Why are Saints Depicted with Halos?

Because they have 'em!  Halos don't appear all the time, and when they do, they  may not be visible to every single person around.  But saints are filled with the Uncreated Light and from time to time, not all that infrequently, it shines forth from them.

St. John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco (I LOVE to say that; it sounds so incongruous!) lived from 1896 to 1966.  He was glorified nearly 30 years later, in 1994.  In preparation for his glorification, his grave was exhumed and his unembalmed body was found to be incorrupt and exuding a sweet fragrance.

This picture of the saint is from the website of a parish named for St. John.  I found  that website via my new godson's blog.  St. John appears to be reading the Gospel.

Here is an icon of St. John, who also served Washington, D.C. Here he is shown holding a replica of the Cathedral of St. John and Baptist, which he once served, and in which church I was baptized, chrismated, first communed, and married to Demetrios.

This icon is also the only one I know of that depicts automobiles. I've forgotten the story, but he disrupted Washington traffic for a while (on Dupont Circle, I beleive) in protest of something or other, and this is what is being commemorated in that scene at the bottom of the icon.

Missing the Glory

or, Such Irony

There are, hypothetically at least, people who pray to the saints instead of to Christ. (I have never personally known any, but apparently there have been a lot of them in history and presumably there still are.) There are also those who refuse to speak with the saints and tell you they prefer to focus upon Christ instead.

Both sorts of people are depriving themselves greatly on account of the very same error. They forget to consider, or else misunderstand, what is the "mystical union," as it is called in the West, or "deification," as it is termed in the East. In short, there simply is no such thing as saints instead of Christ or Christ instead of His saints. It isn't as though there were saints over here and Christ over there, discreet entities.

"I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me," said St. Paul. This statement is true of every saint. A glorified saint, the kind the Orthodox invoke, is someone in whom the Church has recognized Her Lord, truly living His life in the saint's body. A saint is Christ with skin on. (That's why, in the Orthodox Church, we don't have saints in whom it is difficult to find any resemblance to Christ.)

"For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." (Ephesians 5:30) The saints are literally, albeit mystically, the Body of Christ, filled with His own Spirit, nourished by His own flesh and blood. He Himself is all their power, all their wisdom, all their glory, all their life, all their meaning.

When someone tells you he focusses upon Christ instead of the saints, that's like saying he's looking at the vine but not the branches. How can you do that? Or he's looking at the lightbulbs but not the crystals, when Christ is the whole chandelier. If a person fails to look at the prisms too, he won't see all the glorious ways in which the Light is refracted. He has not corrected in himself the error of the person who only prays to saints; he is actually repeating it, by making an either/or where there is none. He isn't recognizing the Very One he so fervently longs to see.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus and Mary Magalene at His tomb made a similar mistake when, due to His different appearance, they at first failed to recognize the risen Lord. But then, after a while, they did recognize Him after all. God give us all to do the same.

What is Holiness? What is a saint?

In a word, holiness is Christlikeness. Holiness is being conformed to the Image of the Son (Romans 8:29). Holiness is even more than mnerely being conformed to Christ’s image; it is being filled with His Spirit. Holiness is when Christ Himself is living and breathing in the flesh and bones of one of His followers. When you meet a very holy person, you are truly, literally encountering Christ in him or her; hence, you want to fall at this person’s feet (but of course, he won’t let you); you want to weep for joy. You love him or her right away, and you know very quickly that he or she loves you more deeply than anyone else you’ve ever met, including your spouse, although with a different sort of love than that.

A saint a holy person; that is, one in whom Christ is clearly manifest. That’s it.

But there are a lot of misconceptions floating around about holiness, about what a saint is. The most popular one seems to be that a saint is an extremely devout person. But you can be super-religious, attending services twice a day and three times on Sunday, and still not be holy (Christlike). We’ve probably all known people like that, who accomplish little more than to test the patience of the people around them.

A person can preach beautiful sermons and still not be holy. A man I know was widely admired for his eloquent sermons – until the congregation discovered his boyfriend. A person can even preach, or write, great-sounding stuff about love, but unless his life actually manifests that love, he is, as St. Paul said, a clanging brass, or a tinkling cymbal, no more.

You can be a brilliant thinker and writer of theology, and still not be holy, still miss the mark, which is Christ.

You can be highly influential, towering over your age, dishing out advice to pope, patriarch, and king, without being holy. You can fast until you die, and do it all for a misguided, subconsciour motive.

You can be a kind and gentle person and still be stuffed to the gills with pride.

