Knowra Veneration of saints Veneration of saints Veneration of saints is the religious honoring of people recognized as holy, expressed through prayer, offerings, pilgrimage, and other devotional acts. In traditions that distinguish it from worship, veneration honors saints while worship is directed to God.
Intercession of saints : The belief that saints can pray to God on behalf of people who ask for their prayers. Requests for a saint’s intercession are a central form of devotional prayer.
Latria : The adoration owed to God alone in Catholic theological terminology. Catholic theology uses this term to distinguish worship from the honor given to saints.
Martyr cult : Early Christian devotion centered on the memory, remains, and feast days of martyrs. Veneration of martyrs supplied an early model for honoring Christian saints.
Feast day : A day set aside in a religious calendar to commemorate a sacred event or holy person. Saints’ feast days organize communal remembrance and recurring devotional observances.
Byzantine Iconoclasm : Eighth- and ninth-century Byzantine disputes over the religious use and veneration of images. The controversy made the legitimacy of honoring saints through icons a question of imperial and church authority.
Relics : Physical remains of a holy person, or objects associated with that person, preserved for religious veneration. Relics give devotion a material focus and often draw pilgrims to shrines.
Dulia : The honor given to saints in Catholic theology, distinguished from the adoration owed to God. This term names the kind of honor Catholic teaching assigns to saints.
Cult of saints : The organized practices of honoring saints through prayer, festivals, shrines, relics, and pilgrimage. This broader devotional system encompasses the practices described by saint veneration.
All Saints' Day : A Christian feast honoring all saints, known and unknown, observed on November 1 in many Western churches. This feast gathers the honor of individual saints into a single annual observance.
Council of Trent : A Catholic council held from 1545 to 1563 that addressed doctrine and reform during the Reformation. Its decree reaffirmed the honor of saints, relics, and images against Protestant criticism.
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