What is…

Who are the Saints?

The saints are friends of God who have attained theosis and intercede for us before His throne — living members of the Body of Christ.

What is a Saint?

In Orthodox theology, a saint is anyone who is united with God — 'saints' can refer to all the baptized faithful.
In the technical sense, the Church glorifies (canonizes) those whose holiness has been confirmed by miracles and the witness of the faithful.
Saints are not worshiped; they are venerated and asked to intercede for us.
The body of a saint often remains incorrupt, a sign of the Holy Spirit's indwelling.

How Does the Church Recognize Saints?

Glorification (canonization) is a formal act of a local or universal council.
Evidence includes: incorruption of relics, myrrh-streaming, documented miracles, and the witness of the faithful.
Local veneration often precedes formal glorification — the Church confirms what the faithful have already discerned.

The Communion of Saints

Death does not sever fellowship in the Body of Christ — saints in heaven are alive in God.
Orthodox Christians ask the saints to pray for them, as they ask living Christians to pray.
The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in communion with 'all the saints' — past, present, and future.
Icons of saints make them present in our worship; we pray with them, not merely to them.

Next steps

Saints are those whom the Church has recognized as having attained theosis — union with God — and whose intercessions are powerful before the throne of God. They are not distant figures from the past but living members of the Body of Christ.

Worship & Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy, feasts, hymnography, and the sanctification of time.

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FastingTopic
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Holy IconsTopic
Holy icons are sacred images of Christ, the Theotokos, the saints, and events from Scripture and Church history. In Orthodox theology, icons are not mere art but a confession of the Incarnation — they proclaim that God became visible in the flesh.
Divine LiturgyTopic
The Divine Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Orthodox Church — the central act of Christian worship in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the Body and Blood of Christ. It is not merely a memorial but a participation in the eternal sacrifice of Christ.
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Supporting pillars

History of Orthodoxy

What is a Saint?

How Does the Church Recognize Saints?

The Communion of Saints

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