You can do heroic deeds, work wonders, serve the poor until you drop from exhaustion, give your body to be burned, have faith that could move mountains, and still not be holy.

There are numerous prominent figures of European history who have been called saints, who bore little or no resemblance to Christ. They are bogus; they may be great, illustrious, learned, influential, deeply religious, heroic, what have you, but they are not saints; no way are they saints.

Your Sunny, Funny Face

No matter how plain your face may be, no matter even how ugly, if it reflects your inner joy, everybody will be glad to see that face. If it is suffused with humility, people will be charmed by your face. If it is a face full of love, it will be transfigured into a thing of radiant beauty.

This is neither some metaphor nor some merely sentimental thought, but sober reality.

In fact, if we see the face of a saint, we literally can no longer tell whether it is beautiful or ugly in the secular sense. That category simply no longer applies. All we know is, it's one of our very favorite faces in the whole world.

Our Father Among the Saints, Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland

Troparion of St Patrick tone 4

Most glorious art Thou, Christ our God,
Who didst establish our Father Patrick,
as the Enlightener of the Irish and a torch-bearer on earth,
and through him didst guide many to the true Faith.
Most Compassionate One, glory to Thee.

Here is my favorite story about St. Patrick, along with a small excerpt of the famous hymn he wrote.

Akathist

To Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God

An "akathistos hymnos" is a hymn during which, for reverence, we do not sit down.


On Friday nights in Lent, we gather and, in fulfillment of her prophecy, call the Mother of God blessed -- in scores of ways, no, hundreds of ways, as many ways as poetry can devise. Here are a few.

Rejoice, thou through whom joy will flash forth!
Rejoice, thou through whom the curse will cease!
Rejoice, revival of fallen Adam!
Rejoice, redemption of the tears of Eve!
Rejoice, height hard to climb for human thoughts!
Rejoice, depth hard to contemplate even for the eyes of Angels!
Rejoice, thou who art the King's throne!
Rejoice, thou who bearest Him Who bears all!
Rejoice, star that causest the Sun to appear!
Rejoice, womb of the divine incarnation!
Rejoice, thou through whom creation becomes new!
Rejoice, thou through whom the Creator becomes a babe!
Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Rejoice, initiate of God's ineffable will!
Rejoice, prelude of Christ's miracles!
Rejoice, crown of His dogmas!
Rejoice, heavenly ladder by which God came down!
Rejoice, bridge that conveys us from earth to heaven!
Rejoice, wonder of angels blazed abroad!
Rejoice, wound of demons bewailed afar!
Rejoice, thou who ineffably gavest birth to the Light!
Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Rejoice, scion of an undying Shoot!
Rejoice, field of untainted fruit!
Rejoice, thou who laborest for Him Whose labor is love!
Rejoice, thou who givest birth to the Father of our life!
Rejoice, cornland yielding a rich crop of mercies!
Rejoice, table bearing a wealth of forgiveness!
Rejoice, thou who revivest the garden of delight!
Rejoice, thou who preparest a haven for souls!
Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Rejoice, mother of the never-setting Star!
Rejoice, dawn of the mystic Day!
Rejoice, thou who didst extinguish the furnace of error!
Rejoice, thou who didst enlighten the initiates of the Trinity!
Rejoice, thou who didst banish from power the inhuman tyrant!
Rejoice, thou who hast shown us Christ as the Lord and Lover of men!
Rejoice, thou who dost drag from the mire of works!
Rejoice, thou who hast stopped the worship of fire!
Rejoice, thou who hast quenched the flame of the passions!
Rejoice, guide of the faithful to chastity!
Rejoice, joy of all generations!
Rejoice, thou from whom flows milk and honey!
Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Rejoice, flower of incorruption!
Rejoice, crown of continence!
Rejoice, flashing symbol of the resurrection!
Rejoice, mirror of the life of the Angels!
Rejoice, tree of glorious fruit by which the faithful are nourished!
Rejoice, bush of shady leaves by which many are sheltered!
Rejoice, thou who bearest the Guide of those astray!
Rejoice, thou who givest birth to the Redeemer of captives!
Rejoice, pleader before the Just Judge!
Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Rejoice, door of solemn mystery!
Rejoice, doubtful report of unbelievers!
Rejoice, undoubted boast of the faithful!
Rejoice, all-holy chariot of Him Who rides on the Cherubim!
Rejoice, all-glorious temple of Him Who is above the Seraphim!
Rejoice, thou who hast united opposites!
Rejoice, thou who hast joined virginity and motherhood!
Rejoice, thou through whom sin has been absolved!
Rejoice, thou through whom Paradise is opened!
Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

St. Makarios of Egypt

Today is the feast day of St. Makarios of Egypt. Since it's largely to him I owe my conversion to Holy Orthodoxy, in his honor and with gratitude to him and to God, I pass on to you this, posted by Christopher Haas in his blog, "Word from the Desert".

