Veneration

"Veneration of saints" redirects here. For other uses, see Veneration (disambiguation).
Veneration in Noto St Conrad of Piacenza (San Corrado)

Veneration (Latin: veneratio; Greek: τιμάω timáō),[a] or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness.[1] Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, formally or informally, by adherents of some branches of all major religions, including Christianity, Judaism,[2] Hinduism,[3] Islam,[4] Buddhism[1][3] and Jainism.

Within Christianity, veneration is practiced by groups such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches, all of which have varying types of canonization or glorification procedures. In the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, veneration is shown outwardly by respectfully bowing or making the sign of the cross before a saint's icon, relics, or statue, or by going on pilgrimage to sites associated with saints. In general, veneration is not practiced by Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses, as many adherents of both groups believe the practice amounts to idolatry. Common Lutherans and Anglicans have a positive attitude toward the veneration of saints and practice the naming of churches after saints, as well as keeping certain feasts.[5][6]

Hinduism has a long tradition of veneration of saints, expressed toward various gurus and teachers of sanctity, both living and dead. Branches of Buddhism include formal liturgical worship of saints, with Mahayana Buddhism classifying degrees of sainthood.[1][3]

In Islam, veneration of saints is practiced by some of the adherents of traditional Islam (Sufis, for example), and in many parts of places like Turkey, Egypt, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.[7][8] Other sects, such as Wahhabists etc., abhor the practice.[9]

In Judaism, there is no classical or formal recognition of saints, but there is a long history of reverence shown toward biblical heroes and martyrs. Jews in some regions, for example in Morocco, have a long and widespread tradition of saint veneration.[1][2][3]


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  1. ^ a b c d Lindsay Jones, ed. (2005). Thomson Gale Encyclopedia of Religion (in Tajik). Vol. Sainthood (Second ed.). Macmillan Reference USA. p. 8033.
  2. ^ a b "Veneration of saints is a universal phenomenon. All monotheistic and polytheistic creeds contain something of its religious dimension... " Issachar Ben-Ami (1998). Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco. Wayne State University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8143-2198-0. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Werner Stark (1966). Sociology of Religion. Taylor & Francis. p. 367. GGKEY:ZSKE259PDZ9. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  4. ^ Florian Pohl (1 September 2010). Modern Muslim Societies. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 294–295. ISBN 978-0-7614-7927-7. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  5. ^ Hanson, B. Introduction to Christian Theology. Fortress Press. p. 308. ISBN 978-1-4514-0446-3. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  6. ^ Farmer, D. (2011). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fifth Edition Revised. Oxford Quick Reference. OUP Oxford. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-19-103673-6. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  7. ^ "Sufi Islam". Although frequently characterized as the mystical component of Islam, there are also "Folklorist" Sufis, and the "Traditional" Sufis...Sufism is characterized by the veneration of local saints and by brotherhoods that practice their own rituals.
  8. ^ "Of saints and sinners: The Islam of the Taliban is far removed from the popular Sufism practiced by most South Asian Muslims". The Economist. December 18, 2008. In its popular form, Sufism is expressed mainly through the veneration of saints...South Asia is littered with the tombs of those saints. They include great medieval monuments, like the 13th-century shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, founder of South Asia's pre-eminent Sufi order, in Ajmer. But for every famous grave, there are thousands of roadside shrines, jutting into Delhi's streets, or sprinkled across the craggy deserts of southern Pakistan.
  9. ^ Kim Murphy (2003-05-08). "Saudi Shiites Take Hope From Changes Next Door". Los Angeles Times. while most Sunnis view them as fellow, though possibly misguided, Muslims, Shiites are regarded as infidels by the Saudi religious establishment, which adheres to the ultraconservative and austere variation of Sunni faith known as Wahhabism. Saudi religious leaders see the Shiite veneration of saints and shrines, celebration of the prophet Muhammad's birthday and other rituals as sinful.