Byzantine Culture

History · Guide

Saints in Byzantine Tradition

Discover the saints of the Byzantine tradition, from the military saints like George and Demetrios to the monastic saints and the wonder-workers. Learn about their cults, relics, and the theology of sainthood.

The cult of the saints was one of the most pervasive and most distinctive features of Byzantine Christianity. From the great military saints like George and Demetrios to the monastic saints like Anthony and Sabas, from the holy physicians Cosmas and Damian to the warrior archangels Michael and Gabriel, the saints of Byzantium were the intercessors between the faithful on earth and the God they worshiped. The cult of the saints shaped every aspect of Byzantine religious life, from the dedication of churches to the construction of monasteries, from the production of icons to the organization of the liturgical calendar, and it remains one of the most important features of Orthodox Christianity to this day.

This exploration of saints in the Byzantine tradition examines the theology of sainthood, the principal categories of Byzantine saints, the role of relics in the cult of the saints, and the great pilgrimage sites that formed the geography of Byzantine sanctity.

The Theology of Sainthood

The Communion of Saints

The cult of the saints was rooted in the doctrine of the communion of saints, an article of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The communion of saints was understood as the spiritual union of the faithful on earth, the saints in heaven, and the angels in the heavenly court, all joined together in the one body of Christ. The saints in heaven were not remote figures but active members of the church, interceding for the faithful on earth and participating in the divine liturgy celebrated in the churches of the Byzantine Empire.

The saints in heaven were understood to have arrived at their state through a life of holiness and ascetic struggle. The saints were not, in the Byzantine understanding, superhuman beings, but human beings who had cooperated with the grace of God to overcome the passions, to acquire the virtues, and to be filled with the divine energies. The saints were models of the Christian life, examples of what it means to live in communion with God.

The intercession of the saints was understood as part of the larger economy of grace. The faithful on earth could pray directly to God, but they could also ask the saints to intercede for them, just as one might ask a friend to pray for one. The saints, in the Byzantine understanding, had special access to God, and their prayers were particularly effective. The cult of the saints was thus not a deviation from the worship of God but an extension of it, drawing on the communion of all the members of the body of Christ.

Veneration of the Saints

The veneration of the saints was carefully distinguished from the worship of God. Worship, in the strict sense, was reserved for God alone, and was offered to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Veneration, a lower form of honor, was offered to the saints, the Virgin Mary, and the holy angels, since these created beings were worthy of honor and could intercede for the faithful. The distinction between veneration and worship was, in part, a response to the criticisms of the Iconoclasts, who had argued that the veneration of the saints was a form of idolatry.

The veneration of the saints took several forms. The most important was the veneration of icons, which depicted the saints and served as windows into the heavenly kingdom. The veneration of relics, the physical remains of the saints, was also important, since the relics were understood to be imbued with the grace of the saint. The celebration of the saints’ feasts, with the Divine Liturgy, the singing of hymns, and the reading of the synaxarion, was another important form of veneration. The construction of churches and monasteries in honor of the saints was a further form of veneration, as was the undertaking of pilgrimages to the saints’ shrines.

Categories of Saints

The Theotokos

The most venerated of all the saints in the Byzantine church was the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos or “God-bearer.” The Virgin was venerated as the Mother of God, the intercessor for the faithful, and the protectress of Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. The cult of the Theotokos was based on the doctrine of the Incarnation: since Christ was truly God and truly man, and since his mother was his mother as the God-man, she could legitimately be called the Mother of God.

The most important Marian icon was the Hodegetria, “She who shows the Way.” The original Hodegetria, traditionally attributed to St. Luke, was the most venerated icon in Constantinople and was carried in procession at the start of every imperial campaign. The Hodegetria was credited with miraculous powers, and its processions were occasions for great public festivals.