They said of Abba Macarius the Egyptian that one day he went up from Scetis to the mountain of Nitria. As he approached the place he told his disciple to go on ahead. When the latter had gone on ahead, he met a priest of the pagans. The brother shouted after him saying, "Oh, oh, devil, where are you off to?" The priest turned back and beat him and left him half dead. Then picking up his stick, he fled. When he had gone a little further, Abba Macarius met the pagan priest running and said to him, "Greetings! Greetings, you weary man!" Quite astonished, the other came up to him and said, "What good do you see in me, that you greet me in this way?" The old man said to him, "I have seen you wearing yourself out without knowing that you are wearing yourself out in vain." The other said to him, "I have been touched by your greeting, and I realize that you are on God's side. But another wicked monk who met me insulted me and I have given him blows enough for him to die of them." The old man realized that he was referring to his disciple. Then the pagan priest fell at the feet of Macarius and said, "I will not let you go till you have made me a monk." When they came to the place where the brother was, they put him onto their shoulders and carried him to the church in the mountain. When the people saw the priest with Macarius, they were astonished and made him a monk. Through him many pagans became Christians. So Abba Macarius said, "One evil word makes even the good evil, while one good word makes even the evil good."

St. Macarius the Egyptian, commemorated 19 January

St. Demetrios the Great Martyr

Another hat-tip to Christopher Haas, who does us all such a great service by posting his "Word from the Desert" series.

There was a certain bishop from the country of the Africans, Cyprian by name, who cared for the true priesthood and led a life most deserving of God. He arranged to journey to the queen of cities, Byzantium, on a pressing matter of necessity. And when they had sailed for many days and had already drawn near to the regions of Greece, he was captured by the most fierce Slavs together with all his [companions]. When they had divided these captives among themselves, the [Slavs] enslaved the aforementioned bishop together with his [companions]. When these things had been done in this way, they returned to their native places, and each barbarian placed the burden of slavery upon his captive according as he wished. Bishop Cyprian managed his lord's stores and distributed his foodstuffs wisely and with foresight, and in praiseworthy fashion took comfort in prayers, vigils, and fasts. And he said to the Lord, "Although I am without any merit, you appointed me a shepherd of your flock; how have I now been brought to such a state that I have been demoted from such rank to the service of the barbarians? But I call to mind that this has happened to me on account of my sins, and that it is for this reason that I am held ensnared by this affliction. Who will guide my sheep now that their shepherd has been captured by barbarian animals?"
While he was weeping about these and similar things, a beautiful young man, decorous in form, with a military bearing and appearance, said to him, "If you want to be freed from the slavery in which you are held and to be rescued from the barbarians, rise and follow me. Watch yourself, while we are walking, lest you say anything at all to me; but let us march each striving for quiet and praying to God in our minds." Then the bishop replied to him, "Who are you and from where have you come here?" The other said to him, "I am called Demetrius, and I am a soldier of the great emperor. My house stands in the middle of the city of Thessalonica, to which I will lead you without harm if you follow me." Rising, therefore, he followed him, and they both proceeded in silence. They marched during the night and rested during the day. Furthermore, Demetrius used to leave the bishop in the morning and return to him again as the evening drew near, bringing with him fruit from various trees, together with the berries of shrubs, with which he fed his companion, and when they had taken their food, they used begin their journey.
After eight days, when they had drawn near the walls of the city already mentioned, Demetrius set Cyprian in front of the gates of the city and disappeared. When the bishop looked for his faithful guide and good companion and did not find him, he entered the city. He made enquiries of those he met and asked them where was the house of Demetrius the soldier. And when they replied that there were many Demetrii in the city who discharged military office, he remarked, saying, "The house of the one I am looking for is in the middle of the city." Therefore, since they were are all at a loss in this matter, the man being sought was found nowhere. However, the inhabitants of the city led the bishop to the church of the martyr. When he entered, he immediately surrendered himself to prayer, and gave thanks and praise to God the Savior; and as he raised his hands and eyes in prayer, he saw an image of the martyr Demetrius in the clothing of his companion and guide. Then, in the presence of all, he cried out, declaring that, without a doubt, it was Demetrius himself who had guided and saved him, and that this was the house which the martyr himself had mentioned to him as he appeared to him in the beginning.

