19
votes
Accepted
What is the earliest known instance of a petition directed to Mary?
Sub Tuum Praesidium
The earliest known, extant petition prayer to Mary the Θεοτόκος (Theotokos), or Dei Genetrix (the Greek and Latin, respectively, for 'God-bearer' or 'Birthgiver-of-God') is found ...
- 8,420
15
votes
According to Protestantism, what are the strongest apologetic arguments against the doctrine of Intercession of Saints?
For those denominations that take the Bible fairly literally, everyone that has ever died (with one notable exception) is still dead and buried and awaiting resurrection.
For the living know that ...
- 10.3k
15
votes
Accepted
Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
Is there any biblical evidence that [asking dead saints for intercession] was a common practice in the early church?
The New Testament contains neither any example of nor any reference to this ...
- 506
14
votes
Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
Are there any biblical examples of Christians in the Early Church communicating with dead saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
The short answer seems to be no.
There are no clear ...
- 74.7k
11
votes
According to Protestantism, what are the strongest apologetic arguments against the doctrine of Intercession of Saints?
On an official German protestant website exactly this question was answered with the following arguments (loosely summarized in English by me):
Protestants do not have a hierarchy of the deceased. ...
6
votes
Accepted
According to Catholicism, to what extent is the spiritual growth of a Christian impaired by his/her lack of devotion to Mary and the Saints?
Whether Mary is necessary to the spiritual growth of a Christian
Objection 1. It would seem that the spiritual life of a Christian could be equally as rich without the admixture of devotions to the ...
- 34.2k
6
votes
Accepted
How many prayers (to Heaven) by believers are in the 66 books of the (Protestant) Bible? Are any literally addressed to anyone except God?
I can think of no biblical example where a believer prayed to any created being, which would include angels because angels are created beings. Jesus only instructed his followers to pray to God in ...
- 33.9k
5
votes
Accepted
As a Catholic, am I obliged to believe in visions and saints?
The Church distinguishes between two ways God has spoken to the world: the "public revelation" beginning with the Old Testament prophets and culminating in the life of Jesus, and the "private ...
- 810
5
votes
Accepted
What do Protestants make of the earliest Marian prayer?
It’s interesting that the prayer is not just asking for Mary’s intercession, but asking her to intervene in an angelic manner. It’s a request for her to “Save us from every danger.”
This prayer ...
- 3,650
4
votes
According to Catholicism, can the saints be given the title "co-mediator of Grace"?
Mediation is a relative term. That is you can't mediate something from yourself to someone else per se. For example, Christ mediates between God and man (being Himself both).
Thus, any of us can ...
- 8,420
4
votes
Accepted
According to Lutherans, do angels pray for us?
Most assuredly they do.
The traditional doctrinal standard for the Lutheran Churches is the Book of Concord. One of documents in the BoC is the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, also called the ...
- 3,710
4
votes
Does the Catholic Church teach a specific way to pray to the saints?
Short answer, and possibly the only "approved" answer, is to check out the Proper of Saints in the Liturgy of the Hours (see universalis app). The prayers are usually short and may only ...
- 34.2k
4
votes
According to Catholic scholars, is Satan privy to our prayers, and can he act on them?
According to Catholic scholars, is Satan privy to our prayers, and can he act on them?
The short answer is no. But he can guess what we are sometimes praying for.
In any case Satan can not know what ...
- 74.7k
4
votes
Accepted
From the perspective of Catholicism, are there or have there been any Protestant saints?
From the perspective of Catholicism, are there or have there been any Protestant saints?
To my knowledge, no Protestant believer has been raised to to honour of beatification or canonization by the ...
- 74.7k
4
votes
The Catholic Church seems to teach that we cannot ask the saints/angels for anything else other than to pray for us, but I don't understand why?
Angels are, quite literally, messengers of God. All their power is through Him. Venerating them is in order; adoring them, worshiping them is not: That would be idolatry. Praying to a saint or an ...
3
votes
Accepted
What are the strongest apologetic arguments in defense of the veracity of the doctrine of Intercession of Saints?
The Catholic Answers website has some good material on this. The main entry defending the doctrine is How to Defend the Intercession of the Saints. It addresses the "common" objections from ...
- 4,362
3
votes
Do Protestants think of Mary as the "Mother of All Peoples"?
I am quoting, below, from the Second Helvetic Confession which is a generally accepted statement of the Reformation :
It was adopted by the Reformed Church not only throughout Switzerland but in ...
- 27k
3
votes
Accepted
What are the early Church Fathers' views on the veneration/honoring of Saints
The Catholic concept we're talking about is dulia:
a theological term signifying the honour paid to the saints, while latria means worship given to God alone, and hyperdulia the veneration offered to ...
- 935
3
votes
What are liturgical honours and privileges for the Patrons of categories of people?
What are liturgical honours and privileges for patron saints?
The liturgical honours of each particular saint is that they each have a fixed day in which they may be particularly honoured at Mass or ...
- 74.7k
3
votes
Does Protestant and Christian denominations seeks the prayer of their deceased founder?
I'd like to start by pointing out a small error. 'Protestant' is a branch of Christianity, so it's not grammatically correct to talk about 'Protestant and Christian' as two different things. You might ...
- 32.5k
3
votes
Is there a rule, on how many Patron Saints a Catholic can have?
I believe you're referring to the fact that a person baptized needs a "Christian Name" and that name would be their protection throughout their life.
The sacrament of Baptism is conferred &...
- 34.2k
3
votes
Accepted
Is the practice of seeking the intercession of Rachel admonished in the New Testament?
The practice is not admonished. In fact, in a 2018 book by Dr. Brant Pitre, who specialized in NT and ancient Judaism and who wrote a few books on the Jewish background of Jesus, Jesus and the Jewish ...
- 25.6k
3
votes
Does the Catholic Church teach a specific way to pray to the saints?
As a Catholic I can say No.
While there are different prayers and novenas to petition various saints we can pray/ask them to help us any way we want.
They are ordinary people who through faith and the ...
- 89
3
votes
Accepted
Does the Catholic Church teach a specific way to pray to the saints?
Does the Catholic Church teach a specific way to pray to the saints?
Catholic piety and Church teaching go hand in hand here.
There is no particular manner or special way to talk with our friends in ...
- 74.7k
3
votes
How did Saint Anthony come to be the patron Saint of finding lost objects?
How did Saint Anthony come to be the patron Saint of finding lost objects?
St. Anthony of Padua one day found the Psalter of someone. This lead others to invoke him as the Patron Saint of finding Lost ...
- 74.7k
3
votes
What happens to the fruits of the Mass applied to a particular soul who is no longer in purgatory?
The general belief is that the duration of a soul's stay in purgatory is determined by how fast the process of purification gets accomplished. Prayers of the people on earth, including Mass ...
3
votes
How common and accepted was it to pray to Elijah during Jesus' times?
Here is what Abarim Publications has to say on the matter of this hotly contested and misunderstood phrase, eli, eli, lama sabachthani:
The familiar phrases ηλι ηλι λαμα σαβαχθανι (eli, eli, lama ...
- 21.1k
2
votes
How do the merits of the Saints in Heaven operate?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states
"The 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God. (CCC #1496)
The idea that a ...
- 2,828
2
votes
Is there a rule, on how many Patron Saints a Catholic can have?
How many patron saints may we have at any one time even if temporarily?
There seems to be no fixed rule on this subject.
Before going on allow me to relate a little story. I once asked the retired ...
- 74.7k
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