Saints - who are they? Who are the saints in Orthodoxy Who are the saints in Orthodoxy for children.

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The Saints (saints, lat. sanctus - saint)- persons especially revered by the church for a righteous life. In the early Christian church, all its members were called saints; later, the term came to refer to those who were considered worthy of paradise for piety, a steadfast profession of faith, the gift of miracles, or because of martyrdom. The martyrs were at the very top of the hierarchy of saints; people have long believed that the relics of saints can work miracles. Canonization and canonization is a rather lengthy process: in order to be considered a saint, a person must serve as a model of piety during his lifetime, as well as perform genuine miracles before and after death. According to the teachings of the Church, the saints in heaven pray before God for all the people now living on earth.
The Orthodox Church honors the righteous not as gods, but as faithful servants, saints and friends of God; praises their exploits and deeds accomplished by them with the help of the grace of God and for the glory of God, so that all the honor given to the saints refers to the majesty of God, whom they pleased on earth with their lives.

Who are the saints? Perhaps you will be surprised to hear that the saints were the same people as each of us. They experienced the same feelings as we do, their souls visited both joy and disappointment, not only hope, but also despair, both inspiration and extinction. Moreover, the saints experienced exactly the same temptations as each of us, and flattering temptations, like sweet-sounding sirens, beckoned each of them with their captivating, hypnotic power. What prompted them to that amazing thing that fills the soul with indescribable light, and what we call holiness?

At the beginning of the 4th century, a certain young man Ephraim lived in Syria. His parents were poor, but sincerely believed in God. But Ephraim suffered from irritability, he could get into quarrels over trifles, indulge in evil plans, and most importantly, he doubted that God cares about people. One day, Ephraim was late home and stayed overnight near a flock of sheep with a shepherd. At night, the wolves attacked the herd. And in the morning, Ephraim was accused of leading thieves to a herd. He was put in prison, where two more were imprisoned: one was accused of adultery, and the other of murder, and also innocently. Ephraim thought about this a lot. On the eighth day he heard a voice in a dream: “Be pious, and you will understand the Providence of God. Think over in your thoughts what you thought and what you did, and you will realize by yourself that these people are not suffering unjustly. Ephraim remembered how once, with malicious intent, he drove someone else's cow out of the pen, and she died. The prisoners shared with him that one participated in the accusation of a woman slandered in adultery, and the other saw a man drowning in the river and did not help. An epiphany came in Ephraim's soul: it turns out that in our life nothing happens just like that, for every act a person is responsible before God, and from that time Ephraim decided to change his life. All three were soon released. And Ephraim in a dream again heard a voice: “Return to your place and repent of iniquity, making sure that there is an Eye that oversees everything.” From now on, Ephraim was extremely attentive to his own life, he prayed a lot to God and achieved holiness (in our calendar he is referred to as St. Ephraim the Syrian, the memory is January 28 according to the Julian calendar).

So, the saints became holy because, firstly, they saw their unrighteousness, their distance from God (do not think that every saint of God was originally a saint). And secondly, they deeply felt that no good could be done without God. They turned to Him with all their hearts. They had to struggle a lot with evil, and above all in themselves. This is their difference from ordinary heroic personalities. Earthly heroes are trying to change the world through an external struggle for justice. And the saints influence the world through its internal transformation, and this transformation begins with themselves. If Peter I, although he was a strong-willed person, lamented: “I pacified the archers, mastered Sophia, defeated Karl, but I can’t overcome myself,” then the saints managed to overcome themselves. Because they trusted in God. And who can be stronger than God? His grace uprooted everything dark in their souls, and then enlightened their minds and hearts to the vision of amazing mysteries.

We call saints ascetics, because holiness is the path of unceasing spiritual ascent, and this is associated with a difficult inner feat, with overcoming everything that is vicious and vile in oneself. There is an ancient legend about how once the philosopher Socrates, walking with his students through the streets of Athens, met a hetaera, who arrogantly said: “Socrates, you are reputed to be a sage and enjoy respect among your students, but do you want me to say one word, and they will all immediately run after me?” Socrates replied: "There is nothing surprising. You call them down, and it doesn't take any effort. I call them to the sublime, and this requires a lot of work. Holiness is an unceasing ascent, in which effort is naturally required. Holiness is painstaking work, the creation of the image of God in oneself, just as a sculptor carves an amazing masterpiece from a soulless stone, capable of awakening the souls of others.

On the icons of saints we see a halo. This is a symbolic image of the grace of God, which enlightened the face of a holy man. Grace is the saving power of God, which builds spiritual life in people, strengthens them inwardly and cleanses them from everything sinful and filthy. The very word "grace" means " good, good gift because God gives only good things. And if sins devastate the soul, bring with them the cold of death, then God's grace warms the soul of a person with spiritual warmth, therefore its acquisition saturates and pleases the heart. It is the acquisition of the grace of God that elevates a Christian to eternity, grace brings with it the happiness sought by the heart of every person and true joy and light of the soul. Such an inexpressible light shone on the face of the prophet Moses when he descended from Mount Sinai, having received the Ten Commandments from God. So the Savior Himself, transfigured on Tabor before the three apostles, revealed His Divine glory: “And His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light.”(Matthew 17:2). Every saint also communed with this heavenly, Divine light, so that communication with the saints brought spiritual warmth to the people who came to them, resolved their sorrows, doubts and life difficulties.

