Renunciation #3: The Indifference of Saints

The following is the relevant passage from my chrismation ceremony:

Do you believe that the prayers of the Saints work before God for our salvation, and that their relics, glorified through incorruption and miracles, are meet for veneration?

This is more of an affirmation than a renunciation, and there is a lot being affirmed in this one sentence. In this post I will focus on the part in bold. Let me first start off by clarifying what Orthodox mean by salvation. If a Protestant uses the word salvation without qualification, the default meaning is an event-in-past-time, i.e. what they refer to as justification. If an Orthodox uses the word salvation without qualifying context, the default meaning is the overall journey starting at  baptism and ending at the judgment seat of Christ. So a fair paraphrase of the bolded part is this: Even if he has fallen asleep in Christ, “the effective fervent prayer of a righteousness man avails much” (James 5:16) toward helping us, the objects of his intercession, “hold the beginning of confidence steadfast to the end” (Hebrews 3:14), and that it is thus a good thing to ask Saints (whether living or departed) to intercede on our behalf.

For this issue, I think that I had it easy. I think by 2001, I had already conceded the reasonableness of asking saints to pray for us. I just never imagined that I would do it myself. At that time my attitude was like this: “It is probably true that saints intercede for us, but this is not a point of doctrine over which I would accept martyrdom.” Of course, now I hope that if called upon to die for the doctrine, I would have the courage. The reason is that it is not an isolated doctrine. Like so much Orthodox doctrine, everything is connected. For example, I venerate icons because that is one way the historic church used their body to proclaim the truth that Jesus is fully man. I call Mary “The Mother of God” because that is the way the historic church verbally encoded the doctrine that Jesus is God from conception, as a weapon against the heresy of Nestorianism.

So, why would I pray to a departed saint? Apart from the fact that I want their intercession, it is also because it is one way to live out biblical ecclesiology. Let's unravel this step by step.

First, when the Bible says that a person has “fallen asleep in Christ”, it is a metaphor to describe only the state of their body, not of their soul. They are in fact in a state of wakefulness:

• Jesus' statement: “But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him” (Luke 20:37-38). You could argue that they are sleepfully living, but I feel the force of the passage is wakeful living.
• The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), in which Jesus relates the conversation of Abraham, in Paradise, with the deceased rich man whose soul has descended into Hades.
• Jesus' promise to the thief on the cross: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). You could argue that there are sleeping rooms in Paradise, but again, I feel the force of the passage is that the dead are awake.
• The Book of Revelation, which shows us the saints in heaven, before the Great Tribulation, being very active indeed: falling on their faces in worship before the throne of God, casting their crowns to the King of Glory, singing His praises, and speaking to Him (Revelation 4:4, 10, 11; 5:8-10, 13; 6:9-11; 7:9-12).
• The personal testimony of Saint Paul. When he wrote to the Philippians, Saint Paul expressed faith that he would be alive with Christ after his death: “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:23, 24). He wrote to the Corinthians very similarly: “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
• The Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36), which demonstrate clearly that the faithful departed continue to live, by the fact that Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus there.
• Hebrews 12:1, which exhorts us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [including the Old Testament heroes of faith listed in chapter 11], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us”. These witnesses are the saints from all ages, both known and unknown, canonized and uncanonized. Certainly they would not have been called "witnesses" if they were unconscious of their surroundings.

So we see that saints are wakeful between their repose and the Day of Judgment.

Second, why do I say that it is a point of ecclesiology? Because of the way that I define Church. Jesus Christ has conquered death. All who live in Him share in this victory. As He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25, 26). Thus, for those in Christ, physical death causes only a temporary, physical separation between those with Him in the next life ("the Church victorious") and those left on earth ("the Church militant'). Death does not, however, cause a spiritual separation between the dead and the living, for Jesus is still the Lord of both groups. Together, these two groups, the Church victorious and the Church militant, comprise the one, whole, undivided Church, which Saint Paul calls “His [Christ's] body” (Ephesians 1:22, 23). The love which knits together in perfect unity these two aspects of Christ's Body prevails forever, for “love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). As Saint Paul also says, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39). As a member of the Orthodox Church, I am now inextricably linked to all other members, not just militant but also victorious.

Third, what is one of primary responsibilities as members of Christ's body? Mutual intercession.

• "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people" (1 Tim 2:1)
• "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—-that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. " (Col 4:2-4)
• "Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints" (Eph 6:18)

Fourth, we see that two members of the Trinity intercede for us:

• "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (Rom 8:26)
• "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." (Rom 8:34)

I believe that the Church victorious has an advanced conformity to the image of the Son. "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Rom 8:29). So I believe that they follow the example of Christ even more faithfully and continue to intercede for the Church militant. I also believe that the Church victorious is eager and able to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3), and being filled with the Spirit continually, they do what the Spirit does, namely, pray for those with whom they are united.

Fifth, for me the book of Revelation is less about the future and more about the present. And in it I see a description of the victorious saints actively interceding:

• "And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [12 representing OT saints; 12 representing age of grace saints] fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Rev 5:8)
• "And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel." (Rev 8:3-4)

Sixth, it is customary for those in the presence of God (including angels) to intercede for humans:

• "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 18:10) The force of this verse is that angels are swift to intercede on behalf of children to God the Father.
• "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Heb 1:14) One of the ways that angels serve is by interceding to God on our behalf.
• "If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him, and he is merciful to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom; let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’; then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness." (Job 33:23-26). I won't pretend to really understand what this means.
• "When thou didst pray with tears… I [Archangel Raphael] offered thy prayer to the Lord." (Tobit 12:12) Tobit was in the Septuagint, which is what Paul used for his Scriptures when preaching to Greek-speaking people.
• I would go so far as to say that this verse even supports the point: "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." (Matt 22:29-30) The Church victorious become like angels in more ways than just celibacy. They join the forces of angels to intercede on behalf of the Church militant because they are alive and they love.

