What or who can be a saint? Objective view

Holiness is a rather specific religious term, which people do not often hear in everyday life. Many are interested in the question of what or who can be a saint? Most of those who have superficial information on this topic believe that this word refers to deeply religious people or those who are supposedly ranked as saints. In some religions of the modern world, those who went to the monastery or dedicated their whole lives to God are called so.

Over time, some purely religious words leaked into the everyday vocabulary of the people. So it happened with this term. Not only temples and monasteries, but also various historical buildings, as well as those things that represent a certain value began to be called the shrines.

What does it mean to be "holy" and what is the origin of this concept?

Initially, the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, therefore, in order to know the true meaning of this concept, it is necessary to turn to the original language. The Hebrew word "kodosh" used in the Holy Scripture literally translates as "separated, isolated, also exclusively dedicated to God who is holy." In Greek, it sounds like "hagios" and means complete separation from sin, as well as impeccability.

So, what or who can be a saint? Proceeding from these two concepts, the logical conclusion arises: according to the right to be called "holy" only a person who is pure in spiritual and moral respect, chosen by God to serve him, can.

The term also applies to subjects

But, as already known, this concept is applicable not only to people. Sometimes it deals with objects or things. The Bible tells us that in ancient Israel there were some things that were holy or separated to be used in worship of God. It is noteworthy that they had no supernatural magical power, and therefore could not be talismans or amulets. Often they were made of gold and stored in a temple, which was also considered a saint, as it was used purely for worshiping the Almighty.

And what about people? Who are the saints? In paintings and illustrations, they are often depicted by artists with a halo (a brilliant circle over their heads). In one encyclopedic dictionary it is noted that its origin is hardly connected with Christianity. Ancient Roman and Greek artists, depicting their mythical gods and heroes, often painted around their head "sunshine". So they probably wanted to emphasize their higher or unearthly origins.

The "New British Encyclopedia" tells that in the art and mythology of the Hellenes and Romans, rulers, emperors and generals were often depicted in a crown from "sunrays". This also applies to the Greek sun god Helios. If we talk about early Christian art, we can see that the artists avoided this element in their works because of its obvious pagan roots.

However, over time, some Christian-professing emperors allowed the addition of halos even to their official portraits. Perhaps this is due to their vanity and the desire to elevate their personality to the "rank of the saints." Years later, this detail was painted on the images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and others. Thus, the image of the nimbus leaked into the modern Christian world, where it is actively used to this day.

Are there holy people in our time?

Some churches are convinced that the right to be called saints can be people who have lived rightly throughout their lives and after death who are in heaven as a reward for their integrity and virtue. In certain faiths, it is commonly believed that they are, as it were, intermediaries between God and people. Many people turn to them for help and are even convinced that everyone has their own holy or so-called guardian angel.

To deal with this issue, you need to refer to the source, namely the Bible. What does it say about prayers for saints? In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said: "Pray this way:" Our Father in Heaven ... "Based on these simple lines, one can draw a logical conclusion: prayers should be addressed to God. Are there saints now? It is interesting that in the Holy Scripture a specific number is indicated - 144 000. They are not mentioned in the Bible so often. However, what or who can be a saint, God decides, and not people.

The question of holiness in the famous game "Matryoshka"

This logical game consists of questions and answers. It has a lot of original and interesting tasks that help develop mental abilities. An application with pictures. It has different levels of complexity. On one of them there is a question: "What or who can be a saint?" "Matryoshka" accepts three variants of the answer. It can be a person, a place and an object. Such tasks significantly expand the outlook and positively influence logical thinking. This game is available in the social network "Classmates".