Veneration

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Veneration in Noto St Conrad of Piacenza (San Corrado)

Veneration (

.

Within Christianity, veneration is practiced by groups such as the

Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses, as many Protestants believe the practice amounts to idolatry. Common Lutherans and Anglicans have a positive attitude toward the veneration of saints and practice the naming of churches after saints, as well as keeping certain feasts.[5][6]

Hinduism has a long tradition of veneration of saints, expressed toward various

Mahayana Buddhism classifying degrees of sainthood.[1][3]

In Islam, veneration of saints is practiced by some of the adherents of traditional

Wahhabists etc., abhor the practice.[9]

In Judaism, there is no classical or formal recognition of saints, but there is a long history of reverence shown toward biblical heroes and martyrs. Jews in some regions, for example in Morocco, have a long and widespread tradition of saint veneration.[1][2][3]

Buddhism

In major Buddhist traditions,

Arhat. Mahayana Buddhism particularly gives emphasis to the power of saints to aid ordinary people on the path to enlightenment. Those who have reached enlightenment, and have delayed their own complete enlightenment in order to help others, are called Bodhisattvas. Mahayana Buddhism has formal liturgical practices for venerating saints, along with very specific levels of sainthood. Tibetan Buddhists venerate especially holy lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, as saints.[1][3]

Christianity

Veneration towards those who were considered holy began in

Orthodox Church of Byzantium began official church commemoration very early and even in Rome, commemoration is documented in the third century. Over time, the honor also began to be given to those Christians who lived lives of holiness and sanctity. Various denominations venerate and determine saints in different ways, with some having a formal canonization or glorification process. It is also the first step to becoming a saint.[1]

Latria, dulia, and hyperdulia

Christian theologians have long adopted the terms latria for the type of worship due to God alone, and dulia and proskynesis for the veneration given to angels, saints, relics and icons.[b]

the types of veneration specifically paid to Mary.[11][15] The Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas specifies that hyperdulia is the same type of veneration as dulia, only given in a greater degree; both remain distinct from latria.[17]

Catholicism

Tomb of Saint Anthony in Padua, Italy (veneration of the tomb of a saint).
Cave of Santo Hermano Pedro in Tenerife, Spain (veneration of a place associated with a saint).
Procession of the Lord of Miracles in Lima, Peru (veneration of the image of a saint).
Relics of Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle in Rome, Italy (veneration of the relic of a saint).

In Catholicism, veneration is a type of honor distinct from the true worship (veritable adoration), which is due to God alone. According to Mark Miravelle, of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the English word "worship" has been associated with both veneration and adoration:

As Thomas Aquinas explained, adoration, which is known as latria in classical theology, is the worship and homage that is rightly offered to God alone. It is the manifestation of submission, and acknowledgement of dependence, appropriately shown towards the excellence of an uncreated divine person and to his absolute Lordship. It is the worship of the creator that God alone deserves.

Veneration, known as

dulia
in classical theology, is the honor and reverence appropriately due to the excellence of a created person. Excellence exhibited by created beings likewise deserves recognition and honor.

Historically, schools of theology have used the term "worship" as a general term which included both adoration and veneration. They would distinguish between "worship of adoration" and "worship of veneration". The word "worship" (in a similar way to how the liturgical term "cult" is traditionally used) was not synonymous with adoration, but could be used to introduce either adoration or veneration. Hence Catholic sources will sometimes use the term "worship" not to indicate adoration, but only the worship of veneration given to Mary and the saints.[18]

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, "the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype", and "whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it". The honor paid to sacred images is a "respectful veneration", not the adoration due to God alone:

Religious worship is not directed to images in themselves, considered as mere things, but under their distinctive aspect as images leading us on to God incarnate. The movement toward the image does not terminate in it as image, but tends toward that whose image it is.[19]

In the Roman Catechism, a more lengthy statement on The Honour and Invocation of the Saints is available.[citation needed]

Now, the Roman Catholic tradition has a well established philosophy for the veneration of the Virgin Mary via the field of Mariology with Pontifical schools such as the Marianum specifically devoted to this task.[20][21][22]

For the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to the dogma of her Divine Motherhood,

dogmas
:

  1. Immaculate Conception (absence of the original sin, by grace of God)
  2. Perpetual virginity (before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, until her Assumption)
  3. Assumption (in body and soul to Heaven).

The special graces accorded by God to Mary motivated her title of

intercessory
ability to Jesus Christ God about the believers' intentions of prayer.