Saints are those who saw God's plan for themselves and realized this plan in their own lives. And we can say that saints are people who responded with love to love. They responded to the boundless love of God towards every person, and showed their love for Him in their faithfulness. They showed fidelity to God in everything and, above all, in the secret places of their own hearts. Their souls became close to God, for the saints uprooted everything sinful in themselves, even at the level of thoughts and feelings. Therefore, holiness is not a reward for good deeds, but the communion of a person with the grace of God. In order to receive the gift of grace from God, it is necessary to fulfill His commandments, and to do this, to overcome what inside each of us opposes God, that is, sin.

Saint Anthony the Great once said: “God is good and does only good things, always remaining the same, and when we are good, we enter into communion with God, by our likeness to Him, and when we become evil, we are separated from Him by our dissimilarity with Him. By living virtuously, we become God's, but by becoming evil, we become rejected from Him. The Saints attained closeness to God and through this became like God. So the questions of life, which often lead us to a dead end, become clear to the saints thanks to the grace-filled Light, to which they have communed. That is why the famous writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol's reference book was the "Ladder" of St. John of Sinai - Gogol often turned to this book for clarification of questions of his own soul. Many famous people of the 19th century, trying to find answers to spiritual questions, turned to the venerable elders of Optina Hermitage. The most educated people went for advice to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, St. Theophan the Recluse, and Righteous John of Kronstadt. And the American psychologist William James, after reading the Ascetic Words of St. Isaac the Syrian, exclaimed: "Yes, this is the greatest psychologist in the world." Thus, representatives of secular culture were surprised at the depth of reasoning of holy people. Of course, among those who have not attained holiness, there is also wisdom and experience, but all this remains entirely earthly skill, while the wisdom and experience of saints not only solve the deep problems of earthly life, but also open the way for us from the earthly to the heavenly.

Just as an eagle soars high above the earth, but at the same time sees the smallest objects on earth, so the saints, having risen above everything earthly, having reached the Kingdom of Heaven, see everything that happens on earth and hear the prayer of a person sincerely praying to them. There are many cases in history when saints came to the aid of people still living on earth who were in trouble. When our contemporary, the famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, set off on his first, difficult voyage, Vladyka Pavel, Bishop of Australia and New Zealand, came to see him off. The bishop bequeathed, if it would be difficult, to ask for help from the Lord Jesus Christ, Saints Nicholas the Wonderworker and Panteleimon the Healer: "They will help you." During the trip, Fedor felt that someone was really helping him. One day, there was no autopilot on the yacht, Fyodor went out to set the sails and turned to St. Nicholas with such a simple phrase: "Nikolai, hold the yacht." While he was setting the sails, the yacht began to capsize, and Fyodor shouted: "Nikolai, hold on!", and he thought: everything will turn over. And suddenly the yacht became as it should, went as smoothly as ever, even when Fedor himself was at the helm. It was near Antarctica, where the metal steering wheel usually got so cold that gloves had to be worn. And at that moment, after a prayer appeal to St. Nicholas and an unexpected alignment of the yacht, when Fyodor Konyukhov approached the helm, he turned out to be unusually warm.

So, holiness is not a declaration of one's high morality, but the radiance of a pure heart that has acquired God's grace. And the saints are people who have partake of heavenly grace, which enlightens the soul. From God they received the gift of helping those still living on earth. And prayer to the saints can help even in the most, by earthly standards, hopeless situation.

Valery Dukhanin,
PhD in Theology

Where do saints come from? How do they help people? Is this really possible, and why do we need such God's "guides" - about all this I ask the priest Konstantin PARKHOMENKO, cleric of the St. ".

Father Konstantin, let's talk about who the Orthodox Church generally calls saints. For example, Protestants regard as saints all who become disciples of Christ. In confirmation of this, words from the Gospel are cited, for example: “... and now you are holy,” etc.

In Russian, the word "holy" (in Slavic "holy") can be deciphered as from above, that is, taken from above, from heaven. The Greek "agios" is translated as "unearthly", the Hebrew "kodesh" can be translated as "separated, cut off, different."

Actually, only God has always been called a Saint. An ancient prophet, raptured to heaven, sees the Throne of God in heaven, Angels fly around and cry: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts ...” A person or some religious object can be holy only if God gives them holiness, if God partakes in His Holiness.

So, holy means God. This is the one in whom God acts, does His work. In the highest sense, this is the one in whom, as the Holy Scriptures and Tradition say, God was "depicted".

In the latter sense, this word is understood today by the Orthodox. You will hardly find an Orthodox person who will say that he is a saint. This is at least immodest. On the contrary, the more righteous a person is, the more obvious it is for him that a huge distance separates him from God, from God's purity, righteousness, and holiness.

But in ancient times, for example, in the Old Testament, the people of Israel were called holy. Not because the Jews were righteous and pure, but because they were the people of God. As God said to the people when the Jews left the Egyptian captivity and approached Mount Sinai: “Therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you will be my inheritance from all nations, for all the earth is mine, and you will be my kingdom priests and holy people." And a little later the command: "...be sanctified and be holy, for I (the Lord your God) is holy."

