Why Orthodox Christians pray to the saints?
Answer with Bible quotes
This is a good question, God gives you patience, strength, and grace to understand it.
When we pray to Saints we treat them as Members of the Church who are already in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the Church, not only the earthly Church but also the heavenly Church.
Ephesians 1:10
“that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth-in Him”
The saints are already saved and are in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Hebrews 12:22–23
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect…..
The apostle Jacob urged the Christian believers, who were members of the church, to pray for one another:
Jacob 5:16 -17
Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months, it did not rain on the land.
As you can see, the prayer of a righteous man has great power.
During the days of their earthly life, the apostles, according to the Savior, loved their neighbors and prayed for them:
“ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you” (Col.1:9). “
So, after they left the body and settled with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6–8), did they love those who remained on earth less?
Of course not, they continue to pray for us. Especially when we ask them to pray for us. In our earthly life, we also ask for prayers from our brothers, sisters, and priests, and we know that God will hear the prayer of a humble, pure person much faster than the prayer of a person who is quite sinful and far from perfection.
The prayer of the saints is completely cleansed from sinful passions. An example of how the Lord listens to the prayers of the saints can be seen in the example of Saint Haralambos, a bishop who in the second century worked very hard to bring Christ to the pagans of Asia Minor (modern Greece), and many pagans believed in Christ and were baptized or martyred for their faith in Christ.
He was 113 years old and was tortured several times in the most cruel ways, but God healed his body. Before his final execution, St. Martyr thanked God that the Lord had considered him worthy to die for Him, and begged to be remembered in the Heavenly Kingdom. At that moment the heavens opened, and the Lord Himself, surrounded by a host of angels, appeared with the words:
“Behold, Haralambos, you have suffered much for Me. Ask whatever you wish, and I will fulfill your prayer.”
The martyr replied,
“Lord, may there never be famine, plague, or strong winds that destroy crops in the place where my relics will rest, but only peace, prosperity, and an abundance of wine and grain … O Lord, You know that men are but flesh and blood, forgive them their sins and grant them an abundance of Your earthly fruits, so that in joy they may praise You, the Giver of all good things. And let the dew that comes down from heaven serve to heal them. O Lord, my God, pour upon them threads of Your grace!”
We don’t address our prayers to the saints as if they were some gods, but as slaves and co-servants of God and even as His good friends, who have boldness toward God because of their love for Him. They are our co-prayers. We ask them to pray with us and for us.
It is not only the Lord who calls for mutual prayer, but the saints echo him. St. Cyprian of Carthage, who lived in the third century after the Nativity of Christ:
“Let us pray for one another everywhere and always… and if any of us first depart there (to heaven) by the good pleasure of God, let our mutual love continue before the Lord, and let our prayer for our brethren never cease (never stop) before the mercy of the Father”.
Originally published at https://notlate.substack.com.
