Showcased saint-related content

St. Bridget of Sweden pictured with a halo. In Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with wreaths, palm branches, and white lilies

In religious 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 Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official ecclesiastical recognition, and consequently a public cult of 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.

While the English word saint 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 tzadik, the Islamic walī, the Hindu rishi or Sikh Bhagat and 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 ecclesiastical declaration, as in the Catholic faith, or by popular acclamation (see folk saint). (Full article...)

edit

Selected biography

Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from union with the Holy See. During Cranmer's tenure as archbishop, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the Church of England. Under Henry's rule, he succeeded in publishing the first officially authorised vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany. Later, he wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church. Cranmer promulgated reformed doctrines through the Prayer Book, the Homilies and other publications. Cranmer was tried for treason and heresy when Mary I came to the throne. Imprisoned for over two years, he made several recantations and reconciled himself with the Roman Catholic faith. However, on the day of his execution, he dramatically withdrew his recantations and died as a martyr. His legacy lives on within the Church of England through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles.

More selected biographies More...

edit

Did you know...

...that the Calendar of saints of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa includes feasts for a number of individuals from Africa, including Bernard Mizeki, Robert Gray, Manche Masemola, and Charles Frederick Mackenzie?
...that Calimerius, a 3rd century bishop of Milan, was said to have been killed by being thrown into a well after his relics were found submerged in water?
...that in place of execution, Saint Cerbonius was exiled after the bear brought in to kill him instead licked his feet?

More did you know facts

edit

Selected saint days

1 February Saint Brigid
3 February Saint Anskar
3 February Saint Blaise
4 February Saint Cornelius
5 February Saint Agatha
5 February Martyrs of Japan
6 February Saint Paulo Miki and his Companions
6 February Saint Vedast
8 February Saint Gerolamo Emiliani
8 February Saint Josephine Bakhita
9 February Saint Maron
10 February Saint Scholastica
10 February Saint Isaac of Armenia
11 February Our Lady of Lourdes
13 February Saint Absalom Jones
14 February Saint Valentine
14 February Saints Cyril and Methodius
15 February 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
15 February Saint Thomas Bray
15 February Saint Vartan the Warrior and his Companions
17 February Janani Luwum
17 February Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order
17 February 150 Fathers of the Holy Council of Constantinople
21 February Saint Peter Damian
23 February Saint Polycarp
24 February Saint Matthias the Apostle
27 February Saint Augustus Chapdelaine

...Archive/Noms More...

General images

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

Image 1St. Bridget of Sweden pictured with a halo. In Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with wreaths, palm branches, and white lilies (from Saint)
Image 2Icon of St. Cyprian of Carthage, who urged diligence in the process of canonization (from Canonization)
Image 3On 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 4A portrait depicting Saint Francis of Assisi by the Italian artist Cimabue (1240–1302) (from Saint)
Image 5Mosaics of saints in Church of the Savior on Blood, Saint Petersburg, Russia (from Saint)
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 7Pope Pius II canonizes Catherine of Siena. (from Canonization)
Image 8The 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 9A Portrait of a saint Kanua Baba of Holy city Mathura, India (from Saint)
Image 10Canonization of Elizabeth of Hungary in 1235. Sándor Liezen-Mayer (1863). (from Canonization)
Image 11The Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria (1876). On 3 April 2011, Batak massacre victims were canonized as saints. (from Canonization)
Image 12Dutch 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)

edit

Related portals

edit

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.

edit

Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs). 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. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

Good articles

Featured pictures

Annunciation Memling
Cabinet Card of Sojourner Truth - Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
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)