The fact that Israel was the people of God, as if separated, cut off from the number of other peoples, allowed it to be called the Holy People.

Later, Christians also adopted this naming. They, as the successors of Old Israel, moreover, as true worshipers of God, who recognized His Son, called themselves a holy people, saints. Saints calls his disciples and ap. Paul in his epistles.

And when in the Creed we call the Church Holy, this does not mean that the Church consists of holy people, but that it is the Church of God. Holiness to the Church and its members is given by God.

Father Konstantin, what meaning in heaven can be canonized on earth? Is it really possible here, on earth, to decide something for sure and not make a mistake?

Of course not. It is precisely in order to “not make a mistake” that the Church is in no hurry to canonize, that is, officially glorify some ascetics as saints.

Church canonization is only a confirmation of what happened long ago in heaven. For the canonization of a person, it is necessary that he ... has already died. Only by following his life, his feat until his death and seeing how he died, one can understand whether this man was really a righteous man.

And after death, it is necessary that the holiness of this ascetic be confirmed ... by God.

How is this possible? These are miracles emanating from the grave or remains of a saint, or occurring in response to a prayer to him.

Little public respect. It is necessary that a number of miracles confirm the fact - the saint is next to the Lord, he prays for us!

After the death of the Monk Seraphim, there were a lot of such messages. The same can be said about the life of St. Righteous John of Kronstadt, and other saints.

I know many people who told about amazing miracles in their lives that happened through prayers to St. John of Kronstadt, Blessed Xenia, St. Seraphim of Vyritsky, Blessed Elder Matrona and other saints long before their official canonization.

In the Seminary, our teacher Tatyana Markovna Kovaleva told such a story from her childhood. During the blockade, her mother greatly revered Blessed Xenia.

There was a terrible famine, my mother was instructed to take cards for the whole house, and once she lost all these cards. Imagine! Losing the cards of the whole house - yes, this is sabotage in those days, execution! What to do? She left her daughter and ran to the Smolensk cemetery to pray to Blessed Xenia. Tatyana Markovna was then 10 years old. She is sitting at home - and suddenly they knock. Who's there? - Open it, baby. On the threshold is a woman in a knitted sweater and a green skirt, without outerwear, although it is cold outside. “Didn't you lose it?” - and gives Tanya the cards ... And how many more such cases were during the war years! And Blessed Xenia was canonized as a saint only in 1988.

The question arises: why, in this case, is church canonization needed? It is not for the saint, but for us! This is like a confirmation that the path of a saint's life is the path of a true son of the Orthodox Church, this is the right path!

Saints are canonized not in order to add something to their heavenly status, this is not some kind of church award, they have already received everything from God. Saints are canonized as an example for other Christians.

You can often hear: why pray to God through intermediaries, through saints? Will the merciful Lord not hear me anyway? And indeed, one can hardly imagine how a “strict” God is persuaded, implored by some saint who is especially close to Him, and the Lord changes His mind according to these prayers.

The best answer to this question is the opinion of the Lord Himself, which we find in the Holy Scriptures.

Here is the Old Testament. The story of the sufferer Job. Everything that happened to him was a test of his spiritual strength and trust in God. But friends come to Job and accuse him of immorality, which brought grief to him. And then the Lord is angry with friends. Their words are false and feigned. These people are trying to measure God's plans with their minds, they are trying to calculate God's actions. The Lord, who perfectly knows the purity of Job's life, angrily says to one of his comrades, Eliphaz: "My anger burns on you and on your two friends because you spoke about Me not as truly as My servant Job." And then the Lord commands his friends to repent, offer a sacrifice and ... ask Job's prayers: “And my servant Job will pray for you, for only his face I will accept, so as not to reject you” (Job 42:8).

Here the Lord Himself commands to ask for the prayers of the righteous.

In the 20th chapter of the book of Genesis, the Lord admonishes Abimelech, king of Gerar, to ask for the prayers of Abraham: "...for he is a prophet and will pray for you and you will live..." (Gen. 20:7).

Psalmist David also speaks unambiguously about the prayer of the righteous: "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are on their cry" (Ps. 33:16). And in the book of the prophet Jeremiah we read such a bitter testimony: “And the Lord said to me: even if Moses and Samuel stand before me, my soul will not bow down to this people; drive them (the wicked Jews) away from my presence." (Jer. 15:1).

And is there really any doubt that God listens to His righteous ones, if He Himself affirms: "I will glorify those who glorify Me" (1 King. 2:30)?..

The New Testament also contains many references to the power of the prayer of the righteous. Apostle Peter: "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are on their prayer" (1 Peter. 3:12). Apostle James: “The fervent prayer of a righteous man can do much”(5:16 ). And further - examples: “Elijah was a man like us (i.e., the same ordinary person as we are), and he prayed with a prayer that it would not rain: and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again: and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Jacob. 5:17–18). For app. James, it is quite obvious, undoubtedly, that the righteousness of life, let's say, the holiness of life, allows a person to perform miracles.

Can God cancel the sentence on people, the people through the prayers of the saints? Many facts of Holy Scripture and Tradition testify to this. Remember, Abraham begged the Lord, who appeared in the form of three strangers, to spare Sodom and Gomorrah.