In the Catholic Church, there are many different forms of veneration of saints, such as a pilgrimage to a grave (e.g. those of

Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Jude Thaddaeu (Mexico), Holy Dexter (Hungary), Reliquary of the Three Kings
(Germany), etc.

Oriental Orthodoxy

In the

sanctification of altars, above the name of all other saints.[25]

Eastern Orthodoxy

In the

John Damascene's book On Holy Images,[28] and was the subject of the Second Council of Nicaea
.

Protestantism

In Protestant churches, veneration is sometimes considered to amount to the sin of idolatry, and the related practice of canonization amounts to the heresy of apotheosis. Protestant theology usually denies that any real distinction between veneration and worship can be made, and claims that the practice of veneration distracts the Christian soul from its true object, the worship of God. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin writes that "(t)he distinction of what is called dulia and latria was invented for the very purpose of permitting divine honours to be paid to angels and dead men with apparent impunity".[29] Veneration is, therefore, considered a type of blasphemy by Luther and some Protestants.[30][31] However, some Protestant streams, particularly Anglicanism and Lutheranism, allow the veneration of saints in a manner similar to Catholicism.[citation needed]

Bible

In terms of venerating

relics
of saints, two verses are frequently mentioned:

'Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.' (2 Kings 13:21,

NIV
).

'God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.' (Acts 19:11, 12,

NIV
).

The

deuterocanonical Book of Sirach also briefly discusses venerating the memory of patriarchs and prophets: "Let us now praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation" (44:1). "And their names continue for ever, the glory of the holy men remaining unto their children" (44:15)[32]

Support

St.

Augustine, St. Ambrose, and others, give accounts of miracles that occurred at the graves of St. Stephen, St. Felix of Nola, St. Gervasius, and many others, in post-Biblical times. Such miraculous events are seen as divine favor for the veneration of relics.[33]

Hinduism

Hinduism has a longstanding and living tradition of reverence toward

gurus as models showing the way to liberation.[1][3][34]

Islam

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi in Konya
, Turkey.
Tomb of a marabout, southern Morocco.

one of the four orthodox legal schools of Sunni law.[37]

Veneration of saints eventually became one of the most widespread Sunni practices for more than a millennium, before it was opposed in the twentieth century by the

honoring their relics. As Christopher Taylor has remarked: "[Throughout Islamic history] a vital dimension of Islamic piety was the veneration of Muslim saints…. [due, however to] certain strains of thought within the Islamic tradition itself, particularly pronounced in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries ... [some modern day] Muslims have either resisted acknowledging the existence of Muslim saints altogether or have viewed their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations."[40]

Judaism

Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

While Orthodox and Organized Judaism don't countenance the veneration of saints per se, veneration and pilgrimage to burial sites of holy Jewish leaders is an ancient part of the tradition.[41]

It is common for some Jews to visit the graves of many righteous Jewish leaders.[42] The tradition is particularly strong among Moroccan Jews, and Jews of Sephardi descent, although also by some Ashkenazi Jews as well. This is particularly true in Israel, where many holy Jewish leaders are buried. The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and that of Maimonides in Tiberius are examples of burial sites that attract large pilgrimages in the Near East.[1][2] In America, the only such example is the grave site of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, at the Ohel, in the cemetery in Queens where he is buried alongside his father-in-law. During his lifetime, Schneerson himself would frequently visit the gravesite (Ohel) of his father-in-law, where he would read letters and written prayers, and then place them on the grave.[43] Today, visitors to the grave of Schneerson include Jews of Orthodox, Reform and Conservative background, as well as non-Jews.[44][45] Visitors typically recite prayers of psalms and bring with them petitions of prayers written on pieces of paper which are then torn and left on the grave.[46][47][48]

