA59&dq Augsburg Confession, Article 21, "Of the Worship of the Saints"]. trans. Kolb, R., Wengert, T., and Arand, C. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000.</ref>]]
[[File:Listopad - Kalendář koruny české na obyčejný rok 1867 - detail.jpg|left|thumb|The month of November in the Czech calendar for 1867 (detail). The calendar of saints is given for both Catholics and Protestants.]]
In the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran Church]], all Christians, whether in Heaven or on Earth, are regarded as saints. However, the church still recognizes and honors specific saints, including some of those recognized by the Catholic Church, but in a qualified way:{{npov inline|date=June 2025}} according to the [[Augsburg Confession]],<ref>A Confession of Faith Presented in Augsburg by certain Princes and Cities to His Imperial Majesty Charles V in the Year 1530</ref> the term ''saint'' is used in the manner of the Catholic Church only insofar as to denote a person who received exceptional grace, was sustained by faith, and whose good works are to be an example to any Christian. Evangelical-Lutherans believe that saints pray for the Christian Church in general.<ref>[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] XXI 9</ref> However, Evangelical-Lutheran belief accounts that prayers to the saints are prohibited, as they are not mediators of redemption.<ref>[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] XXI 14–30</ref><ref>[[Smalcald Articles]]-II 25</ref> [[Philip Melanchthon]], the author of the [[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]], approved honoring the saints by saying they are honored in three ways:
:1. By thanking God for examples of His mercy;
:2. By using the saints as examples for strengthening our faith; and
:3. By imitating their faith and other virtues.<ref>[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] XXI 4–7</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=s&word=SAINTS.VENERATIONOF|title=Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod – Christian Cyclopedia|work=lcms.org}}</ref><ref>[[Augsburg Confession]] XXI 1</ref>

The Lutheran Churches have [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|liturgical calendars]] in which they honor individuals as saints.

The invocation of saints was criticized in the ''[[:s:Augsburg Confession#Article XXI: Of the Worship of the Saints.|Augsburg Confession, Article XXI: Of the Worship of the Saints]]''. This criticism was rebutted by the Catholic side in the ''[[Confutatio Augustana]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bookofconcord.org/confutatio.php#article21|title=1530 Roman Confutation|website=bookofconcord.org|date=28 December 2019|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-date=23 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423180618/http://bookofconcord.org/confutatio.php#article21|url-status=dead}}</ref> which in turn was rebutted by the Evangelical Lutheran side in the ''[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]]''.<ref>''Apology to the Augsburg Confession, [http://bookofconcord.org/defense_20_saints.php#article21 Article XXI : Of the Invocation of Saints] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427081023/http://bookofconcord.org/defense_20_saints.php#article21 |date=27 April 2019 }}''</ref>

=== Anglicanism ===
{{Main|Saints in Anglicanism}}

In the [[Anglican Communion]] and the [[Continuing Anglicanism|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.<ref>{{bibleverse||Hebrews|12:1|KJV}}</ref> 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 a [[belief|believer]] only, but one who has been transformed by virtue. In [[Catholicism]], a saint is a special sign of God's activity.{{relevance inline|date=June 2025}} 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/articles/articles.html#22 |title=Article XXII |publisher=Eskimo.com |access-date=12 October 2013}}</ref> one of the [[Church of England]]'s [[Thirty-Nine Articles|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."<ref name="Sokol2001">{{cite book|last=Sokol|first=David F.|title=The Anglican Prayer Life: Ceum Na Corach', the True Way|year=2001|isbn=978-0-595-19171-0|page=14|publisher=iUniverse |quote=In 1556 Article XXII in part read ... "The Romish doctrine concerning ... invocation of saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of God." The term "doctrina Romanensium" or Romish doctrine was substituted for the "doctrina scholasticorum" of the doctrine of the school authors in 1563 to bring the condemnation up to date subsequent to the Council of Trent. As E. J. Bicknell writes, 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.}}</ref>

Some Anglicans and Anglican churches, particularly Anglo-Catholics, personally ask prayers of the saints. However, such a practice is seldom found in any official Anglican liturgy. Unusual examples of it are found in The Korean Liturgy 1938, the liturgy of the Diocese of Guiana 1959 and The Melanesian English Prayer Book.