Anastasius Bibliothecarius, The Passio of St. Demetrius
Great Martyr Demetrius, commemorated 26 October

Holy Demetrios, Great Martyr of Thessaloniki

Hat tip to Christopher Haas:

The Martyrdom of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki

When the emperor Maximianus (probably Galerius Maximianus, emperor 293-311) was spending time in the city of the Thessalonians, being a superstitious man, he persecuted those who heeded just religion and killed them. Among these was blessed Demetrius, he who had both performed good works since his youth and had taught others, who displayed himself and was without fear. For he taught how divine Wisdom had descended to the earth from heaven in order to bring back to life by means of his own blood man who had died because of sin. When he was preaching these and other things, some imperial servants who had been entrusted with the capture of Christians, seized saint Demetrius and presented him to the emperor Maximianus.
It happened that the emperor had gone to the city's stadium on account of those who had been about to join together in single combat. A circular enclosure was being readied there by means of some fencing where he was about to watch those who fought each other face-to-face in turn in the manner of the theatre because it was a delight to him to witness the spilling of human blood. Nevertheless, not without care and concern did he regard that which was perceived as delightful to him. For he burned with support for a certain single-combatsman, Lyaeus by name, who, abusing the strength and size of his body, had already vanquished many and possessed a knowledge of killing gained through theory and practice. Because all were afraid of this man and there seemed to be no-one to withstand him, Maximianus held him in high regard, prized him, and used watch him with great pleasure. He praised and admired him, and gloried in the arrogance of the man as if concerning something important. When he had arrived near the stadium, those who had seized blessed Demetrius, brought him forward to him. Hearing that he was a Christian, the emperor, because he was entirely focused on the spectacle that was at hand, ordered blessed Demetrius to be held there next to the stadium and to be kept under guard in the public bath. So the emperor took his seat, and when Lyaeus had been brought in, he asked who was willing to enter into single-combat with him, offering and promising gifts.
And a certain young man by the name of Nestor leaped forth from the higher seats, and, desiring single-combat, took his stand opposite Lyaeus, so that, stupefied, Maximianus called Nestor, he who had leaped forth for this reason, to himself, and advised him, saying, "I realize that lack of money has caused you to be raised to such a state of fantasy so that you either win and acquire sudden wealth or, cheated by your desire, rid yourself of your poverty along with your life. But because of my pity for the youth with which you are adorned, I will even give to you worthy and fitting gifts on account of your unique daring. So come on, take the gifts too along with your life. Do not hurl yourself against Lyaeus, since he has conquered many more powerful than you. When Nestor heard these things, he neither accepted the emperor's advice nor feared concerning Lyaeus' strength. He answered the emperor, "I have not come to this contest for gain, as you have asserted, but in order to prove myself better than Lyaeus. So then both the emperor and those who were about him, supporters of Lyaeus, rose in anger at Nestor's words, not tolerating his boastfulness. The emperor reassured Lyaeus and restored his confidence. He, for his part, hastened to show himself worthy of the imperial judgment. And when battle had been joined, Lyaeus received a mortal blow, immediately fell dead, and caused the emperor extreme confusion. For this reason, without paying Nestor any of the monies that had been agreed and promised, he then leaped forth from his seat and returned in sadness to the palace.

When some mentioned about Demetrius to him, roused to anger, he ordered him immediately to be pierced with lances in the very place where he was being detained. In this way blessed Demetrius completed the martyrdom of a good confession. His body was counted as little by his killers, but some religious men came secretly by night and rescued it from the dirt where it had been thrown, and having gathered as much earth as they were able, they carefully buried it so that it would not receive injury from any fierce and cruel animals. After these events, no-one cared to move the saint's body, but it remained beneath its marker. Furthermore, to say little, no few miracles and healings were worked in the same place for those who called upon him with faith. When the martyr's merit had presently been made common knowledge, Leontius, assuredly beloved of God, a man who adorned the seat of the prefecture of Illyricum, cleaned the building which contained the most holy body of the martyr, and freed it from all harm, since it was very humble, concealed on all sides, and restricted by the porticoes of the public bath and the stadium. He enlarged it by means of further lots of land, and erected there an oratory in honor of the holy martyr Demetrius for the praise of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom the Father and the Holy Spirit share glory, honor and power through ages of ages.

Anastasius Bibliothecarius, The Passio of St. Demetrius
Great Martyr Demetrius, commemorated 26 October
icon and troparion at: http://www.comeandseeicons.com/d/ynk03.htm

Once Again...

...with just one example, this time, for simplicity's sake.


