Old Testament saints

The word “saint” has different shades in Scripture. At first, in this place, it is a property of God himself, exalted incomparably above all creatures. In the prophet Isaiah’s vision, seraphic, fiery beings serve as God’s watchmen. In the community of believers’ throne, a song is sung without ceasing: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Seraphs cover their faces with their wings, for they cannot look directly at God’s sacredness. So the Lord is the only “saint.” Nevertheless, even in the Old Testament, things are beginning to be called saints in a figurative, analogous sense, including created things that are in special contact with God. The place where God appeared is holy; the ark of the covenant is holy; the temple of Jerusalem is holy; the tabernacle, God among men, his holiest place, was called a sanctuary (1 Cr. 8, 6). And the city of Jerusalem was holy; it was God’s city (cf. Mt 27, 53).
When it comes to people, Scripture often emphasizes not their holiness but their sinfulness, in contrast to God’s holiness. Therefore, people do not go to God on their own but surrender to him. It often seems as if God in the Old Testament does not allow a mediator between himself and the people. But that is not the case; it’s still like that. There are also righteous people, faithful and dear to God; their prayer then has a special effect. Abraham begs for Sodom, and he would have saved her if he had found at least ten righteous people there (Gen. 18). Abimelek is admonished to return Abraham’s wife. For he is a prophet and will be for to pray for you to stay alive (Gen. 20:7).
Therefore, the Jews invoke Abraham’s name even after his death. In the time of kings, the invocation of Abraham, Moses, and David already becomes a form of official prayer: Lord, remember David and his great willingness! (Z 131, 1). And God says, The Lord swore an oath to David; it is true, and he will never revoke it (Z 131, 11). The last century BC. Cr. There are also cases in the Jews in which the dead prophets appear to intercede with God. Judah of Micah, for example, reveals the prophet Jeremiah (2 Mach 15, 12-16). After all, in the books of Scripture, which they arose after the return of exile, the old were righteous; they often set an example (Sir 44, 1: Praise be to us famous men, their fathers, according to their deeds!).
Christian saints
In Christian times, there were almost biographies of saints as “quotes useful to the soul.” The biography of St. Anton of St. Athanasius is the first handbook of Christian asceticism. Illustratively, the main principles are taken over here in life in God. What would otherwise be a dry calculation of principles becomes a vivid, attractive image. “How poor,” writes St. Ján Klimak, “when they see kings’ treasures, they become more aware of their own poverty; such is the soul also feels when it reads of the great virtues of the Fathers.” However, the image is not just an external pattern, an imitation of a stranger. The cult of the martyrs, the liturgy on their graves, and inscriptions asking for intercession testify to the faith of the early Church. One family shares in the saints’ experience, especially in prayer.
Origenes writes nicely: “With those who pray properly, not only the High Priest (i.e. Christ) prays, but also angels and souls those who have already died … In this life the saints saw only as in the mirror and in the riddle; in the future they see face to face. They have advanced as well in other virtues. One of the main virtues according to God’s words is love of neighbor; therefore, the saints have it to a much greater extent than those who are here; they are still fighting the earth … »Love forces them to do something for their neighbor on earth and to serve Christ. They can’t do it other than through prayer and intercession with God. Theologians of the new age also explain the “communion of saints.” For example, according to Shebeen, it inevitably follows from faith in the mystical body of Christ. j. Church: two consequences—union with Christ and spiritual. In the community of believers, members are bound to one another by love, giving and receiving gifts of grace.