|
But
the Church did encourage the veneration of the relics of four types of
people, besides St.Mary and the Apostles:
-
· Martrys
who laid down their lives for the faith (Sahde eg. St. Ignatius,St. George,
St.Stephen etc.)
-
· Confessors
who were persecuted and tortured but did not die (Mowdyone)
-
· Great
teachers and defenders of the Church - like St. Athanasius,St. Cyril etc.
·
Great ascetics and Holy men who often died a natural death, eg. St. antonious,St.Pachomius,St.Symeon
the Stylite etc.
Great Saints
fall within more than one category,eg. St.basil, he belonged to Groups
2,3 and 4.
Our
Saint of Parumala also falls within categories 3 and 4 for he was the one
who defended the Orthodox Church from the attacks of western rationalism,
which came through western missionaries and through our own people who
were deeply influnced by their wrong teaching.Were it not for his unusual
combination of exceptional sanctity and unusually intelligent perception
of the faith of the undivided Church, more of our people would have been
swept away by the current of Protestant rationalism.
In
the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, being canonized as a Saint
confers seven privileges
-
· The
Saint's name appears in the Church's liturgical Calendar
-
· His
intercession can be requested in the public prayers of the Church
-
· Churches
and Altars can be dedicated in the name of the Saint
-
· Pictorial
representations of the Saint can be placed above the Altar
-
· The
relics of the Saint can be enclosed in precious vessels and offered to
the people for veneration.
-
· Feasts
of the saint can be celeberated in the Churches
-
· Special
Qurbanas can be celebrated in the Churches.
 |
Previous |
Next
|
 |
|
