Saint

In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God.

While the English word saint (deriving from the Latin sanctus) 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 ḥasīd or tzadik, the Islamic walī/ fakir, the Hindu rishi, Sikh bhagat or guru, the Shintoist kami, the Taoist shengren, and the Buddhist arhat or bodhisattva also as saints.

[6] The English word saint comes from the Latin sanctus, with the Greek equivalent being ἅγιος (hagios) 'holy'.

[4] Author John A. Coleman of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, wrote that saints across various cultures and religions have the following family resemblances:[9] The anthropologist Lawrence Babb, in an article about Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, asks the question "Who is a saint?"

and responds by saying that in the symbolic infrastructure of some religions, there is the image of a certain extraordinary spiritual person's "miraculous powers", to whom frequently a certain moral presence is attributed.

According to the Catholic Church, a saint may be anyone in Heaven, whether recognized on Earth or not, who forms the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1).

There are many persons that the church believes to be in Heaven who have not been formally canonized and who are otherwise titled saints because of the fame of their holiness.

The practice in past centuries of venerating relics of saints with the intention of obtaining healing from God through their intercession is taken from the early church.

[25] For example, an American deacon claimed in 2000 that John Henry Newman[26] (then blessed) interceded with God to cure him of a physical illness.

The deacon, Jack Sullivan, asserted that after addressing Newman he was cured of spinal stenosis in a matter of hours.

Next, and at a minimum, proof of two important miracles obtained from God through the intercession of the candidate are required for formal canonization as a saint.

Finally, in the last stage, after all of these procedures are complete, the Pope may canonize the candidate as a saint[32] for veneration by the universal church.

The saints are seen as models of holiness to be imitated, and as a "cloud of witnesses" that strengthen and encourage the believer during his or her spiritual journey.

The 14th Article of Religion in the United Methodist Book of Discipline states: The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshiping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God.

The jewish ḥasīd or tsaddiq, the islamic qidees, the Zoroastrian Fravashi, the Hindu Shadhus, the Buddhist Arahant or Bodhisattva, the Daoist Shengren, the Shinto Kami, and others have all been referred to as saints.

Buddhists in both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions hold the Arhats in special esteem, as well as highly developed Bodhisattvas.

Tibetan Buddhists hold the tulkus (reincarnates of deceased eminent practitioners) as living saints on earth.

[58] In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted to warrior saints that resemble their own militarized society.

There is no formal canonization process in Hinduism, but over time, many men and women have reached the status of saints among their followers and among Hindus in general.

[59] Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called gurus, sadhus, rishis, devarishis, rajarshis, saptarishis, brahmarshis, swamis, pundits, purohits, pujaris, acharyas, pravaras, yogis, yoginis, and other names.

[60] Some Hindu saints are given god-like status, being seen as incarnations of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and other aspects of the Divine—this can happen during their lifetimes, or sometimes many years after their deaths.

This explains another common name for Hindu saints: godmen, is invention of western Abrahamic media to a Pagan Ideas.

"[65] "Belief in the miracles of saints (karāmāt al-awliyāʾ) ... [became a] requirement in Sunni Islam [during the classical period],"[66] with even medieval critics of the ubiquitous practice of grave visitation like Ibn Taymiyyah emphatically declaring: "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, and acknowledged by all Muslim scholars.

"[69] In a manner similar to the Protestant Reformation,[70] the specific traditional practices which Salafism has tried to curtail in both Sunni and Shia contexts include those of the veneration of saints, visiting their graves, seeking their intercession, and honoring their relics.

The term Tzadik, 'righteous', and its associated meanings developed in rabbinic thought from its Talmudic contrast with Ḥasīd, 'pious', to its exploration in ethical literature, and its esoteric spiritualization in Kabbalah.

In Ḥasidic Judaism, the institution of the Tzadik assumed central importance, combining former elite mysticism with social movement for the first time.

Saints may be venerated by both Jews and Muslims, and are typically Torah scholars, miracle workers, and divine mediators.

The similarities of Moroccan Jewish and Muslim practices, including saint veneration, were used by colonial powers to claim Morocco was unified and consisted of a distinct nation, but were not sufficiently united to resist imperialism.

[72] The concept of sant or bhagat is found in North Indian religious thought including Sikhism, most notably in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee .

Sants grace the Sadh Sangat with knowledge of the Divine God, and how to take greater steps towards obtaining spiritual enlightenment through Naam.