I'm going to take another stab at that very difficult task of showing something of the difference between spiritual and emotional (or spiritual and sensory, or spiritual and anything else). Here is an image I posted a couple of days ago in a not very successful attempt.

Do you see anything wrong with this image?

I don't. Okay, you may criticize its sentimentality. I'll grant you that. But it's also well executed, has nice, warm colors, rich textures. There is nothing cheap, tawdry, ugly, decadent, or otherwise bad about it. In fact, it's rather charming, don't you think?

The thing about this picture, and this isn't a complaint, just an observation, is the response it elicits from the viewer. That response isn't necessarily evil. It just isn't spiritual. It's sensory and emotional instead. Let's take a somewhat closer look...
As in many non-Orthodox depictions (wherein aloofness is apparently confused with modesty) the Virgin isn't meeting your gaze. At first glance, she appears to be, but she's actually looking over your head to the heavens. You thus see a beautiful but rather remote Virgin; and you think, How lovely.

You see a very handsome, cuddly, sweet Baby. Awww, how precious!

And that's pretty much what this picture conveys, that an plus appreciation of the colors and textures and composition.

Now compare it with this icon.


How very different is the effect!

What accounts for the difference? For starters, here, the sentimentality and sensuality have been removed; there are no roses, romantic or scenic backdrops, white veils, or bare bottoms. The skin hasn't the tactile appeal of the first image. There is no cute baby fat. Look at the difference in Mary's hands in each image. There is still curly hair on the Baby, but it doesn't look like anything you'd be tempted to run your hand through. The physical beauty of the two in the icon is something you pretty much have to imagine. It is only suggested.

St. Mary, here, is not the beautiful-but-unattainable Virgin so much as the Mother. She meets your gaze; she engages you. She is not just someone whose purity you admire (and/or mildly regret, if you're a man); she is someone you can revere. And talk to.

The Child is a miniature adult, already displaying His spiritual maturity. He is not Someone you might have an urge to squeeze. He is someone you can worship.

There is cognitive, theological meaning in the Theotokos presenting her Child to us and in the Child's right hand, blessing us; but this image is also conducive to spiritual (as distinct from cognitive) insight. You might, for example, inwardly acknowledge the Mother of God as your true Mother, too, and relate to her accordingly. Or you might look at her eyes and see the cross she bore, not only from the death of her Son, but also from having been thought a whore by most people all her adult life. You see what she bore, but you also see the serenity, the radiance, the meekness, with which she bears her sorrow; you detect the joy underneath the trials. You see, in short, that the Holy Spirit has worked Christ's life not only in her womb, but in her living; you can see in her the words of St. Paul, fully realized: "I live, yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me..." You see who you are aiming to become. You renew your commitment to strive for christification.

This image, in short, evokes gratitude and love and prayer. It encourages and reinforces us in the Christian Life. It reaches us at a deeper level than the merely sensory, or merely cognitive, or merely sentimental or merely emotional. That is why it is appropriate for use in church, while the other is not.

They are both nice-looking images; they ostensibly have the same subject matter and there's nothing to censure in either one. But the first is treated in a thoroughly secular fashion; the second, spiritually. The one is for your viewing pleasure (entertainment), while the other is for your spiritual edification.

Questions About Praying to Saints

Are the saints even conscious, or are they asleep? What's to make us think they know anything about what is happening on Earth?

From our point of view, they appear to be asleep; hence St. Paul speaks of those who are “asleep in Christ.” But only their bodies are “asleep,” awaiting the day of glorification and reunion with their souls. But even without their bodies, the reposed Christians are very much alive, and certainly aware of what is happening with us here below. Scripture in at least two places bears witness to this Christian teaching. In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Rich Man, having died, calls out to Father Abraham, out of concern for his living brothers. In Revelation we are told the saints cry out from under the altar of God, asking how long before justice is done on Earth.

Knowing your hopes and your thoughts and your heart, and being able to “hear” countless people all at once, aren’t those all divine, not human, attributes?

They are indeed divine. But God glorifies and deifies His saints. That is, He makes them like Himself. “I have said, ye are gods.” (Psalm 82:6) Even during their lives on Earth, many saints have exercised divine gifts such as clairvoyance, physical healing, bilocation, and others. How much more do they exercise those now, freed from the limitations of time, of space, and of mortality? The reason the saints can do these god-like things is that they are completely filled with the Holy Spirit. He is the one Spirit animating the one Body of Christ, of which Christians are all cells. Christ, Body and Soul, is common to us all. He makes us to live the very Life, the divine Life, of the Holy Trinity.

Shouldn't we go directly to God instead of to the saints?