For me, to deny that the saints intercede for us is to say that love dies at the grave. Now that I am Orthodox, I pray for my deceased father and brother Matt everyday (in addition to my living family). In addition, I believe that in the heavenlies at least my guardian angel and my patron saint, Philip the Deacon, pray for me (because I have taken his name as my own).

Seventh, you may ask, "But can they hear?" I know that Church victorious is witnessing my life (Heb 12:1), I know that I cannot keep anything secret from Christ or those in Christ: "For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light." (Luke 8:17). Even the repentance of one sinner catches the notice of all heaven: "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10). In fact, "God has raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Even if the Church victorious could not see because of the gap, I am there with them, and have communion with them in Christ. "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." (Heb 12:22-24) Notice the words "you have come". We who are in Christ but still militant are as much of the assembly as the angels and the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Hallelujah!

Their love for those in Christ gives them a vested interest and motivation to pay attention. And when I ask the members of the Church militant to pray for me, they respond in loving prayer. I believe the same is true for the members of the Church victorious. It is consistent with love.

Eighth, are there examples in the Bible of people asking members of the this joyous assembly to pray? Yes. Not to people, but to angels. But it works by extension in my mind.

• "Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!" (Psalm 103:20-23).
• "Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!" (Psalm 148:2)

Ninth, “didn't all this belief in the intercession of the saints start only after Constantine took the Church to Hell in a hand basket in AD 311?” No! Ignatius was the 3rd bishop of Antioch and a student of John the Apostle. The eyewitness account of his martyrdom in 108 AD (very early) records this:

Now these things took place on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of January, that is, on the twentieth of December, Sura and Senecio being then the consuls of the Romans for the second time. Having ourselves been eye-witnesses of these things, and having spent the whole night in tears within the house, and having entreated the Lord, with bended knees and much prayer, that He would give us weak men full assurance respecting the things which were done, it came to pass, on our falling into a brief slumber, that some of us saw the blessed Ignatius suddenly standing by us and embracing us, while others beheld him again praying for us, and others still saw him dropping with sweat, as if he had just come from his great labour, and standing by the Lord. When, therefore, we had with great joy witnessed these things, and had compared our several visions together, we sang praise to God, the giver of all good things, and expressed our sense of the happiness of the holy [martyr]; and now we have made known to you both the day and the time [when these things happened], that, assembling ourselves together according to the time of his martyrdom, we may have fellowship with the champion and noble martyr of Christ, who trod under foot the devil, and perfected the course which, out of love to Christ, he had desired, in Christ Jesus our Lord; by whom, and with whom, be glory and power to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, for evermore! Amen. (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.xxv.vii.html)

And this is not isolated. These are many references to the intercession of saints in the era before Christianity was legal. You can read them here: http://energeticprocession.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/prayers-to-saints-in-the-pre-nicene-era/

Lastly, "if New Testament Christians had the practice of asking saints to pray for them, it just seems that Paul would have commented about it in his writings, and he doesn't". I respond like this:

• He did not need to because his ecclesiology implied it. His letters are not systematic theologies. He leaves a lot out. The topics he covered were the specific heresies that were infecting the church at that specific location and point in time.
• The Jews already had a long tradition of the intercession of the saints, and the first Christians, who were Jews, naturally kept this precious doctrine. They only threw away things that Jesus or Apostles explicitly said were only valid under the Old Covenant. Christianity organically grew out of Judaism:
• "O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us." (Baruch 3:4)
• Judas Maccabees encouraged his troops through a vision he had seen of the reposed high priest Onias and the repose prophet Jeremiah praying for them:
  
  Thus he armed every one of them, not so much with defence of shields and spears, as with comfortable and good words: and beside that, he told them a dream worthy to be believed, as if it had been so indeed, which did not a little rejoice them. And this was his vision: That Onias, who had been high priest, a virtuous and a good man, reverend in conversation, gentle in condition, well spoken also, and exercised from a child in all points of virtue, holding up his hands prayed for the whole body of the Jews. This done, in like manner there appeared a man with gray hairs, and exceeding glorious, who was of a wonderful and excellent majesty. Then Onias answered, saying, This is a lover of the brethren, who prayeth much for the people, and for the holy city, to wit, Jeremias the prophet of God. Whereupon Jeremias holding forth his right hand gave to Judas a sword of gold, and in giving it spake thus, Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with the which thou shalt wound the adversaries. Thus being well comforted by the words of Judas, which were very good, and able to stir them up to valour, and to encourage the hearts of the young men, they determined not to pitch camp, but courageously to set upon them, and manfully to try the matter by conflict, because the city and the sanctuary and the temple were in danger. For the care that they took for their wives, and their children, their brethren, and folks, was in least account with them: but the greatest and principal fear was for the holy temple. Also they that were in the city took not the least care, being troubled for the conflict abroad. (2 Maccabee 15:11-19)
• He did not need to because he and Jesus taught most things orally. The oral tradition is too vast to be written down: "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25). But the "faith that was once for all delivered" (Jude 3) to the Apostles was transmitted both orally and in writing and regardless the mode we are called to "stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The Apostles put in a place a practical process for preserving the oral component throughout history ("what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" 2 Timothy 2:2), but the real power behind the preservation is the promise of Christ: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).