Why is that? We find the following thought among the holy fathers: Christ promises that divine grace will be communicated to His followers: “Father, the glory that You gave Me, I will give them» ( In. 17:22). If a person works together with God to transform the world, cleanse it from sin, bring it to God, we can say that a person becomes a friend of God, a collaborator. Is it possible to assume that the Lord is deaf to a person who has given Him all his life, dedicated himself to the Lord?.. Such a person has the right to ask for others, and ask persistently, not like a slave or an unfaithful servant who constantly betrays his master, but like a son.

We believe that there is no death, as the disappearance of the soul; that after physical death the human soul continues to live an even more spiritually active life. So, what prevents even after the departure from this world, after resettlement to heaven, to help the deceased righteous people?

In the book of Revelation of John the Theologian, we read about the remarkable vision of the seer: “The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb [that is, Christ], each having a harp and golden cups full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” ( Apoc. 5:8), and, a little later: “And the incense smoke ascended with the prayers of the saints from the hand of an angel before God” (Apoc. 8:3–4).

It seems strange and somewhat pagan, at first glance, the custom of the Orthodox Church to pray on some special occasions to special saints. It is understandable, for example, why in family troubles you resort to the help of St. Xenia of the Blessed. But why, for example, with a sore head - to John the Baptist?

There are, of course, kinks in this. We can say that some saints, even during their earthly life, helped people in certain situations. These are holy healers, for example, the great martyr Panteleimon, the unmercenary Cosmas and Damian, the martyrs Zinaida and Philonilla, and others. Upon passing from earthly life to heavenly life, these ascetics will help sick people. They were given a gift from God, it is not taken away even after death. This is how the Church thinks, and in the ancient order of the Sacrament of the Unction (otherwise the Consecration of the Unction, the Sacrament of Church Healing) are the names of these holy doctors.

There are other saints who help in certain needs. A warrior - to a warrior, a missionary-navigator - to a sailor, traveler, etc.

But there are far-fetched examples that do not correspond to any sound logic. It is believed that John the Baptist, who was cut off his head, helps with headaches. Another saint helps from caterpillars, mice, Colorado beetles and other reptiles of fields and gardens... In some pious brochures there are long lists of such highly specialized heavenly helpers. But this does not correspond to the Orthodox faith or the experience of the Church; it is pious self-activity.

Although, you know, about ten years ago, such an interesting incident happened to me. At that time I was a novice seminarian, in some places zealous, in others naive. I was on a train with a man who had a terrible toothache. He had some kind of suppuration in the gum, everything was swollen, he did not sleep for several nights. And he went to the operation. Here he is sitting with his cheek bandaged, swaying, and mumbling something. I felt so sorry for him! I say: “Maybe you can bring some water?” He nods. I went to the titan to get some water, and then I remembered that with a toothache they pray to St. Antipe. And prayed to him. To my shame, I’ll say that I didn’t even really believe in this idea, I just felt very sorry for the person, and I prayed with all the strength of this pity. I crossed the water, gave him a drink ... And then - well, just a miracle happened. Five minutes later, he says: “Strange. I don't feel pain at all." Then he lay down and fell asleep peacefully. The swelling subsided the next day. I don't know what happened to him next, he got off in the morning... That's it.

Every person has a few favorite saints. You often turn to them in prayer, you light candles for them. But in the temple there are many other icons, different saints - even more. Do we “offend” others with our inattention? There is an opinion that all the saints, together with the Mother of God, make up in heaven, as it were, a single body that sings of God and prays to Him. What is the point of approaching “your” icons? What is the meaning, in general, besides one's own habit, is the custom of kissing icons and lighting a candle in front of them? You can often hear: “Here, I went to church before the exam, lit a candle, and passed well.”

I'll start with the last one. There should be no magic in relation to God. She didn’t put a candle to this saint, didn’t make a bow, didn’t kiss the icon - she will punish, stop helping. Such an attitude is unworthy of a Christian.

We must understand that, first of all, God needs our ardent desire to be true Christians. The Lord knows our life circumstances, who has what load, who has what opportunity to pray, and so on. Therefore, we should sincerely not be lazy in attending services, try to pray, learn this... But if we failed, if we were late for reasons beyond our control, the Lord will never be angry.

However, we still have a very tenacious magical attitude towards the Church. If a candle once helped a student, he will think that it is worth not putting a candle, he will immediately fail the exam.

I'll tell you one case. In our church of the Theological Seminary, on the eve of each exam, for those who wish, a prayer service is served before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. So we ask the Mother of God to help us successfully pass the exam. A seminarian I know, a classmate of mine, somehow understood that he had become inwardly dependent on these prayers. He was afraid that if he missed such a prayer service, he would pass badly. And then for some time he stopped going to the prayer service. He prayed in his room, asked for help, but did not go to the prayer service. After some time, when he realized that he was inwardly freed from fears, he again began to go to the prayer service.

But we digress. The question is why do we single out some saints? .. There is nothing wrong or strange in this. Many saints are close to us with their mental make-up, character, temperament, church service, ascetic deeds. Of course, we are especially attracted to such saints. We want to know about them, read their lives, communicate with them in prayer.