The principal Marian feasts were the Nativity of the Theotokos (8 September), the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple (21 November), the Annunciation (25 March), the Dormition (15 August), and the Protection of the Theotokos (1 October). The most beloved Marian hymn was the Akathist Hymn, sung during Lent, and the most important Marian shrine was the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople, where the original Hodegetria was kept.

The Military Saints

The military saints were the most popular saints in the Byzantine world, especially among the soldiers and the lower classes. The most important military saints were St. George, St. Demetrios, St. Theodore Stratelates, St. Theodore Teron, and St. Procopius. These saints were venerated as soldiers of Christ, who had fought the powers of evil and had suffered martyrdom for the faith. Their cults were particularly strong in the eastern provinces, where the Byzantine army was engaged in constant warfare with the Arabs, the Turks, and the Slavs.

St. George, the most popular of the military saints, was venerated as a soldier-saint who had been martyred during the persecution of Diocletian. The cult of St. George was so widespread that he was adopted as the patron saint of soldiers, of the city of Lydda in Palestine (where he was martyred), of England, and of many other regions. The most famous image of St. George is the icon of St. George slaying the dragon, which became one of the most popular subjects of Byzantine and post-Byzantine iconography.

St. Demetrios was the patron saint of Thessaloniki, the second city of the Byzantine Empire. The cult of St. Demetrios was centered on the great basilica of St. Demetrios in Thessaloniki, built in the fifth century and rebuilt after a fire in the seventh century. The cult of St. Demetrios was particularly strong among the soldiers of the Byzantine army, and St. Demetrios was often invoked as the protector of the city.

The Monastic Saints

The monastic saints were the great figures of the Byzantine monastic tradition, from St. Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism, to St. Sabas, the founder of the Great Laura in Palestine, to St. Theodore the Studite, the defender of icons. The monastic saints were venerated as models of the ascetic life, examples of the heroic struggle to overcome the passions and to acquire the virtues.

The most important monastic saints included St. Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), the father of monasticism, whose biography by Athanasius of Alexandria was the founding text of the monastic tradition; St. Pachomius (c. 292–348), the founder of cenobitic monasticism; St. Basil the Great (c. 329–379), the great theologian and the author of the rule that bears his name; St. Sabas (439–532), the founder of the Great Laura in Palestine; St. John Climacus (c. 579–649), the author of the Ladder of Divine Ascent, one of the great classics of Orthodox spirituality; St. Theodore the Studite (759–826), the defender of icons; St. Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022), the great mystic; and St. Gregory Palamas (1296–1359), the defender of the hesychast tradition.

The monastic saints were particularly venerated in the monastic communities of the Byzantine world, especially in the great monasteries of Constantinople, the Holy Mountain, and the provinces. The lives of the monastic saints, the hagiographical literature of the Byzantine church, formed a major part of the literary output of the Byzantine monastic tradition.

The Holy Physicians

The holy physicians, St. Cosmas and St. Damian, were the patron saints of medicine and healing. The two brothers, traditionally said to have been martyred during the persecution of Diocletian, were venerated as wonder-workers who had healed the sick without charge. The cult of Cosmas and Damian was especially strong among the physicians and the sick, and many hospitals and medical institutions in the Byzantine world were dedicated to them.

The cult of the holy physicians was part of a larger Byzantine tradition of Christian healing, which combined classical medical knowledge with religious devotion. The great hospitals of Constantinople, including the famous xenones, were institutions of both medical care and religious charity, and they often had chapels dedicated to the holy physicians.

The Warrior Angels

The warrior angels, especially Michael and Gabriel, were venerated as the leaders of the heavenly host, the defenders of the Christian people against the powers of darkness. The archangel Michael was venerated as the protector of the Jewish people in the Old Testament, the leader of the heavenly host against the dragon in the Book of Revelation, and the psychopomp who conducted the souls of the dead to the afterlife. The cult of the archangel Michael was centered on the great shrine at Chonae (modern Honaz) in Phrygia, where Michael was said to have saved the church from destruction.