Anglicans believe that the only effective Mediator between the believer and God the Father, in terms of redemption and salvation, is God the Son, [[Jesus]] [[Christ]]. Historical Anglicanism has drawn a distinction between the intercession of the saints and the invocation of the saints. The former was generally accepted in Anglican doctrine, while the latter was generally rejected.<ref name="Sokol2001" /> There are some, however, in Anglicanism, who do beseech the saints' intercession. Those who beseech the saints to intercede on their behalf make a distinction between ''mediator'' and ''intercessor'', and claim that asking for the prayers of the saints is no different in kind than asking for the prayers of living Christians. [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholics]] understand sainthood in a more [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] or [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] way,{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} often praying for intercessions from the saints and celebrating their feast days.

According to the [[Church of England]], a saint is one who is sanctified, as it translates in the Authorized King James Version (1611) [[2 Chronicles]] 6:41: <blockquote>
Now therefore arise, O {{LORD}} God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O {{LORD}} God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
</blockquote>

=== Methodism ===
{{Further|Saints in Methodism}}
While Methodists as a whole do not venerate saints, they do honor and admire them. Methodists believe that all Christians are saints, but mainly use the term to refer to biblical figures, Christian leaders, and martyrs of the faith. Many Methodist churches are named after saints—such as the [[Twelve Apostles]], [[John Wesley]], etc.—although most are named after geographical locations associated with an early [[Methodist circuit|circuit]] or prominent location. Methodist congregations observe [[All Saints' Day]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Daily Bible Study |url=https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/the-bible/a-word-in-time/2016/30-october-5-november-2016/tuesday/ |publisher=[[Methodist Church in Britain]] |access-date=15 June 2019 |language=en |quote=[T]day we reach one of the high points of the Christian Year – All Saints Day.}}</ref> Many encourage the study of saints, that is, the biographies of holy people.

The [[Twenty-five Articles|14th Article of Religion]] in the [[United Methodist]] ''[[Book of Discipline (United Methodist)|Book of Discipline]]'' states:
<blockquote>The [[Romish]] doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshiping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church |date=2016 |publisher=[[Cokesbury]] |isbn=978-1-501-83321-2 |page=104}}</ref></blockquote>

=== {{anchor|Protestantism}} Other Protestantism ===
<!-- This (Protestantism) section is linked from [[Universal priesthood (doctrine)]] -->
<!-- [[Saints in Protestantism]] redirects to this section -->
In many [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches, the word ''saint'' is used more generally to refer to anyone who is a Christian. This is similar in usage to [[Pauline epistles|Paul's numerous references]] in the New Testament of the Bible.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-36-beloved-of-god-called-to-be-saints "Beloved of God, Called to Be Saints"], ''New Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual''. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 150.</ref> In this sense, anyone who is within the [[Body of Christ]] (i.e., a professing Christian) is a saint because of their relationship with Christ Jesus. Many Protestants consider [[Intercession of saints|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/p38.htm |title=The Sin of Idolatry and the Catholic Concept of Iconic Participation |publisher=Philvaz.com |access-date=25 December 2012 |archive-date=13 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413190535/http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/p38.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Within some Protestant traditions, ''saint'' is also used to refer to any [[born again Christianity|born-again Christian]]. Many emphasize the traditional [[New Testament]] meaning of the word, preferring to write "saint" to refer to any believer, in continuity with the doctrine of the [[priesthood of all believers]].

==== Baptist ====
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2025}}
"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]] (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.<ref>{{cite web |last= Smith |first= Joseph Jr |author-link= Joseph Smith Jr |title= Pearl of Great Price |url= http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,106-1-2-1,FF.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20000817204117/http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,106-1-2-1,FF.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 2000-08-17}}</ref> Members are therefore often referred to as "[[Latter-day Saints]]" or "LDS", and among themselves as "saints".<ref>M. Russell Ballard, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/10/faith-family-facts-and-fruits?lang=eng "Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruits"], ''Ensign'', Nov 2007, 25–27</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Thomson Gale Encyclopedia of Religion|editor=Lindsay Jones|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|date=2005|edition=Second|volume=Sainthood|page=8033|language=TG}}</ref>

=== African diaspora ===
{{See also|African diaspora religions}}
Cuban [[Santería]], [[Haitian Vodou]], [[Trinidad Orisha|Trinidad Orisha-Shango]], Brazilian [[Umbanda]], [[Candomblé]], and other similar [[syncretism|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 [[deity|deities]]. The name ''santería'' was originally a pejorative term for those whose worship of saints deviated from Catholic norms.

=== Buddhism ===
{{See also|Bodhisattva|Arhat}}
Buddhists in both the [[Theravada]] and [[Mahayana]] traditions hold the ''[[Arhat]]s'' in special esteem, as well as highly developed [[Bodhisattvas]].

