The Saints are Working

I am often asked why we Orthodox pray to dead people. Besides thinking we should only pray directly to God, the implication is that a dead person do nothing for us. Yet, for Orthodox Christians the Saints are still working. They are still praying for us. They are still interacting with us. Why? Because the saints are not dead.

Today is the Feast of Saint Euphemia the Great Martyr. Long after she died, she was still working for God and the Church. It was with her intercessions that God revealed the truth of Orthodoxy. More than 100 hundred years after her death, during the 4^th Ecumenical Council, her relics helped to resolve a debate about the nature of Christ among the more than 600 bishops in attendance. You can read a brief but concise blog about her here.

If you read the lives of the saints as part of your daily practice, you will encounter many more such stories. The saints are working. They are praying. They are interacting with the Church. As Orthodox Christians, we develop relationships with the saints.

The most common relationship we experience as Orthodox exists between us and our patron Saint. The patron Saint of our local parish is also among the most important for us. Between these two saints and the Panagia, you can spend hours in prayer and be inspired by their lives.

Yes, we pray for ‘this or that’ from various saints, but I’m speaking more life inspiration than finding a lost item. You may never experience a miracle like the one celebrated today by Saint Euphemia, but you may not need a miracle either. Miracle or not, you will be inspired to a deeper faith by interacting with the saints.