Portal:Saints

THE SAINTS PORTAL

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In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term saint depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but a selected few are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official 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. In many Protestant denominations, and following from Pauline usage, saint refers broadly to any holy Christian without special recognition or selection.

While the English word saint (deriving from the Latin sanctus) originated in Christianity, historians of religion tend to use the appellation "in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people", referring to the Jewish ḥasīd or tzadik, the Islamic walī/fakir, the Hindu rishi, Sikh bhagat or guru, the Shintoist kami, the Taoist immortal or zhenren, and the Buddhist arhat or bodhisattva also as saints. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official declaration, as in Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, or by popular acclamation (see folk saint). (Full article...)

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Selected biography

Saint Maximus the Confessor (also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople) (c. 580 – 13 August 662) was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. However, he gave up this life in the political sphere to enter into the monastic life.

After moving to Carthage, Maximus studied several Neo-Platonist writers and became a prominent author. When one of his friends began espousing the Christological position known as Monothelitism, Maximus was drawn into the controversy, in which he supported the Chalcedonian position that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. His positions eventually resulted in exile, soon after which he died. Maximus is among those Christians who were venerated as saints shortly after their deaths. The vindication of Maximus' theological position at the Third Council of Constantinople made him extremely popular within a generation after his death, and his cause was aided by the accounts of miracles at his tomb. In Eastern Christianity, Maximus has always been influential. The Eastern theologians Simeon the New Theologian and Gregory Palamas are seen as intellectual heirs to Maximus. Further, a number of Maximus' works are included in the Greek Philokalia - a collection of some of the most influential Greek Christian writers.

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Did you know...

...that shortly after Jonah of Manchuria died in 1925, he is said to have appeared in a dream before a crippled boy saying "Here, take my legs. I don't need them anymore," and the boy woke up completely healed?
...that the Lutheran liturgical calendar includes several biblical personages as “Saint” though it is commonly believed that Lutherans “do not have saints”?
...that the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, though not written by Saint Jerome himself, was the most widely-used martyrology during the Middle Ages?

More did you know facts

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Selected saint days

1 October Saint Remigius
1 October Anthony Ashley Cooper
4 October Francis of Assisi
9 October St Denys
9 October Robert Grosseteste
10 October Paulinus of York
10 October Thomas Traherne
11 October Ethelburga of Barking
11 October James the Deacon
12 October St Wilfrid of Ripon
12 October Edith Cavell
13 October Alexandrina of Balazar
13 October Edward the Confessor
15 October Teresa of Ávila
17 October Ignatius of Antioch
18 October Luke the Evangelist
19 October Henry Martyn
22 October Saint John Paul II
25 October Sts Crispin and Crispinian
26 October Alfred the Great
26 October Cedd
28 October Simon the Zealot and Jude the Apostle
29 October James Hannington

...Archive/Noms

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General images

The following are images from various saint-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria (1876). On 3 April 2011, Batak massacre victims were canonized as saints. (from Canonization)
Image 2The month of November in the Czech calendar for 1867 (detail). The calendar of saints is given not only for Catholics, but also for "Protestants". (from Saint)
Image 3John the Baptist pictured with a halo. In Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with wreaths, palm branches, white lilies and other attributes. (from Saint)
Image 4The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells. The winged man, lion, eagle and bull symbolize, clockwise from top left, Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. (from Saint symbolism)
Image 5Canonization of Elizabeth of Hungary in 1235. Sándor Liezen-Mayer (1863). (from Canonization)
Image 6On 4 November 1992, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously declared saints those Christians who had been tortured and massacred by the Turks in the Great fire of Smyrna in 1922. (from Canonization)
Image 7Pope Pius II canonizes Catherine of Siena. (from Canonization)
Image 8Saint, 12th-century fresco in Staraya Ladoga (from Saint)
Image 9Portrait of the saintly Kanua, a Hindu baba of Mathura, India, also pictured with a halo encircling his head. (from Saint)
Image 10A portrait depicting Saint Francis of Assisi by the Italian artist Cimabue (1240–1302) (from Saint)
Image 11Eremitic Saint Onuphrius by Emmanuel Tzanes, 1662 (from Saint)
Image 12Dutch Book of Prayers from the mid-fifteenth century showing a group of five saints, with their emblems: Saint James the Great (wearing a pilgrim's hat); Saint Joseph; Saint Ghislain (holding a church); Saint Eligius (bishop with a crosier, holding a hammer); Saint Hermes (with the armor and the sword) (from Saint symbolism)
Image 13"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."—A.C. Article XXI. (from Saint)
Image 14Icon of St. Cyprian of Carthage, who urged diligence in the process of canonization (from Canonization)

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Related portals

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WikiProjects

Religion
- Christianity

The Saints Wikiproject aims primarily at standardizing the articles about people venerated by some Christians as saints or the blessed and ensuring quality articles. If there is an interest in including saints from religions other than Christianity, please propose those changes on our talk page.

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Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Saints}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

Featured articles

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Featured pictures

Annunciation Memling
Cabinet Card of Sojourner Truth - Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
IsabellaofCastile03
Jan van Eyck - Kardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project
Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project
Leonardo da Vinci - Virgin and Child with St Anne C2RMF retouched
Raffaello Sanzio - Madonna del Cardellino - Google Art Project
Raphaël - La Madone de Lorette - Google Art Project
Russian Imperial Family 1913
Saint Côme & Saint Damien Grandes Heures Anne de Bretagne XVIe
San Giovanni Evangelista (Parma) - Dome
Sir Anthony Van Dyck - Charles I (1600-49) - Google Art Project
Sojourner Truth, 1870 (cropped, restored)
William Holman Hunt - The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple - Google Art Project