[[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhists]] hold the ''[[tulku]]s'' (reincarnates of deceased eminent practitioners) as living saints on earth.<ref>Ray, Reginald A. "Some Aspects of the Tulku Trrdition in Tibet". ''The Tibet Journal'', vol. 11, no. 4, 1986, pp. 35–69. ''JSTOR'', http://www.jstor.org/stable/43300222. Accessed 14 August 2021.</ref>

=== Druze faith ===
Due to the [[Christianity and Druze|Christian influence on Druze faith]], two [[Christian saints]] become the [[Druze]]'s favorite venerated figures: [[Saint George]] and Saint [[Elijah]].<ref name="Beaurepaire">{{cite book|title=Religious Interactions in Europe and the Mediterranean World: Coexistence and Dialogue from the 12th to the 20th Centuries|first=Pierre-Yves|last=Beaurepaire|year=2017|isbn=9781351722179|pages=310–314|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Beaurepaire" /> According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: [[Saint George and the Dragon|Saint George because he confronted the dragon]] and Saint Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of [[Baal]] and won over them.<ref name="Beaurepaire" /> In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted to [[Military saint|warrior saints]] that resemble their own militarized society.<ref name="Beaurepaire" />

=== Hinduism ===
{{Main|Hindu saints}}

[[File:Kanua Baba.jpg|thumb|Portrait of the saintly [[Kanua Baba|Kanua]], a Hindu [[baba (honorific)|baba]] of [[Mathura]], India, also pictured with a halo encircling his head.]]
Hindu saints are those recognized by [[Hindus]] 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]] 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Essentials of Hinduism|last = Bhaskarananda|first = Swami|publisher = The Vedanta Society of Western Washington|year = 2002|isbn = 978-1-884852-04-6|location = Seattle|pages = 12}}</ref> Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called [[guru]]s, [[sadhu]]s, [[rishi]]s, [[devarishi]]s, [[rajarshi]]s, [[saptarishi]]s, [[brahmarshi]]s, [[swami]]s, [[Pandit|pundits]], [[purohit]]s, [[pujari]]s, [[acharya]]s, [[pravaras]], [[yogi]]s, [[yogini]]s, and other names.<ref name="Rinehart2004">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|title=Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMPYnfS_R90C&pg=PA88|access-date=3 June 2013|date=1 January 2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-905-8|pages=87–90}}</ref>

Some Hindu saints are given god-like status, being seen as [[Avatar|incarnations]] of [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]], [[Devi]], 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.<ref name="Woodward2001">{{cite book|author=Kenneth L. Woodward|title=The Book of Miracles: The Meaning of the Miracle Stories in Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e951hHwu3X0C&pg=PA267|access-date=3 June 2013|date=10 July 2001|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-7432-0029-5|page=267}}</ref>

=== Islam ===
{{Main|Wali}}

Besides prophets, according to [[Islam]], saints possess [[barakah|blessings]] (Arabic: بركة, "baraka") and can perform [[Islamic view of miracles|miracles]] (Arabic: كرامات, ''Karāmāt''). Saints rank lower than [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets]]. However, they can intercede for people on the [[Day of Judgment in Islam|Day of Judgment]], but their intercession is limited compared to the intercession of the [[Muhammad|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.<ref>Josef W. Meri ''The Cult of Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria'' OUP Oxford, 14.11.2002 ISBN 9780191554735 pp. 60-81</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Hans Alexander |title=Ghost Riders of Upper Egypt}}</ref>

Islam has had a rich history of veneration of saints (often called ''[[wali]]'', which literally means 'Friend [of God]'),<ref name="See John Renard 2008">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)</ref> 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]], the veneration of saints became a very common form of devotion early on,<ref name="See John Renard 2008" /> 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."<ref name="ReferenceA">Radtke, B., "Saint", in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.</ref> 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."<ref name="ReferenceA" /> "Belief in the miracles of saints (''karāmāt al-awliyāʾ'') ... [became a] requirement in Sunni Islam [during the classical period],"<ref>Jonathan A. C. Brown, "Faithful Dissenters: Sunni Skepticism about the Miracles of Saints", ''Journal of Sufi Studies'' 1 (2012), p. 123</ref> with even medieval critics of the ubiquitous practice of [[ziyara|grave visitation]] like [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] emphatically declaring: "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, and acknowledged by all Muslim scholars. The [[Quran]] 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 [[hadith|sayings of the Prophet]] have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are innovators or following innovators."<ref>Ibn Taymiyyah, ''Mukhtasar al-Fatawa al-Masriyya'' (al-Madani Publishing House, 1980), p. 603</ref> The vast majority of saints venerated in the classical Sunni world were the [[Sufi]]s, who were all Sunni mystics who belonged to one of the [[maddhab|four orthodox legal schools of Sunni law]].<ref>John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008)</ref>

