Intercession of saints

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Intercession of saints

Intercession of the saints is a Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
doctrine common to the vast majority of the world's Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and a number of Reformed Christian communities. Intercessory prayer

Prayer in Christianity

Praying to the Gods or spirits predates history and is a widespread feature of innumerable religions, and also of less organized belief, including animism....
is a petition made to God

God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
on behalf of others. If a believer prays for his children or friends, his enemies or leaders, then the believer is interceding on behalf of another.

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Intercession of the saints is a Christian

Christianity

Prayer in Christianity

Praying to the Gods or spirits predates history and is a widespread feature of innumerable religions, and also of less organized belief, including animism....
is a petition made to God

God

Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
in prayer is that the saints are both close to God, because of their holiness, and accessible to humans.

Biblical basis

Some Christians say that Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
' parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus in indicates the ability of the dead to pray for the living. Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
's repeated references to Jesus Christ as "advocate" for the believers also indicates that Jesus, living at the right hand of God, may intercede for the believer.(; ) By extension, other holy people who are living in Christ on earth or in heaven (having left their earthly existence) may be able to intercede-through Christ- on behalf of the petitioner.(; ) This is a controversial doctrine because in some faiths only Jesus is holy enough to intercede for people. From the Roman Catholic, the Orthodox, as well as the Anglican perspective: if those living here on earth can intercede on behalf of each other, then those which have already been glorified in heaven, and are even closer "in Christ", are made holy as "one" unified through him (the mediator between God and men- on earth and heaven) by his sacrifice, can certainly intercede for those on earth as well.( and ; ).

Roman Catholic views

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
doctrine supports intercessory prayer to saints. Intercessory prayer to saints also plays an important role in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. Also some Anglo-Catholics believe in saintly intercession. They may point to such Scriptural passages as , , or , which depict heavenly beings offering the prayers of mortals before God, and in addition to (where all those in heaven can be presumed to be living righteously), which states the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Both those for and against the intercession of saints quote .

Anglican views

The Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
makes a distinction between a "Romish" and a "Patristic" doctrine concerning the invocation of saints, permitting the latter, but forbidding the former. The Thirty-Nine Articles

Thirty-Nine Articles

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established in 1563, and are the historic defining statements of Anglican doctrine in relation to the controversies of the English Reformation; especially in the relation of Calvinist doctrine and Roman Catholic practices to the nascent Anglican doctrine of the evolving English Church....
of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
condemned the Romish invocation of saints as "a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God" (Article XXII). The Oxford Movement

Oxford Movement

The Oxford Movement or Tractarianism was an affiliation of High Church Anglicans, most of whom were members of the University of Oxford, who sought to demonstrate that the Church of England was a direct descendant of the Church established by the Twelve apostles....
saw a revival of the Patristic practice, which is now found among High Church

High church

"High Church" relates to ecclesiology and liturgy in Anglican theology and practice. Although used by several Protestant Christian denominations, the term has traditionally been associated with the Anglican tradition in particular....
Anglicans and especially Anglo-Catholics.

Protestant views

Many Protestant churches strongly reject all saintly intercession, in seeming accordance with verses like , which says that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. They also point to the fact that there are no examples in the Bible of alive humans praying to dead humans - Jesus Christ being the lone exception because Jesus is believed to be alive and resurrected. The practice was attacked both by the Waldensians of the 12th century, and the various Gnostic Bogomil groups (including the Albigensians). The Calvinists

Calvinism

Calvinism is a theology system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes the rule of God over all things. It was developed by several theologians, but it bears the name of the French Protestant Reformation John Calvin because of his prominent influence on it and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates t...
and Zwinglians were particularly zealous in their rejection of saintly intercession.

Jewish views

There is some evidence of a Jewish

Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
belief in intercession, both in the form of the paternal blessings passed down from Abraham

Abraham

Abraham is a man featured in the Book of Genesis and an important figure in several monotheistic religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam traditions regard him as the founding Patriarchs of the Israelites, Ishmaelites and Edomite peoples....
to his children, and 2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical books book of the Bible which focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work....
, where Judas Maccabaeus sees the dead Onias and Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was one of the 'greater prophet' of the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth.His writings are put together in the Book of Jeremiah and, according to tradition, the Book of Lamentations....
giving blessing to the Jewish army. There are also opposing views in that to God alone only prayers may be offered.

In modern times one of the greatest divisions in Jewish theology (hashkafa
Hashkafa

Hashkafa is a Hebrew language term often used when referring to ones personal Jewish philosophy....
) is over the issue of whether one can beseech the help of a tzadik - an extremely righteous individual. The main conflict is over a practice of beseeching a tzadik who has already died to make intercession before the Almighty. This practice is common mainly among Chasidic Jews, but also found in varying degrees among other usually Chareidi communities. It strongest opposition is found largely among sectors of Modern Orthodox Judaism, Dor Daim

Dor Daim

Dor Daim, sometimes known as Dardaim, are adherents of the Dor Deah movement in Judaism. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools....
and Talmide haRambam, and among aspects of the Litvish Chareidi community. Those who oppose this practice usually do so over the problem of idolatry

Idolatry

Idolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or Object , as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered as sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent....
, as Jewish Law strictly prohibits making use of a mediator (melitz) or agent (sarsur) between oneself and the Almighty.

The perspectives of those Jewish groups opposed to the use of intercessors is usually softer in regard to beseeching the Almighty alone merely in the "merit" (skhut) of a tzadik.

Those Jews who support the use of intercessors claim that their beseeching of the tzadik is not prayer or worship. The conflict between the groups is essentially over what constitutes prayer, worship, a mediator (melitz), and an agent (sarsur).

Muslim views

Intercession is a practice in which help is sought fromr God, for the sake of, or by means of the virtues of, a particular saint prophet. The Arabic term for intercession is called tawassul

Tawassul

Tawassul is an Islamic religious practice in which a Muslim seeks nearness to Allah. A rough translation would be: "To draw near to what one seeks after and to approach that which one desires." The exact definition and method of tawassul is a matter of some dispute within the Muslim community....
, which means "begging". Belief in intercession is a defining characteristic of traditional Islam, particularly present in the Shia sect. , However, more recently some scholars, predominantly from fundamentalist sects, have questioned this practice. Salafis are among its most vocal opponents, and consider tawassul a form of shirk.

Intercession of saints

Biblical basis

Roman Catholic views

Anglican views

Protestant views

Jewish views

Muslim views

See also

External links