Q: Do you pray to the saints? Why do you not pray to
God only? Isn’t that idolarity?
A: The verb “to
pray” is problematic here because of the way people use and understand this
verb (not unlike “to worship”). According to a standard definition, the basic
meaning is to ask / to request humbly.
In the sense of
“asking,” then yes, Orthodox Christians do not think that any member of the
Body of Christ is useless and cut off from the Body after falling asleep, but
that God, through the Holy Spirit and perhaps the ministry of angels, allows
for the “spirits of the righteous made perfect in faith” (Heb 12:24) to
intercede for the living.
So, more
accurately, Orthodox Christians pray through the saints by asking them to pray
for us. The Orthodox understanding that that when we gather to celebrate the
Eucharist, we are also gathering with the whole Church — both the living and
the dead. All the generations of Orthodox Christians that came before us are
alive in Christ. Their personal presence is with us through the grace of God.
Thus, just as it would make sense for us to ask friends and family to pray for
us during times of distress and trial, so, too, is it natural for Orthodox
Christians to ask the saints to pray for us.
Idolatry is the
act of not referring something to the source, for instance honoring or
venerating something or someone with no intention of ultimately referring this
to the Holy Trinity and even more ultimately to God the Father.
Source: https://www.orthodoxanswers.org/do-you-pray-to-the-saints-why-do-you-not-pray-to-god-only-isnt-that-idolatry/
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