We should most definitely go straight to God, and do that first of all, and do that most of all. However, the outpouring of Love that circulates within the Body of Christ and within the Holy Trinity is such that God wills to save us through one another. This is why St. Paul can speak of himself saving people, or of wives saving their husbands. So we commune in many ways with the saints, including verbally.

What we say to them seems to fall into three categories. One is, we extol their heroic and wondrous deeds. We praise Christ's Life as He lived it in their bodies. It's another way of praising Christ Himself, and we sell Him short if we fail to recognize His glory in His saints. Each saint is like a prism refracting the Divine Light, each in its own, unrepeatable and uniquely praiseworthy way.

Secondly, we ask the saints for their intercessions, the same as we ask any other Christian to pray for and with us.

Thirdly, we sometimes ask them to exercise, on our behalf, specific ministries God has given them. Perhaps they were known to exercise a certain ministry during their earthly sojourns. Or perhaps experience down through the centuries has given us to understand that they have a particular ministry now. My Patroness, for example, Great-Martyr Anastasia, was known during her lifetime (and still is) as the "Releaser from Poisons." She knew recipes for antidotes. She knew how to compound various medicines. If you accidentally swallow the wrong sort of mushroom, she's the one whose special care you seek, after that of God Himself. Or, more properly put, if we pray to God after having ingested poison, it's likely His response (whether we know it or not) may be to send St. Anastasia to care for you.

Doesn't prayer to saints take away from the glory that is due to God alone?

No, it does not. At least it does not in Orthodox spirituality. The saints are God's glory, or at least little manifestations of it. What has He done more glorious than making rational creatures with free will, delivering them from sin and death, bestowing immortality upon them, and turning them into christified - which means deified - beings like Himself? To fail to recognize God's glory in His saints is indeed a monumental failure! (And to pray to saints without this recognition, that is, to suppose the glory is only their own, as if they were separate from Christ, would indeed be very wrong! It is to this sort of thing, I rather think, the Reformers were objecting, and rightly so.)

We are not infrequently told by the heterodox that God is jealous of His glory. It isn't so. Yes, I know, in the Old Testament He speaks as if it were so; He says He is a jealous God and will not have His glory given to another. (Isaiah 42:8, which refers to "graven images.") We have to realize that God was here speaking the same way you speak to a three-year-old when you tell her Mommy has a baby in her tummy. You don't literally mean in her stomach, but you wait to explain more accurately, until the child's understanding has grown to be able to grasp what a uterus is. In the same way, God was speaking then to spiritual toddlers to keep them from worshipping statues (or rocks, or trees, or calves). But in the fulness of time, when mankind is a bit more mature spiritually, when the Christ comes, what does He say? Praying to His Father, Jesus says, "the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:" (John 17:22) To go to the saints is another way to go to Christ, for they are the actual, true parts of His glorified Body, in what St. Paul calls a "great mystery". (Ephesians 5:32) Indeed, the Church is the fulness of Christ, "the fulness of Him that fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:23) Christ is not "full" without all His members, His saints. To praise the saints, to ask for their prayers, and to ask for their specific ministries, all these are ways of recognizing and practicing the fulness of Christ and of His glory.

Is there any biblical precedent for conversing with reposed saints? Sure. It's what Jesus Christ Himself did upon Mt. Tabor. He was found speaking with Moses and Elijah. If He can, then so can His members, in Him, with Him, through Him.

"Praying" to Saints

Probably "praying" isn't a good word for the Orthodox practice. It is technically correct, for to "pray" means simply to "ask," or plead. It does not necessarily even have any religious meaning at all. Yet in this culture, it has become synonymous with "worship," and that, of course, conveys entirely the wrong message. We do not worship saints.

Christopher Orr has compiled a list of Scriptural and patrisitic quotations, which he says is not exhaustive, to illustrate that the practice is very ancient.

I am hoping to write a little "FAQ" piece on prayer to the saints in the next couple of days (although right now I must take advantage of this weather, which, being neither too hot nor too cool, is perfect for cleaning out my attic). Meanwhile, I found a list, on the Internet, of some of the hymns we sing to saints, said hymns comprising by far the bulk of what we ever say to a given saint. From that list, I pulled the first few saints who might be of special interest, either because they are American saints, or because they were from Thessaloniki, or whatever. I list hymns to each one here, just to show everybody how harmless they are. Truly!

St. Raphael of Brooklyn

Troparion (Tone 3) Rejoice, O Father Raphael, Adornment of the Holy Church! You are champion of the true Faith, seeker of the lost, consolation of the oppressed, father to orphans, and friend of the poor, peacemaker and good shepherd, joy of all the Orthodox, son of Antioch, boast of America: Intercede with Christ God for us and for all who honor you.