There have been many such precious discoveries in my life. It is, of course, St. Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, Blessed Xenia, Rev. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Sergius of Radonezh. When I entered the Seminary, I experienced great help from the spiritual patron of our Seminary and Academy, Apostle John the Theologian. In my second year at the Theological Seminary, I picked up a book about St. Simeon the New Theologian and simply “fell in love” with this man. I can say the same about the king and the psalmist David, the martyr Justin the Philosopher, Sts. John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Maximus the Confessor, Gregory Palamas, Blessed Matrona, and many others.

With our “attention” to some saints, we, of course, do not offend other saints. Where saints dwell, there are no petty offenses, wounded pride, and so on. But, of course, if we somehow single out some saints in particular, we should not forget that each saint of the Church is a unique and beautiful person who has matured for God. One should strive to learn about other saints, to study their life, to peer into the features of their feat.

What does a "strong" saint mean? That is, it is assumed that there are "not very strong"? At home I have oil from the relics of St. Alexander Svirsky. This oil really has a strong, pronounced healing property. But not with any oil you notice such an effect. Why is this happening?

There is no such thing as a "strong" saint in the Orthodox Church. Every saint, if we sincerely turn to him for help, helps. The same can be said about the holy oil (oil) from the relics or lamps of the saint, about some holy objects.

Here, too, I can give an example from my seminarian youth. All of a sudden I got eczema. I didn't know what to do. It spread farther and farther, already taking away whole patches of skin. And my friend had oil from Athos, from some miraculous icon of the Virgin. He just kept it in a glass jar. I told him: "Listen, give me oil." I went to the akathist to the Mother of God, prayed, then at home I had such a special, “spiritual” supper, anointed the affected places with this oil and went to bed. And from the next day, I began to notice an improvement. Then it shocked me...

But of course, now I try to rarely use holy items, only in extreme cases.

Great grace can bring any crumb, a drop of shrine. And vice versa, you can have at home dozens of particles of relics, oil, holy water, but this will not bring any spiritual benefit if we do not strive with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength towards God.

After the revolution, a special department for the fight against religion was created in the GPU. It was headed by E. Tuchkov. This man inflicted enormous harm on the Church, he condemned to death hundreds of now glorified in the guise of holy new martyrs. Note that meetings with people, even one of which would be a great honor for us, a spiritual revelation, did not have any effect on Tuchkov. His heart burned with hatred for God and the Church and was closed to grace.

In general, any shrine can bring us spiritual benefits if we accept it with reverence. And no shrine, even the greatest, can melt the ice if a person does not want it, because God respects our freedom...

A saint is called a reverend who during his lifetime was a monk and did not have the rank of bishop - that is, he was not an archbishop, bishop, metropolitan or patriarch.

The most famous saints in the Russian Church:

reverend
reverend
St. Sergius of Radonezh

The most famous saints of the Russian and foreign Churches who lived in the 20th century:

reverend
reverend
Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsky

Elder Silouan of Athos is one of the most famous holy ascetics of the 20th century. A monk who was able to contemplate the Uncreated Light is already on earth.

Rev. - means that the life of this saint, first of all, symbolizes a deep prayer path - similar to the angelic one. Their feat is prayer, and contact with the outside world took place only along the course of life, and not according to the “duty” that any priesthood or bishopric implies (archbishops and metropolitans could be the most holy people and have a gift for the deepest prayer and feat, but by virtue of their rank, they somehow participated in the secular and administrative side of the Church, since they were responsible for the whole city, the metropolis, or - as in the case of the Patriarch - the whole Church).

This does not mean that all the monks were hermits and did not leave the church for days on end. Life is alive, and many of them, if spiritually instructed many lay people who come to the monastery and spiritual children living in the world. Some of the saints precisely received veneration among the people for their selfless pastoral work - as saints or, to whom thousands of pilgrims flocked. And they received spiritual or physical healing from them ...

Who are the saints?

Where did the need to give definitions (faces) to the saints come from, and who are the saints?

A saint is not only and not so much an ascetic - that is, a person who outwardly gave himself to service, asceticism and work not for himself, but for God. A person can be an ascetic, but not a saint.

A saint is one who has acquired the Grace of the Holy Spirit. And in which the presence of the Holy Spirit was or became evident to those around him.

(Sometimes the understanding that a person was a saint comes after his death, and sometimes it is obvious to everyone during a person’s life that canonization - that is, recognition of him as a saint by the whole Church - is a matter of time)

Holiness does not mean that a person was necessarily endowed with any supernatural abilities - the gift of clairvoyance or the ability to heal - although, more often than not, saints just discovered incredible Gifts in themselves. Nor does it mean that every seer is a saint.

The reckoning by the Church of this or that ascetic to the canon of saints has two goals:

pay tribute to the saint;
set an example of the path to holiness so that everyone on earth can find an example that inspires or encourages them.

The host of saints is a reminder of how varied the path to Heaven can be already here on earth. It's an encouraging (or sobering) reminder that you don't have to be a monk to become a saint. It is not at all necessary to be killed for the sake of Christ in order to become a saint. It is not at all necessary to be homeless and blessed to become a saint. The ways of the Lord are inscrutable, and holiness is determined not by the external form in which the life of this or that person is clothed - but by his inner attitude towards life, God and Eternity.

