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THE SAINTS PORTAL

Showcased saint-related content

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 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 shengren, and the Buddhist arhat or bodhisattva also as saints. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official declaration, as in the Catholic faith, 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.

More selected biographies

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Did you know...

...that Saint Gorgonia reportedly cured herself of a life-threatening illness by anointing herself with elements of the Eucharist mixed with her own tears?
...that Wiborada, a spiritual mentor of Ulrich of Augsburg, was the first female saint to be canonized by the Vatican?
...that Beatus of Lungern, a first century Christian missionary to Switzerland, is often depicted as a monk fighting a dragon?

More did you know facts

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Selected saint days

1 March Saint David
2 March SaintChad
4 March Saint Casimir
7 March Saints Perpetua, Felicity and their Companions
8 March Edward King
8 March Felix of Burgundy
8 March Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy
17 March Saint Patrick
18 March Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
19 March Saint Joseph
20 March Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
21 March Thomas Cranmer
24 March Walter Hilton
24 March Saint Oscar Romero
26 March Harriet Monsell
31 March John Donne

...Archive/Noms

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General images

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

Image 1Pope Pius II canonizes Catherine of Siena. (from Canonization)
Image 2Portrait of the saintly Kanua, a Hindu baba of Mathura, India, also pictured with a halo encircling his head. (from Saint)
Image 3The 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 4A portrait depicting Saint Francis of Assisi by the Italian artist Cimabue (1240–1302) (from Saint)
Image 5The Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria (1876). On 3 April 2011, Batak massacre victims were canonized as saints. (from Canonization)
Image 6"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 7Canonization of Elizabeth of Hungary in 1235. Sándor Liezen-Mayer (1863). (from Canonization)
Image 8St. John the Baptist pictured with a halo. In Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with wreaths, palm branches, white lilies or other attributes. (from Saint)
Image 9On 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 10Dutch 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 11Saint, 12th-century fresco in Staraya Ladoga (from Saint)
Image 12The 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 13Eremitic Saint Onuphrius by Emmanuel Tzanes, 1662 (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

Good articles

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