www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Post-Schism Orthodox Saints acknowledged by Rome

Dear Friends,

Christ is Risen!

The now closed thread about post-schism Orthodox saints recognized for veneration by the Russian Catholic Church had originally asked for documentation about Rome's permission.

Fr. Cyril Korolevsky in his book on Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky discusses this matter, but I do not now own a copy of his book. I've also seen this topic touched on elsewhere on the internet.

My apologies to Fr. Serge Keleher for referring Mother and Moderator Alice to him when she originally contacted me on this issue way back when! (I owe her an apology too.)

I should have made a better note of this at the time, but didn't as it didn't seem to speak to any controversy. The lists of Russian Saints later approved by Pope Pius XII and Pope Paul VI were for inclusion, as I understand it, in the actual Roman Canon of the Saints, rather than for the local Russian Catholic liturgical usage.

With respect to the quotations of "anti-Catholic" statements by St John of Kronstadt, St Theophan the Recluse etc., Fr. Maloney's principle applies throughout. Their spirituality and sanctity were not characterized by anything "Anti-Catholic" and they would have repeated the "prejudices of their (Orthodox) environment."

Orthodox scholars have also expressed their admiration for Catholic saints and teachers. For example, Orthodox have expressed their admiration for Savonarola who, nevertheless, regarded the Orthodox Church as being "cut off" etc. Happily, such terminology in the Catholic Church is "gone with the wind."

As Fr Keleher has said on occasion, East and West do not question each other's canonizations.

That "Orthodox in communion with Rome" would seek to venerate Orthodox saints is, in my view, completely natural, given that the same spirituality that inebriates them is what led the Saints into the paths of holiness/deification.

Hopefully, this has cleared up the confusion that I inadvertently caused on the other thread.

Cheers,

Alex

Indeed He Is Risen!

Good to hear from you!


Raphael, who started the now closed thread, posted on his blog a list of post-schism Russian Orthodox saints [thebananarepublican.blogspot.com] who were approved by Pope Paul VI and included in the Roman calendar:

However, while looking through a copy of the last edition of the Martyrologium Romanum (2004) I could only find the following listed:

St. Stephen of Perm
St. Theodosius of the Kiev Caves
St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves
St. Sergius of Radonezh

I have a recent book in which Pope Benedict writes about St. Symeon the new Theologian, I wonder why we do not venerate this Great and Holy Saint in the west.