Jainism

In Jainism, it recognizes the tirthankaras, which are beings who have achieved transcendence and liberation (moksha) and are, therefore, teachers who taught the Jain path. Away from the evolution of the cosmos and the cosmic event, they do not intervene in any way in it, they serve only as examples to follow.[49] The latter is manifested in the offering ceremonies (devapuja), which constitute more of a renunciation on the part of the believer than a surrender, since the tirthankaras are totally indifferent to the affairs of men and the Jains assume that they are indifferent to them.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Etymologically, "to venerate" derives from the Latin verb, venerare, meaning 'to regard with reverence and respect'.
  2. ^ [11][12][13][14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Lindsay Jones, ed. (2005). Thomson Gale Encyclopedia of Religion (in Tajik). Vol. Sainthood (Second ed.). Macmillan Reference USA. p. 8033.
  2. ^ . Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Werner Stark (1966). Sociology of Religion. Taylor & Francis. p. 367. GGKEY:ZSKE259PDZ9. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  4. . Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  5. . Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  6. . Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  7. ^ "Sufi Islam". Although frequently characterized as the mystical component of Islam, there are also "Folklorist" Sufis, and the "Traditional" Sufis...Sufism is characterized by the veneration of local saints and by brotherhoods that practice their own rituals.
  8. Moinuddin Chisti, founder of South Asia's pre-eminent Sufi order, in Ajmer
    . But for every famous grave, there are thousands of roadside shrines, jutting into Delhi's streets, or sprinkled across the craggy deserts of southern Pakistan.
  9. ^ Kim Murphy (2003-05-08). "Saudi Shiites Take Hope From Changes Next Door". Los Angeles Times. while most Sunnis view them as fellow, though possibly misguided, Muslims, Shiites are regarded as infidels by the Saudi religious establishment, which adheres to the ultraconservative and austere variation of Sunni faith known as Wahhabism. Saudi religious leaders see the Shiite veneration of saints and shrines, celebration of the prophet Muhammad's birthday and other rituals as sinful.
  10. ^ Note: Paul does not actually use the title Saint with any name, but refers to all Christians in general as saints in Romans 15:25. And the New Testament refers to those martyred like Stephen and righteous ones like Simeon in Luke 2:25.
  11. ^
    s.v.
    dulia, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 513.
  12. .
  13. .
  14. ^ "Veneration of Images". New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.
  15. ^ .
  16. .
  17. ^ "The Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas". Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province (2nd ed.). Second Part of the Second Part — Question 103: Dulia: New Advent (published 2017). 1920.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ^ Miravalle, Mark (November 24, 2006). "What Is Devotion to Mary?". Mother of all peoples. Archived from the original on June 6, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  19. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church - Paragraph # 2132. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Mariological Society of America". Mariologicalsocietyofamerica.us. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  21. ^ [1][dead link]Archived December 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Divine Maternity Dogma." Father Denis Vincent Wiseman, O.P., July 19, 2002. Accessed 6-3-2021. https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/d/divine-maternity-dogma.php
  23. ^ Jaison Jacob. Holy Qurbana Kramam: Malankara Orthodox Church. Diaz Xavier. p. 275. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019.
  24. ^ "Our Lady Mary, Mother of God, mediator for all grace and advocate for all the devotees before God". St. Baselios Indian Orthodox Church. Malankara. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved Jan 15, 2019.
  25. ^ "MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS, SAVE US!". oca.org.
  26. ^ "Lives of the Saints". oca.org.
  27. Damascene, John (1898). On Holy Images. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  28. ^ "Book I Chapter 12". Reformed.org. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  29. .
  30. .
  31. ^ Oremus: Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10
  32. ^ Deharbe, Joseph (1912). "Chap. II. The Ten Commandments of God" . A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion. Translated by Rev. John Fander. Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss.
  33. ^ Cybelle Shattuck, Hinduism (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 61.[ISBN missing]
  34. ^ a b See John Renard, Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); Idem., Tales of God Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009)
  35. ^ a b Radtke, B., “Saint”, in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
  36. ^ John Renard, Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008)
  37. ^ Juan Eduardo Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009), p. 600
  38. ^ See Jonathan A.C. Brown, Misquoting Muhammad (London: Oneworld Publications, 2015), p. 254
  39. ^ Christopher Taylor, In the Vicinity of the Righteous (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 5-6
  40. ^ "....the veneration of, and pilgrimages to, saints were part of an ancient Jewish tradition." Sharot, Stephen (1976). Judaism: A Sociology. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers. p. 42.
  41. ^ "The life of these, mainly Sephardi and Oriental (Mizrahi) communities, is marked by an unself-conscious and unquestioning commitment to deeply rooted values, where legalism often yields to common sense, and mystical piety plays an integral part, visible in such practices as veneration of tombs of patriarchs and saints, often associated with pilgrimage." De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 69.
  42. .
  43. ^ The New York Observer, Editorial, 07/08/14. "Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world".
  44. ^ Shmuley Boteach, "Cory Booker the Spiritual Senator", 10/18/13
  45. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (20 June 2004). "Lubavitchers Mark 10 Years Since Death of Revered Rabbi". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  46. ^ Horowitz, Craig (19 June 1995). "Beyond Belief". New York: 42. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  47. .
  48. ^ Flügel 2010.

External links