Portal:Saints

THE SAINTS PORTAL

Showcased saint-related content

In Christian belief, a saint, also known as a hallow, is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term saint depends on the context and denomination. Official ecclesiastical recognition, and veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. The saints are honored in the liturgical calendars of Evangelical Lutheranism and Anglicanism. In other nonconformist denominations, such as the Plymouth Brethren, and following from Pauline usage, saint refers broadly to any holy Christian without special recognition or selection.

While the English word saint (deriving from the Latin sanctus) originated in Christianity, historians of religion tend to use the appellation "in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people", referring to the Hindu rishi, Sikh bhagat or guru, the Shintoist kami, the Taoist immortal or zhenren, the Jewish tzadik, the Islamic walī/fakir, and the Buddhist arhat or bodhisattva also as saints. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official declaration, as in Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy or Eastern Orthodoxy, or by popular acclamation (see folk saint). (Full article...)

Selected biography

William Wilberforce (August 24, 1759 – July 29, 1833) was a British politician and philanthropist. A native of Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 and became the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). A close friend of Prime Minister William Pitt, in 1785 he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian. In 1787 he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Beilby Porteus, Hannah More and Lord Middleton.

At their suggestion, Wilberforce was persuaded to take on the cause; he became one of the leading English abolitionists, heading the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade, which he saw through to the eventual passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807. In later years Wilberforce supported the campaign for complete abolition, which eventually led to the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833; this Act paved the way for the complete abolition of slavery in the British Empire. A tireless campaigner for the abolition of slavery, Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was secure. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to his friend William Pitt. Various churches within the Anglican Communion commemorate Wilberforce in their liturgical calendars.

Did you know...

Holy Chinese Martyrs of the Eastern Orthodox Church

...that the Chinese government had no objections when the Eastern Orthodox Church canonized Metrophanes, Chi Sung and other martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion, but did object to canonizations by the Roman Catholic Church?
... that after being captured by pirates, Matthew Carrieri offered to remain a captive in place of others, which shocked the pirate captain so much he set them all free?
...that Martha, the mother of Simeon Stylites, is said to have only consented to marriage after John the Baptist appeared to her telling her to do so?

Selected saint days

4 August Jean-Marie Vianney
5 August Oswald of Northumbria
7 August John Mason Neale
8 August Saint Dominic
9 August Mary Sumner
10 August Lawrence of Rome
11 August Clare of Assisi
11 August John Henry Newman
13 August Jeremy Taylor
13 August Florence Nightingale
13 August Octavia Hill
14 August Maximilian Kolbe
15 August Blessed Virgin Mary
20 August Bernard of Clairvaux
21 August Pius X
22 August Queenship of Mary
23 August Rose of Lima
24 August Bartholomew the Apostle
25 August Louis of France
27 August Monica of Hippo
28 August Augustine of Hippo
29 August The Beheading of John the Baptist
31 August Aidan of Lindisfarne

General images

The following are images from various saint-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria (1876). On 3 April 2011, Batak massacre victims were canonized as saints. (from Canonization)
Image 2John the Baptist pictured with a halo. In Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with wreaths, palm branches, white lilies and other attributes. (from Saint)
Image 3Canonization of Elizabeth of Hungary in 1235, by Sándor Liezen-Mayer (1863) (from Canonization)
Image 4"Scripture does not teach calling on the saints or pleading for help from them. For it sets before us Christ alone as mediator, atoning sacrifice, high priest, and intercessor."—A.C. Article XXI. (from Saint)
Image 5The month of November in the Czech calendar for 1867 (detail). The calendar of saints is given for both Catholics and Protestants. (from Saint)
Image 6A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Lutheran Church of Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune, Strasbourg (from Canonization)
Image 7On 4 November 1992, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously declared saints those Christians who had been tortured and massacred by the Turks in the Great fire of Smyrna in 1922. (from Canonization)
Image 8Portrait of the saintly Kanua, a Hindu baba of Mathura, India, also pictured with a halo encircling his head. (from Saint)
Image 9Pope Pius II canonizes Catherine of Siena. (from Canonization)
Image 10Eremitic Saint Onuphrius by Emmanuel Tzanes, 1662 (from Saint)
Image 11Saint, 12th-century fresco in Staraya Ladoga (from Saint)
Image 12The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells. The winged man, lion, eagle and bull symbolize, clockwise from top left, Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. (from Saint symbolism)
Image 13Martin Luther and Gustavus Adolphus depicted with haloes, a traditional attribute of saints, in a wall painting in the Lutheran Church of the Revelation in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden. (from Saint)
Image 14A portrait depicting Saint Francis of Assisi by the Italian artist Cimabue (1240–1302) (from Saint)
Image 15Icon of St. Cyprian of Carthage, who urged diligence in the process of canonization (from Canonization)
Image 16Dutch Book of Prayers from the mid-fifteenth century showing a group of five saints, with their emblems: Saint James the Great (wearing a pilgrim's hat); Saint Joseph; Saint Ghislain (holding a church); Saint Eligius (bishop with a crosier, holding a hammer); Saint Hermes (with the armor and the sword) (from Saint symbolism)

Related portals

WikiProjects

Religion
- Christianity
  - Saints
  - Anglicanism
  - Eastern Orthodoxy
  - Oriental Orthodoxy
  - Roman Catholicism

The Saints Wikiproject aims primarily at standardizing the articles about people venerated by some Christians as saints or the blessed and ensuring quality articles. If there is an interest in including saints from religions other than Christianity, please propose those changes on our talk page.

Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Saints}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

Featured articles

Good articles

Featured pictures

Annunciation Memling
Cabinet Card of Sojourner Truth - Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
IsabellaofCastile03
Jan van Eyck - Kardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project
Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project
Leonardo da Vinci - Virgin and Child with St Anne C2RMF retouched
Raffaello Sanzio - Madonna del Cardellino - Google Art Project
Raphaël - La Madone de Lorette - Google Art Project
Russian Imperial Family 1913
Saint Côme & Saint Damien Grandes Heures Anne de Bretagne XVIe
San Giovanni Evangelista (Parma) - Dome
Sir Anthony Van Dyck - Charles I (1600-49) - Google Art Project
Sojourner Truth, 1870 (cropped, restored)
Stanisław Samostrzelnik, Św Stanisław
William Holman Hunt - The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple - Google Art Project