Antique icon of the Appearance of the Mother of God to St. Sergius of Radonezh

What are the saints

Here are some of the most famous faces of saints.

Apostles are:

Disciples of Jesus Christ. There were not twelve of them, but many more, although twelve of them were considered His closest Disciples. At the same time, the word “apostle” in itself is not equivalent to the word “saint”, since Judas was also and is called an apostle, but it was he who betrayed Christ ...

The four gospels were written by the apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The faithful are:

Monarchs or princes were honored with such a face, who, instead of strengthening their earthly power, tried to strengthen both in themselves and around them the Christian faith and piety, and this is what they unconditionally put in the first place in their lives. For example, the holy noble Prince Daniel of Moscow. In his honor in Moscow stands the male St. Danilov Monastery.

Blessed (they are holy fools) are:

Saints who embarked on the path of outward adventure like a madman, a homeless man, a fool and an eccentric. Perhaps this is one of the most difficult feats to explain, and in any case it was not their "choice", but - a Calling ...

With their lives, they aroused the ridicule of those around them on the one hand (and thus, in the end they achieved holy humility), and on the other hand, many of them helped to see spiritually (or simply helped) the poor, orphans, and those who really need help . For example - blessed.

Icon of Saint Blessed Xenia of Petersburg, who took upon herself the feat of foolishness after the sudden death of her husband.

Martyrs are:

They gave their lives for faith and Christ.
The great martyrs are those who have endured particularly difficult trials and torments.
Hieromartyrs are priests killed for their faith (monks or non-monks).
The venerable martyrs are the slain saints.
The New Martyrs - those who fell in persecution against the Church in the 20th century. Basically, we are talking about post-revolutionary Russia and the Stalinist repressions.

Reverends are:

We talked about this in detail at the beginning. Reverends are saints who in earthly life were monks, but did not receive the hierarchal rank: that is, they had a life similar to angels by calling.

Equal-to-the-Apostles are:

Saints, thanks to whom a large number of people were baptized or believed - that is, whose feat was equal to that of the apostles. For example, St. Nicholas of Japan, who baptized thousands of Japanese at the beginning of the 20th century, is an absolute miracle, given the mentality of this people and its rooted in traditions.

Saints are:

Saints who were during their lifetime priests or monk-bishops.

Passion-bearers are:

Saints who were killed not for faith (that is, for the call to abandon it or Christ), but for keeping the Commandments or for the very idea of piety. For example, Emperor Nicholas II.

Wonderworkers are:

None of the saints sought supernatural abilities for themselves, most of them were even weary of them. However, the Lord is generous to people of a holy life, and the path of some of them for the Church and the people is associated primarily with miracles: insight, healing .... And in prayers they are addressed with special hope - to miraculously change the existing state of things: disorder, illness, personal weaknesses.

In Russia, we especially revere, for example, the saint.

Rare photo: Reverend Elder Paisios Svyatogorets feeding a bird.

Saints: what are the accepted abbreviations

The church has adopted a system of abbreviations, which is now actively used in spiritual literature. Not all of these words mean holiness, but they are used in writing the names of certain saints.

app. - apostle
indefinitely - unmercenary, unmercenaries
blgv. - pious (pious)
blzh. (blissful) - blessed, blessed
vmts. (vlkmts.) - great martyr
vmch. (vlkmch.) - great martyr
ev. - evangelist
Spanish (confessor) - confessor, confessor
book. - prince
kng. - princess
knzh. - princess
mch. - martyr
mts. - martyr
novmch. (new martyr) - new martyr
novosvshmch. - new priest martyr
rights. - righteous
prophet - prophet
clearance. - illuminator, illuminator
prmch. - venerable martyr
prmts. - venerable martyr
Rev. - reverend
Rev. Spanish (Prisp.) - Rev. Confessor
equal to ap. - equal to the apostles, equal to the apostles
St. - holy, holy
St. - saint
schisp. - priest
ssmch. - holy martyr
pillar - stylite
passion. - passion-bearer
miraculous - miracle worker
fool - holy fool

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Sometimes they think that saints are kind, impeccably moral people with whom it is pleasant to communicate. But it is not so. Saints are special people, especially close to God, and therefore to other people.

There is one ancient wise saying belonging to the ascetic of the 2nd century, Abba Dorotheus:

“Imagine a circle,” said Abba Dorotheos, “its center, and outgoing radii-rays from the center. The farther these radii go from the center, the more they diverge and move away from each other. On the contrary, the closer they come to the center, the more they approach each other. Now let this circle be the world, its center - God, and the radii from the center to the circle - the paths of people's lives. And the saints, who aspire to the center, to God, become closer to each other.

When people move away from God, they also move away from each other. This is the nature of love. Saints are people who especially love God and at the same time everyone - whether a good or a bad person.

A saint or saint can be compared to a small mirror in which the light of the sun is reflected - and this reflected light shines on other people. We cannot see God and we cannot imagine Him. But in the saints we feel the holiness - the love they radiate. The holiness of the saints is a reflection of the holiness of God.

Many saints lived very long ago. Their memory was passed down from generation to generation; it is her tradition preserved in the Church. This memory tells us about the most important thing - about the meaning of the life of the saints, about why they are saints.