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."<ref>Juan Eduardo Campo, ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009), p. 600</ref> In a manner similar to the [[Protestant Reformation]],<ref>See Jonathan A. C. Brown, ''Misquoting Muhammad'' (London: Oneworld Publications, 2015), p. 254</ref> the specific traditional practices which [[Salafism]] has tried to curtail in both [[Sunni]] 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."<ref>Christopher Taylor, ''In the Vicinity of the Righteous'' (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 5–6</ref>

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 ===
{{Main|Tzadik}}

The term ''Tzadik'', 'righteous', and its associated meanings developed in [[Rabbinic literature|rabbinic thought]] from its [[Talmud]]ic contrast with ''[[Hasid (term)|Ḥasīd]]'', 'pious'.

In [[Morocco]], 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.<ref>Beyond Exoticism and Syncretism: Situating Moroccan Pilgrimage in Jewish Studies by Oren Kosansky </ref>

=== Sikhism ===
{{See also|Sant (religion)}}
The concept of ''[[Sant Mat|sant]]'' or ''[[bhagat]]'' 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 Japna]]). 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.<ref name="Khalsa">{{cite book | title=Sri Guru Granth Sahib: English Translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib | publisher=Hand Made Books (Mandeep Singh) | author=Khalsa, Sant Singh  | year=2007 | location=Arizona | pages=12–263}}</ref>

=== New religious movements ===
[[Thelema]] is a new religious movement with a list of saints including individuals such as [[Roger Bacon]].<ref name="Kaczynski 2010 p. 265">{{cite book | last=Kaczynski | first=R. | title=Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Life of Aleister Crowley | publisher=North Atlantic Books | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-55643-899-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlEvfflQZbIC&pg=PA265 | access-date=2023-06-02 | page=265}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Saints}}
* [[Calendar of saints]]
* [[Communion of saints]]
* [[Devil's advocate]]
* [[Hagiography]]
* [[Hallow]]
* [[Mar (title)]]
* [[Latter Day Saint movement]]
* [[List of bodhisattvas]]
* [[Lists of saints]]
* [[List of Hindu gurus and sants]]
* [[List of Sufi saints]]
* [[Martyrology]]
* [[Sage (philosophy)]]
* [[Saint Companions]]
* [[Secular saint]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* 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. {{ISBN|0-520-06163-2}}.
* Hein, David. "Saints: Holy, Not Tame". ''Sewanee Theological Review'' 49 (2006): 204–217.
* Jean-Luc Deuffic (ed.), ''Reliques et sainteté dans l'espace médiéval'' [http://www.pecia.fr/#/pecia-8-11/3544065 L'expert de la décoration haut de gamme]
* O'Malley, Vincent J. ''Ordinary Suffering of Extraordinary Saints'', 1999. {{ISBN|0-87973-893-6}}.
* Perham, Michael. ''The Communion of Saints''. London: Alcuin Club/SPCK, 1980.
* Woodward, Kenneth L. ''Making Saints''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Saint |volume= 23 |last= Delehaye |first= Hippolyte |author-link= Hippolyte Delehaye | pages = 1010-1011 |short= 1 }}
* Gallick, Sarah (2014). ''50 Saints Everyone Should Know''. Wise Media Group. {{asin|B007UI2LDE}}. E-book.
* {{cite book|last=Hebert|first=Alber|title=Saints Who Raised the Dead: True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles|publisher=TAN Books |location=Illinois |isbn=978-0-89555-798-8|date=2004-10-15}}
* {{cite book|last1=Trigilio|first1=John|title=Saints for Dummies|year=2010|isbn=978-0-470-53358-1|first2=Kenneth |last2=Brighenti|publisher=Wiley }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Saints}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://saints.sqpn.com/today-on-the-calendar/ Today's Saints on the Calendar]
* [http://saintsbooks.net/BooksList.html#General Saints' Books Library]
* [http://www.oodegr.com/english/istorika/britain/British_saints.htm Orthodox Saints and Martyrs of the Ancient Church]
* [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15324coll10/id/1245/rec/420 Saints and Their Legends: A Selection of Saints]
* [http://www.om-guru.com/ Biographies of Saints and Gurus in the Indian Tradition]

{{Christianity footer}}
{{Saints}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Saints by country}}
{{Lutheranism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Saints| ]]
[[Category:Sainthood| ]]
[[Category:Religious terminology]]
[[Category:Titles and occupations in Hinduism]]