Kontakion (Tone 3) Today the memory of blessed Raphael has shone on us; for having received Christ's call, he faithfully took up his cross and followed Him becoming a fisher of men. Let us cry aloud to him saying: Rejoice O Father Raphael!

St. Mark of Ephesus

Troparion (Tone 4) By your profession of faith, O all-praised Mark the Church has found you to be a zealot for truth. You fought for the teaching of the Fathers; you cast down the darkness of boastful pride. Intercede with Christ God to grant forgiveness to those who honor you!

Kontakion (Tone 3) Clothed with invincible armor, O blessed one, you cast down rebellious pride, you served as the instrument of the Comforter, and shone forth as the champion of Orthodoxy. Therefore we cry to you: "Rejoice, Mark, the boast of the Orthodox!"

St. Innocent of Alaska

Troparion (Tone 4) O Holy Father Innocent, in obedience to the will of God, you accepted dangers and tribulations, bringing many peoples to the knowledge of truth. You showed us the way. Now by your prayers help lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Troparion (Tone 2) You evangelized the northern people of America and Asia,
proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the natives in their own tongues. O holy hierarch Father Innocent, Enlightener of Alaska and all America, whose ways were ordered by the Lord, pray to Him for the salvation of our souls in His Heavenly Kingdom!

St. Gregory Palamas

Troparion (Tone 8) [1] O light of Orthodoxy, teacher of the Church, its confirmation, O ideal of monks and invincible champion of theologians, O wonder working Gregory, glory of Thessalonica and preacher of grace, always intercede before the Lord that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion (Tone 8) [2] Holy and divine instrument of wisdom, joyful trumpet of theology, together we sing your praises, O God-inspired Gregory. Since you now stand before the Original Mind, guide our minds to Him, O Father, so that we may sing to you: "Rejoice, preacher of grace."

St. Polycarp

Troparion (Tone 4) By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, you became a successor to their throne. Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood. Hieromartyr Polycarp, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Kontakion (Tone 1) Through virtues, you offered spiritual fruit to the Lord, therefore, you were glorified as a worthy hierarch, wise Polycarp. Today, we who have been enlightened by your words extol in song your praiseworthy memory,
thereby giving glory to the Lord.

St. Alexis (Toth) of Wilkes-Barre

Troparion (Tone 4) O righteous Father Alexis, our heavenly intercessor and teacher, divine adornment of the Church of Christ! Entreat the Master of All to strengthen the Orthodox Faith in America, to grant peace to the world; and to our souls, great mercy!

Kontakion (Tone 5) Let us, the faithful, praise the Priest Alexis, a bright beacon of Orthodoxy in America, a model of patience and humility, a worthy shepherd of the Flock of Christ. He called back the sheep who had been led astray and brought them by his preaching to the Heavenly Kingdom!

St. Symeon Stylitis

St. Symeon the Stylite (commemorated September 1) is one of my favorite saints. He is absolutely awesome.

To those who do not understand the purposes behind ascetic endeavor he appears a thorough-going kook. Indeed, he did even during his lifetime, the extremity of his asceticism challenging the people of his own day as much as it challenges us.

The purpose of his austerity, however, as with any Christian ascetical practice, is to bring the body into submission to the spirit. If I have no control over my body, there is no way I can meaningfully offer it to God; I may as well offer Him yours! St. Paul wrote that he beat his body, and not like a shadow-boxer, either, meaning he did it for real, he was serious about keeping his body under subjection. (I Corinthians 9:26-27) I think we must bear in mind that some people’s bodies are more stubborn than others. And some passions are just very difficult to defeat in all of us. Very stringent ascetics simply make the (correct!) judgment call that even to bleed is better than to sin. Or to be more blunt, certain temptations are hard to act upon when the body is in pain. Living atop that tower for many years in all weather, especially under the burning sun, St. Symeon offered his body a living holocaust to His Lord.

(In Orthodox spirituality, asceticism has nothing whatsoever to do with punishing oneself, a practice we consider morbid.)

St. Symeon lived in a cell on top of a tower that was anywhere from 30-80 feet high, depending upon which account is most accurate. (The height varied as the Saint from time to time built it higher.) Its purpose was to give him some physical distance from the crowds who came to seek his spiritual counsel, to have him settle their disputes, to receive physical healing from him. They came from as far away as the British Isles. St. Symeon always took time out of his prayer schedule to speak to the crowds, preaching and teaching.

