To canonize is to admit that a person was a saint

The teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church says that the canonized saints are God's servants, who defend the prayers of their fellow believers in faith before the Lord. Believers, in turn, magnify and honor them, revere in their prayers, pray to them, asking for intercession.

What does canonization mean?

The history of Christianity has many fixed miracles and unexplained phenomena for the common man. Many devotees of the Christian faith became famous throughout the world for their foresight, prophecy and miracles. They are revered, they pray, they are asked for help.

To canonize means to proclaim the church member who died to the saint. Saints are people who in life were able to completely get rid of and cleanse themselves of their sins, it gave them the power and opportunity to manifest the power of the Lord through themselves. Saints are those whose path of life, which was dedicated to God, is confirmed by the Church as a reliable fact.

To canonize is, from Greek, "legalize on the basis of the rule," or "rank to the saints." The Orthodox Church celebrates canonization with a special solemn service in honor of the joyous event - the glorification of the new saint. This procedure has its own rules and laws, occurs in accordance with certain regulations. There is a special Synodal Commission, which collects materials that promote canonization.

The practice of canonization

Earlier, when the feat of martyrs for the faith occurred in front of many witnesses, and their remains, becoming relics, were able to heal, the canonization procedure took place immediately, without any commissions and meetings. Now the situation has changed a little.

Candidacy for glorification is first considered by the commission of the diocese, of which a member was a man renowned for his faith in God. After the approval of all the necessary documents, they are transferred to the Commission under the Synod, where the final decision is made. That day, in which a decision is made on canonization, is entered into the church calendar and is considered the day when they glorify the newly-born saint. Especially for the newly-born saint, a church service is subsequently composed and an icon is drawn.

Materials confirming the holiness of the righteous

To canonize is to accomplish a procedure that is based on a petition as a saint. To make a decision, the commission, in addition to petition, should consider the full biography of the righteous, where all his miracles and feats will be described in detail, which indicate holiness.

Biography is based on archival documents: medical certificates of healings, testimonies of clergymen and laity about lifelong miracles and pious deeds of the ascetic, archival evidence of his appearances to believers after death or even during life. A huge role here is played by how the devotee is worshiped and lauded by the laity.

Criteria indicating that a person can be canonized by the church

The most important and most important criterion will be the merit of a person before the parish and before the whole Christian world. The holiness of the righteous can be confirmed by the faith in him of the Church, as in a man who was pleasing to God and served as an advent to the land of God's son.

The martyr's death for the faith and teachings of Christ also serves as a criterion indicating holiness. By the person of saints, the miracles performed by prayer or received as a result of worshiping the remains of a person - holy relics - are included in the event of a miracle appearing to the world. The relics are the remains or the completely preserved bodies of the glorified righteous, the appeal to which in miracles works miracles.

To canonize means to recognize that a person has lived a righteous, pious life, for holiness is an example for imitation, a feat of martyrdom or great virtues in life.