From the blog Energetic Procession...
It is commonly claimed that the practice of praying to departed saints and to angels is a late development in Christianity, probably post-dating the Council of Nicea. In this post, I will try to argue that prayers to departed saints were relatively common in the pre-Nicene Church. There are 5 to 8 clear post-Apostolic references from at least 3 locations. Some of the references come from official Christian teachers. The earliest reference may be first or second century, and many of the second and third century writers’ beliefs probably reflect the customs of even earlier times.
Below are three lists of quotations (with some interpretive notes) from Christians writing before 325 AD. The first list has quotations which state or imply the belief that angels and deceased humans can be requested by Christians alive on earth to pray for them. The second list has quotations which state or imply the belief that angels and deceased humans are aware of the prayers of Christians on earth, and join them mystically in prayer. Quotes in the third list are ambiguous but support the doctrine of communion with the departed in one way or another. I follow these lists with a brief analysis of the evidence and what it implies about the antiquity of the practice of praying to saints.
Let it be made clear that by “prayers” is meant any kind of request for action made by one person to another. It is uncontroversial that Christians can pray to saints in the following sense: a Christian can ask another Christian who is alive on earth to pray for him or her. What is more questionable is whether Christians can pray to saints in the following sense: pray to angels or Christians who have departed from earthly life and await resurrection. This latter sense is what I mean by “prayers to saints” for the rest of this article. For longer texts, or texts that are unclear in meaning, I have written the relevant portions in bold lettering. I realize that there are theological objections to this practice; there is also lots of popular-level apologetic material replying to many of these objections. Please read material that replies to these objections on the internet before offering these objections in the comment section...
Below are three lists of quotations (with some interpretive notes) from Christians writing before 325 AD. The first list has quotations which state or imply the belief that angels and deceased humans can be requested by Christians alive on earth to pray for them. The second list has quotations which state or imply the belief that angels and deceased humans are aware of the prayers of Christians on earth, and join them mystically in prayer. Quotes in the third list are ambiguous but support the doctrine of communion with the departed in one way or another. I follow these lists with a brief analysis of the evidence and what it implies about the antiquity of the practice of praying to saints.
Let it be made clear that by “prayers” is meant any kind of request for action made by one person to another. It is uncontroversial that Christians can pray to saints in the following sense: a Christian can ask another Christian who is alive on earth to pray for him or her. What is more questionable is whether Christians can pray to saints in the following sense: pray to angels or Christians who have departed from earthly life and await resurrection. This latter sense is what I mean by “prayers to saints” for the rest of this article. For longer texts, or texts that are unclear in meaning, I have written the relevant portions in bold lettering. I realize that there are theological objections to this practice; there is also lots of popular-level apologetic material replying to many of these objections. Please read material that replies to these objections on the internet before offering these objections in the comment section...
Complete article here.
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