Kings and queens, the Emperor and Empress, patriarchs and abbots, all heeded his teachings, and all were blessed.

This is from the OCA website:

Saint Simeon the Stylite was born in the Cappadocian village of Sisan of Christian parents, Sisotian and Martha. At thirteen years of age he began to tend his father's flock of sheep. He devoted himself attentively and with love to this, his first obedience.

Once, after he heard the Beatitudes in church, he was struck by their profundity. Not trusting to his own immature judgment, he turned therefore with his questions to an experienced Elder. The Elder readily explained to the boy the meaning of what he had heard. The seed fell on good soil, and it strengthened his resolve to serve God.

When Simeon was eighteen, he received monastic tonsure and devoted himself to feats of the strictest abstinence and unceasing prayer. His zeal, beyond the strength of the other monastic brethren, so alarmed the igumen [abbot] that he told Simeon that to either moderate his ascetic deeds or leave the monastery.

St Simeon then withdrew from the monastery and lived in an empty well in the nearby mountains, where he was able to carry out his austere struggles unhindered. After some time, angels appeared in a dream to the igumen, who commanded him to bring back Simeon to the monastery.

The monk, however, did not long remain at the monastery. After a short while he settled into a stony cave, situated not far from the village of Galanissa, and he dwelt there for three years, all the while perfecting himself in monastic feats. Once, he decided to spent the entire forty days of Great Lent without food or drink. With the help of God, the monk endured this strict fast. From that time he abstained from food completely during the entire period of the Great Lent, even from bread and water. For twenty days he prayed while standing, and for twenty days while sitting, so as not to permit the corporeal powers to relax.

A whole crowd of people began to throng to the place of his efforts, wanting to receive healing from sickness and to hear a word of Christian edification. Shunning worldly glory and striving again to find his lost solitude, the monk chose a previously unknown mode of asceticism. He went up a pillar six to eight feet high, and settled upon it in a little cell, devoting himself to intense prayer and fasting.

Reports of St Simeon reached the highest church hierarchy and the imperial court. Patriarch Domninos II (441-448) of Antioch visited the monk, celebrated Divine Liturgy on the pillar and communed the ascetic with the Holy Mysteries.

Elders living in the desert heard about St Simeon, who had chosen a new and strange form of ascetic striving. Wanting to test the new ascetic and determine whether his extreme ascetic feats were pleasing to God, they sent messengers to him, who in the name of these desert fathers were to bid St Simeon to come down from the pillar.

In the case of disobedience they were to forcibly drag him to the ground. But if he was willing to submit, they were to leave him on his pillar. St Simeon displayed complete obedience and deep Christian humility. The monks told him to stay where he was, asking God to be his helper.

St Simeon endured many temptations, and he invariably gained the victory over them. He relied not on his own weak powers, but on the Lord Himself, Who always came to help him. The monk gradually increased the height of the pillar on which he stood. His final pillar was 80 feet in height. Around him a double wall was raised, which hindered the unruly crowd of people from coming too close and disturbing his prayerful concentration.

Women, in general, were not permitted beyond the wall. The saint did not make an exception even for his own mother, who after long and unsuccessful searches finally succeeded in finding her lost son. He would not see her, saying, "If we are worthy, we shall see one another in the life to come." St Martha submitted to this, remaining at the foot of the pillar in silence and prayer, where she finally died. St Simeon asked that her coffin be brought to him. He reverently bid farewell to his dead mother, and a joyful smile appeared on her face.

St Simeon spent 80 years in arduous monastic feats, 47 years of which he stood upon the pillar. God granted him to accomplish in such unusual conditions an indeed apostolic service. Many pagans accepted Baptism, struck by the moral staunchness and bodily strength which the Lord bestowed upon His servant.

The first one to learn of the death of the saint was his close disciple Anthony. Concerned that his teacher had not appeared to the people for three days, he went up on the pillar and found the dead body stooped over at prayer. Patriarch Martyrius of Antioch performed the funeral before a huge throng of clergy and people. They buried him near his pillar. At the place of his ascetic deeds, Anthony established a monastery, upon which rested the special blessing of St Simeon.

Apolytikion (First Tone):

You became a pillar of patience and did emulate the Forefathers, O righteous one: Job in his sufferings, Joseph in temptations, and the life of the bodiless [angels] while in the body, O Symeon, our righteous Father, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.


Kontakion (Second Tone):

You sought the heights, though parted not from things below;
Your pillar became a chariot of fire for you.
You became thereby a true companion of the angelic host;
and together with them, O Saint, you ceaselessly pray Christ God for us all.


What's Left Today of St. Symeon's Tower