The Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church (and of the Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite) have various customary saint titles with which they are commemorated on the liturgical calendar and in Divine Services.
Many of the titles of saints can overlap with each other (e.g. apostle and disciple) or are at least not mutually exclusive. Some of them are, however, mutually exclusive (e.g. prophet and righteous). Some titles are only given to one saint, very often the Virgin Mary and some titles are also no longer able to be obtained (e.g. apostle).
List
The following list explains the titles and gives an exemplary saint for each title:
- Archangel: an angel of the second lowest rank, whose purpose is to act as a messenger of God to humans; this rank of angel is the only one to have known names[1][2] (e.g. St. Michael)[3]
- Apostle: One of the twelve men who followed Jesus and who were sent out on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16–20 to spread the Gospel to all nations;[4] they may also be simultaneously be called Disciples (although Judas Iscariot was one of the original twelve Apostles, he is never called as such in the Orthodox Church, since his position was filled in by St. Matthias after his suicide)[5]
- Confessor of the Faith or Confessor: one who suffered for the faith but was not martyred outright[6] (St. Maximus the Confessor)[7]
- Disciple: One of the seventy or seventy-two men who were sent by Jesus in pairs to spread the Gospel in Luke 10:1–21; they may also simultaneously be called Apostles[8] (e.g. Philip the Evangelist)[9]
- Enlightener or Illuminator: the saint who first brought the faith to a people or region, or who did major work of evangelisation there[10] (e.g. St. Sava of Serbia)[11]
- Equal-to-the-Apostles: one whose work greatly built up the Church, whether through direct missionary work or through assisting the Church's place in society, but was not one of the twelve Apostles[12][13] (e.g. St. Constantine the Great)[14]
- Evangelist: One of the four men who wrote the four Gospels, as well as any saint who preached the Gospel[citation needed] (e.g. St. Luke the Evangelist)[15]
- Fool-for-Christ: one known for his apparent, yet holy foolishness or insanity[16] (e.g. St. Gabriel of Georgia)[17]
- God-bearing or Theophoros: title given only to St. Ignatius, who according to tradition, was one of the children who went to Jesus in Matthew 19:13–14 [12][18]
- Healer: a saint who used the power of God to heal maladies and injuries (e.g. St. Tryphon of Campsada)[19]
- Hieroconfessor: a confessor who is also a clergyman (e.g. St. Martin the Confessor)[20]
- Hieromartyr: a martyr who is also a clergyman (e.g. St. Philoumenos of Jacob's Well)[21]
- Intercessor: a saint who prays, or intercedes, on behalf of the living and the dead.[22] All saints bear this title (e.g. St. Seraphim of Sarov)
- Martyr: literally meaning "witness" in Greek;[23] one who has died for the faith[6] (e.g. St. Sebastian)[24]
- Merciful: one known for almsgiving, especially toward the poor (e.g. St. John the Merciful)[25]
- Myrrhbearers: the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus[12][26] (e.g. St. Mary Magdalene)[27]
- Myroblyte, Myrrh-gusher or Myrrh-streaming: the relics of the saint exude holy and sweet-smelling —and often miraculous—oil (e.g. St. Simeon the Myrrh-streaming)[28][29]
- New or Younger: title of a saint who shares a name with an earlier saint (e.g. St. Stephen the Younger)[30]
- New-martyr or Neo-martyr: a martyr, often sharing a name with an earlier one, who was martyred during the Ottoman persecutions[31] and onwards[32] (e.g. St. Mary of Paris)[33]
- Panagia: literally meaning 'all-holy' in Greek;[34] the title is only given to the Virgin Mary, referring to her position as the holiest of all saints[35]
- Passion-bearer: one who was killed not for the faith but faced his death in a Christ-like manner[36][37] (e.g. Tsar Saint Nicholas II)[38]
- Prophet: a saint under the Old Covenant who anticipated and prophesied Christ and who spoke the word of God[6][39] (e.g. St. Elijah)[40]
- Protomartyr: the first martyr in a given region or time period (in the case of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, the first martyr of the whole Church)[41]
- Right-Believing: a monarch or ruler who treated the Church and the people well (e.g. St. Vladimir Yaroslavich)[42]
- Righteous: a holy person under the Old Covenant (Old Testament Israel) who is not a prophet but also a married saint of the New Covenant (the Church) (e.g. St. Job[43] and St. Fevronia[44] respectively)
- Saint: from Latin (sanctus), literally meaning "holy one";[45] a human or angel who is in heaven; one who has been saved, whom the Church on earth has recognised and glorified.[46][47] All saints bear this title (e.g. St. Publius)[48]
- Theologian: Has classical meaning, but only three saints are given the appellation Theologian, due to their writings introducing new theological doctrines: St. John the Theologian,[49] St. Gregory the Theologian,[50] and St. Symeon the New Theologian.[51]
- Theotokos or Mother of God: title given only to the Virgin Mary, since she gave birth to Jesus, who Orthodox Christians believe is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, and thus God[52][53][54]
- Unmercenary Healer: a saint who used the power of God to heal maladies and injuries without payment[55] (e.g. St. Pantaleon)[56]
- Venerable: a monastic saint; a saint who is a monk or nun[citation needed] (e.g. St. Paisios of Mount Athos)[57]
- Venerable martyr: a martyred monastic (e.g. St. Andrew the Martyr of Crete)
- Virgin: a female saint who consecrated her life to Christ and made a vow of chastity (e.g. St. Agatha of Palermo)[58]
- Virgin martyr: a celibate female martyr (e.g. St. Lucy of Syracuse)[59]
- Wonder-worker: a saint renowned for performing miracles[60] (e.g. St. Nicholas of Myra)[61]
See also
References
Sources
External links
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