Other saints lived and were glorified quite recently, as happened at the recent jubilee (2000) Bishops' Council.

The Church especially and solemnly glorifies the saints. Such glorification begins when, after the death of the saint, the memory of him, love for him and reverence are preserved among people.

Sometimes it happens that people receive help in response to a prayer to a saint. Sometimes the body of a saint remains incorruptible after death. When some time passes, the Church, in the person of its hierarchs, collects everything that is known about the saint, and solemnly glorifies him, “canonizes”.

Thus, quite recently Russian saints were glorified: Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow and All Rus', Blessed Xenia of Petersburg, Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, Theophan the Recluse, Saint Luke of Crimea, and many New Martyrs of Russia.

It is customary in the Church to distinguish between different saints. We know the holy apostles and evangelists who were disciples of Jesus Christ during His earthly life. Prophets gifted with a special knowledge of the will of God. Martyrs who died for the faith. Confessors who suffered for Christ. Venerable - holy monks. The righteous - holy priests and laity. Blessed sovereigns and rulers. Blessed, who for the sake of God refused pseudo-rational life.

Among the Russian saints there is a whole variety of types of holiness. And Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir, and St. Sergius, and Righteous Alexy of Moscow, and Blessed Xenia, and many Martyrs and Confessors who have recently suffered from the theomachist authorities.

Every day of the year, the Church especially celebrates and venerates individual saints. At baptism, every Orthodox person receives the name of some saint. Orthodox Christians celebrate the day of memory of their saint as their “name day”.

Russian saints... The list of God's saints is inexhaustible. By their way of life they pleased the Lord and because of this they became closer to eternal existence. Every saint has his own face. This term denotes the category to which God's Pleaser is assigned during his canonization. These include the great martyrs, martyrs, reverend, righteous, unmercenaries, apostles, saints, passion-bearers, holy fools (blessed), faithful and equal to the apostles.

Suffering in the name of the Lord

The first saints of the Russian Church among the saints of God are the great martyrs who suffered for the faith of Christ, dying in heavy and long agony. Among the Russian saints, the brothers Boris and Gleb were the first to be ranked in this face. That is why they are called first martyrs - passion-bearers. In addition, the Russian saints Boris and Gleb were the first canonized in the history of Rus'. The brothers died in the throne, which began after the death of Prince Vladimir. Yaropolk, nicknamed the Accursed, first killed Boris when he was sleeping in a tent, being on one of the campaigns, and then Gleb.

Face like the Lord

The saints are those saints who led while in prayer, labor and fasting. Among the Russian saints of God, one can single out St. Seraphim of Sarov and Sergius of Radonezh, Savva Storozhevsky and Methodius Peshnoshko. The first saint in Rus', canonized in this face, is considered the monk Nikolai Svyatosha. Before accepting the rank of monk, he was a prince, the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. Renouncing worldly goods, the monk asceticised as a monk in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Nicholas the Svyatosha is revered as a miracle worker. It is believed that his sackcloth (coarse woolen shirt), left after his death, cured one sick prince.

Sergius of Radonezh - the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit

The 14th-century Russian saint Sergius of Radonezh, in the world Bartholomew, deserves special attention. He was born into a pious family of Mary and Cyril. It is believed that while still in the womb, Sergius showed his God's chosen. During one of the Sunday liturgies, the unborn Bartholomew cried out three times. At that time, his mother, like the rest of the parishioners, was terrified and embarrassed. After his birth, the monk did not drink breast milk if Mary ate meat that day. On Wednesdays and Fridays, little Bartholomew went hungry and did not take his mother's breast. In addition to Sergius, there were two more brothers in the family - Peter and Stefan. Parents raised their children in Orthodoxy and strictness. All the brothers, except for Bartholomew, studied well and knew how to read. And only the youngest in their family was given a hard time reading - the letters blurred before his eyes, the boy was lost, not daring to utter a word. Sergius suffered greatly from this and fervently prayed to God in the hope of gaining the ability to read. One day, again ridiculed by his brothers for his illiteracy, he ran into the field and met an old man there. Bartholomew spoke about his sadness and asked the monk to pray for him to God. The elder gave the boy a piece of prosphora, promising that the Lord would surely grant him a letter. In gratitude for this, Sergius invited the monk to the house. Before taking the meal, the elder asked the boy to read the psalms. Shy, Bartholomew took the book, afraid even to look at the letters that always blurred before his eyes ... But a miracle! - the boy began to read as if he had already known the letter for a long time. The elder predicted to his parents that their youngest son would be great, since he is the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit. After such a fateful meeting, Bartholomew began to strictly fast and pray constantly.

The Beginning of the Monastic Path

At the age of 20, the Russian Saint Sergius of Radonezh asked his parents to give him a blessing to take the tonsure. Cyril and Maria begged their son to stay with them until their very death. Not daring to disobey, Bartholomew until the Lord took their souls. After burying his father and mother, the young man, along with his older brother Stefan, set out to be tonsured. In the desert called Makovets, the brothers are building the Trinity Church. Stefan cannot stand the harsh ascetic lifestyle that his brother adhered to and goes to another monastery. At the same time, Bartholomew takes tonsure and becomes monk Sergius.

