The teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church says that canonized saints are God's servants who protect their fellow believers before the Lord with prayers. Believers, in turn, magnify and honor them, honor them in their prayers, pray to them, asking for intercession.
What does canonization mean?
The history of Christianity has many recorded miracles and phenomena that are inexplicable to the average person. Many ascetics of the Christian faith have become famous all over the world for their insight, prophecies and miracles. They are revered, they are prayed to, they are asked for help.
To canonize means to proclaim a church member who has died a saint. Saints are people who, during their lifetime, were able to completely get rid of and cleanse themselves of their sins, this gave them strength and the opportunity to reveal the power of the Lord through themselves to the world. Saints are those whose life path, which was dedicated to God, is confirmed by the Church as a reliable fact.
To canonize is from the Greek means "to legitimize on the basis of the rule", or "canonise". The Orthodox Church celebrates the canonization with a special solemn service in honor of the joyful event -glorification of the new saint. This procedure has its own rules and laws, takes place in accordance with certain regulations. There is a special Synodal Commission that collects materials that contribute to the canonization.
Practice of canonization procedure
Earlier, when the feat of martyrs for the faith took place 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 somewhat.
A candidacy for glorification is first considered by a commission of the diocese, a member of which was a person who became famous because of 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. The day on which the decision on canonization is made is entered into the church calendar and is considered the day when the newly-appeared saint is glorified. Especially for the newly-appeared saint, a church service is subsequently compiled and an icon is drawn.
Materials confirming the holiness of the righteous man
To canonize is to complete a procedure based on a request to be canonized. To make a decision, the commission, in addition to the petition, must consider the full biography of the righteous man, where all his miracles and deeds that testify to holiness will be described in detail.
The biography is compiled on the basis of archival documents: medical certificates of healings, testimonies of clergy and laity aboutlifetime miracles and pious deeds of the ascetic, archival evidence of his appearances to believers after death or even during his lifetime. A huge role here is played by how the ascetic is revered and glorified by the laity.
Criteria indicating that a person can be canonized by the church
The most important and most important criterion will be a person's merits before the church parish and before the whole Christian world. The holiness of the righteous can be confirmed by the Church's faith in him, as in a person who was pleasing to God and served the coming of God's son to earth.
Martyrdom for the faith and teachings of Christ also serves as a criterion indicating holiness. They rank as saints in the event of the appearance of miracles to the world, performed through prayer or received as a result of worship of human remains - holy relics. Relics are the remains or completely preserved bodies of the glorified righteous, the appeal to which in prayers works wonders.
To canonize means to recognize that a person lived a righteous, pious life, because holiness is an example to follow, a feat of martyrdom or great virtues during life.