The archangel Gabriel was venerated as the messenger of God, the angel who appeared to Zechariah, to Mary, and to Joseph in the New Testament. The cult of Gabriel was particularly strong in connection with the Annunciation, and many churches were dedicated to the Annunciation and to the Archangel Gabriel.

The Role of Relics

Veneration of Relics

The veneration of relics was one of the most important aspects of the cult of the saints in the Byzantine world. Relics were understood to be the physical remains of the saints, or objects that had been in close contact with them, and they were venerated as sources of grace and healing. The cult of relics was based on the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, which held that the bodies of the saints would be raised up at the Last Judgment and would be reunited with their souls.

The most important relics in the Byzantine world were the relics of Christ, including fragments of the True Cross, which were said to have been discovered by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine. The True Cross was venerated as the instrument of salvation, and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, celebrated on 14 September, was one of the great feasts of the Byzantine liturgical year.

The relics of the saints were preserved in churches, monasteries, and special reliquaries. The most important reliquaries were the great containers that held the relics of the principal saints, often in precious materials decorated with gold, silver, and gems. The reliquaries were carried in procession on the saints’ feast days, and they were placed on the altar during the Divine Liturgy.

The most important collection of relics in the Byzantine world was in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, where the relics of the apostles Andrew, Luke, and Timothy, and of several other saints, were preserved. The translation of relics from the Holy Land to Constantinople, beginning in the fourth century, was a deliberate imperial policy designed to make the new capital a kind of second Jerusalem, and the great collection of relics in Constantinople was one of the principal sources of the city’s prestige.

The Great Pilgrimage Sites

Jerusalem

The most important pilgrimage site in the Byzantine world was Jerusalem, the city of Christ’s death and resurrection. The holy sites of Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mount of Zion, were the most venerated places in the Christian world, and pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all over the empire and beyond. The most famous Byzantine pilgrims include the western pilgrim Egeria, who visited the holy sites in the late fourth century, and the Russian pilgrim Daniel, who visited in the early twelfth century.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built by Constantine the Great in the fourth century, was the most important church in the Christian world. The church contained the tomb of Christ, the site of the Resurrection, and the Rock of Calvary, the site of the Crucifixion. The church was destroyed by the Persians in 614 and rebuilt by the emperor Heraclius, and it has been rebuilt and modified many times since.

Constantinople

The second most important pilgrimage site was Constantinople, the imperial capital, where the great churches of the Hagia Sophia, the Holy Apostles, and the Hodegon Monastery contained some of the most venerated relics and icons in the Christian world. Pilgrims came to Constantinople to venerate the icon of the Hodegetria, the relics of the apostles, and the great column of the Virgin at the Forum, where the Virgin was said to have appeared to protect the city.

Mount Athos

Mount Athos, the monastic republic on the Chalkidiki peninsula, was the most important pilgrimage site for Orthodox monks and laypeople. The twenty ruling monasteries of the mountain, the many smaller houses, and the hermits’ cells of the desert of Athos were all centers of monastic prayer, and the spiritual treasures of the mountain, including the relics of the great monastic saints, attracted pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world.

The Holy Mountain of Sinai

The Holy Mountain of Sinai, where Moses had received the Law, was the site of the great monastery of St. Catherine, founded in the sixth century by the emperor Justinian. The monastery, which is still active today, contains some of the most important surviving manuscripts and icons of the Byzantine period, and it has been a center of monastic prayer and pilgrimage for more than fourteen centuries.

Conclusion

The cult of the saints was one of the most distinctive features of Byzantine Christianity, and it shaped the religious, cultural, and political life of the empire for more than a millennium. The saints were the intercessors between the faithful on earth and the God they worshiped, and their cults shaped the geography of the empire, the organization of the liturgical calendar, the production of art, and the construction of churches and monasteries. The tradition they established continues in the Orthodox Christian world to this day, and the Byzantine cult of the saints remains one of the most powerful forces in the religious life of more than two hundred million Orthodox Christians.

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