Trinity Sergius Lavra

The world-famous monastery of Radonezh was once born in a dense forest, in which the monk once retired. Sergius was in every day. He ate plant foods, and wild animals were his guests. But one day, several monks found out about the great feat of asceticism performed by Sergius, and decided to come to the monastery. There these 12 monks remained. It was they who became the founders of the Lavra, which was soon headed by the monk himself. Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who was preparing for a battle with the Tatars, came to Sergius for advice. After the death of the monk, 30 years later, his relics were uncovered, which to this day perform a miracle of healing. This Russian saint still invisibly receives pilgrims to his monastery.

Righteous and Blessed

Righteous saints have earned God's favor through a godly lifestyle. These include both lay people and clergymen. The parents of Sergius of Radonezh, Cyril and Mary, who were true Christians and taught Orthodoxy to their children, are considered righteous.

The blessed are those saints who deliberately took the form of people not of this world, becoming ascetics. Among the Russian Saints of God, who lived in the time of Ivan the Terrible, Ksenia of Petersburg, who refused all blessings and went on distant wanderings after the death of her beloved husband, Matrona of Moscow, who became famous for the gift of clairvoyance and healing during her lifetime, is especially revered. It is believed that I. Stalin himself, who was not distinguished by religiosity, listened to the blessed Matronushka and her prophetic words.

Ksenia - holy fool for Christ's sake

The blessed one was born in the first half of the 18th century into a family of pious parents. Having become an adult, she married the singer Alexander Fedorovich and lived with him in joy and happiness. When Xenia was 26 years old, her husband died. Unable to bear such grief, she gave away her property, put on her husband's clothes and went on a long wandering. After that, the blessed one did not respond to her name, asking to be called Andrei Fedorovich. “Xenia died,” she assured. The saint began to wander the streets of St. Petersburg, occasionally dropping in to dine with her acquaintances. Some people mocked the heartbroken woman and made fun of her, but Ksenia endured all the humiliations without a murmur. Only once did she show her anger when the local boys threw stones at her. After what they saw, the locals stopped mocking the blessed one. Xenia of Petersburg, having no shelter, prayed at night in the field, and then again came to the city. The blessed one quietly helped the workers to build a stone church at the Smolensk cemetery. At night, she tirelessly laid bricks in a row, contributing to the speedy construction of the church. For all the good deeds, patience and faith, the Lord gave Xenia the Blessed the gift of clairvoyance. She predicted the future, and also saved many girls from unsuccessful marriages. Those people who Ksenia came to became happier and more successful. Therefore, everyone tried to serve the saint and bring her into the house. Ksenia of Petersburg died at the age of 71. She was buried at the Smolensk cemetery, where the Church built by her own hands was nearby. But even after physical death, Ksenia continues to help people. Great miracles were performed at her coffin: the sick were healed, those seeking family happiness were successfully married and married. It is believed that Xenia especially patronizes unmarried women and already held wives and mothers. A chapel was built over the tomb of the blessed one, to which crowds of people still come, asking the saint for intercession before God and thirsting for healing.

holy sovereigns

Monarchs, princes and kings who have distinguished themselves

a pious way of life, conducive to strengthening the faith and position of the church. The first Russian Saint Olga was just canonized in this category. Among the faithful, Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who won the Kulikovo field after the appearance of the holy image of Nicholas, stands out in particular; Alexander Nevsky, who did not compromise with the Catholic Church in order to maintain his power. He was recognized as the only secular Orthodox sovereign. Among the faithful there are other famous Russian saints. Prince Vladimir is one of them. He was canonized in connection with his great work - the baptism of all Rus' in 988.

Sovereigns - God's Satisfiers

Princess Anna was also counted among the holy saints, thanks to whose wife relative peace was observed between the Scandinavian countries and Russia. During her lifetime, she built it in honor of it, since she received this name at baptism. Blessed Anna honored the Lord and sacredly believed in him. Shortly before her death, she took the tonsure and died. Memorial Day is October 4 according to the Julian style, but this date, unfortunately, is not mentioned in the modern Orthodox calendar.

The first Russian holy princess Olga, in baptism Elena, accepted Christianity, influencing its further spread throughout Rus'. Thanks to her activities, contributing to the strengthening of faith in the state, she was canonized as a saint.

Servants of the Lord on earth and in heaven

Hierarchs are such saints of God who were clergymen and received a special favor from the Lord for their way of life. One of the first saints assigned to this face was Dionysius, Archbishop of Rostov. Arriving from Athos, he headed the Spaso-Stone Monastery. People were drawn to his monastery, as he knew the human soul and could always guide those in need on the true path.

Among all the canonized saints, the Archbishop of Myra, Nicholas the Wonderworker, stands out. And although the saint is not of Russian origin, he truly became the intercessor of our country, always being at the right hand of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The great Russian saints, whose list continues to grow to this day, can patronize a person if he prays earnestly and sincerely to them. You can turn to the Satisfiers of God in different situations - everyday needs and illnesses, or simply wanting to thank the Higher Powers for a calm and serene life. Be sure to purchase icons of Russian saints - it is believed that prayer in front of the image is the most effective. It is also desirable that you have a nominal icon - the image of the saint in whose honor you were baptized.