If protestants started canonizing people, who would they choose?

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aicirt said:
How do they go about with Episcopalian canonization? What’s the requirements? Didn’t know they had modern saints.
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It’s not just Episcopalian, it’s throughout the whole Communion. It’s however not a cannonization process, it’s more like a simpler recognition. Anglicans do not recognize patron saints as Catholics do.
 
Gladys Aylward of China whose story was fictionalized in “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness”
Eric Liddell of “Chariots of Fire” fame who also served in China.
 
All beleivers are addressed as saints in the NT so why the need to canonize? Is there a benefit to being canonized?
 
jericho777 said:
All beleivers are addressed as saints in the NT so why the need to canonize? Is there a benefit to being canonized?
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The Church canonizes saints as examples of the faith. They brought Christ to the world in a recognizable way and led lives of faith, hope and charity. However, the Church realizes there are many unsung saints, which is why we celebrated “All Saints Day” as a feast day. 🙂
 
Prosmith said:
It’s not just Episcopalian, it’s throughout the whole Communion. It’s however not a cannonization process, it’s more like a simpler recognition. Anglicans do not recognize patron saints as Catholics do.
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Who and what constitutes the whole Communion? I’m reading that it is a group of Protestant Churches who agree on who is and who isn’t recognized.

Do you look into the person’s background? Or is it a vote that you think he/she was holy and then take a vote for him/her to be recognized?
 
jericho777 said:
All beleivers are addressed as saints in the NT so why the need to canonize? Is there a benefit to being canonized?
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I’m sure there are those Catholics who will answer better than I. I believe the process goes something like this: those interested in promoting the cause of sainthood submits the person’s name and documentation of his life and documentation of a miracle which might have occured at the time of the person’s death and those miracles or acts of good works during his life.
Accepted, he/she is considered a Servant of God and an investigation begins at the Vatican level.
The more the person has written, the longer the investigation will take. For example, Vernerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. There must be tons of written material to examine plus viewing all TV Shows etc. This is to discover any fault in the man which might have continued at time of death.
I believe when once there were five miracles required, it is now three miracles. The person then moves to the category of Blessed and then to Sainthood.

The person has to be a practicing Catholic at the time of his/her death. There can be no scandal related to him/her. That’s the reason why the process is slow. It is also a process evoking the Holy Spirit intervention asking for a miracle in the proposed saint’s name.
 
DavidFilmer said:
If a protestant wanted to offer a similar example of someone who had achieved remarkable piety through the steadfast practice of (some) protestant faith, who might serve as such an example?
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Martyrs, certainly. I’ve long felt a closeness to the Martyrs of New Guinea (1942), who have a day in the Episcopal kalendar (September 2nd) and are worth google-ing. They were ordinary men and women, clergy and lay, Australian, English and Papuan, who stood their ground in the face of evil and paid with their lives. Lucian Tapiedi, please pray for us.
 
Prosmith said:
You don’t seem to realize that Anglicans have recognized Saints and others including some of the same folks that Catholics recognize for centuries.
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We make a distinction between commemorating someone in the calendar and canonizing them. With the exception of Charles I, which is a highly dubious exception (he was “decanonized” later but some Anglicans don’t accept that this is possible), we haven’t canonized anyone since the Reformation and we don’t use the word “saint” for post-Reformation Anglicans and other Protestants whom we commemorate.

Traditionally, the Episcopal Church has listed only Anglicans post-Reformation. The Church of England lists Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox. In the Episcopal Church, the book listing all the commemorations is traditionally called “Lesser Feasts and Fasts.” It’s revised every three years after General Convention. The most recent (2009) version is called “Holy Women, Holy Men.” It includes some folks who are not Episcopalians, and even some whose status as Christians (at least orthodox Christians) is open to serious question: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, for instance. The new additions generally seem driven by political considerations–feminism, environmentalism, etc. My own bishop has not, I believe, authorized this version for use in our diocese–we go on for the time being using the old one. Of course, there will be a new one coming out soon, and there may be even further changes. . . .

Edwin
 
Dorothy said:
Corrie TenBoom comes to mind.
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She’s a favorite of mine too

Deitrich Bonhoeffer
George Fox
Mary Dyer
Thomas Kelly
Rufus Jones
Peter Marshall

All “heroes of the faith” I’ve read and grew up hearing about.
 
Contarini said:
We make a distinction between commemorating someone in the calendar and canonizing them. With the exception of Charles I, which is a highly dubious exception (he was “decanonized” later but some Anglicans don’t accept that this is possible), we haven’t canonized anyone since the Reformation and we don’t use the word “saint” for post-Reformation Anglicans and other Protestants whom we commemorate.

Traditionally, the Episcopal Church has listed only Anglicans post-Reformation. The Church of England lists Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox. In the Episcopal Church, the book listing all the commemorations is traditionally called “Lesser Feasts and Fasts.” It’s revised every three years after General Convention. The most recent (2009) version is called “Holy Women, Holy Men.” It includes some folks who are not Episcopalians, and even some whose status as Christians (at least orthodox Christians) is open to serious question: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, for instance. The new additions generally seem driven by political considerations–feminism, environmentalism, etc. My own bishop has not, I believe, authorized this version for use in our diocese–we go on for the time being using the old one. Of course, there will be a new one coming out soon, and there may be even further changes. . . .

Edwin
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Very well said! Thank You.
 
aicirt said:
How do they go about with Episcopalian canonization? What’s the requirements? Didn’t know they had modern saints.
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Just a misunderstanding. Billy Graham is not on the Episcopal kalendar. I just think he would be recognised by evangelicals as a saint. He is very popular but still living.
 
Contarini said:
We make a distinction between commemorating someone in the calendar and canonizing them. With the exception of Charles I, which is a highly dubious exception (he was “decanonized” later but some Anglicans don’t accept that this is possible), we haven’t canonized anyone since the Reformation and we don’t use the word “saint” for post-Reformation Anglicans and other Protestants whom we commemorate.

Traditionally, the Episcopal Church has listed only Anglicans post-Reformation. The Church of England lists Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox. In the Episcopal Church, the book listing all the commemorations is traditionally called “Lesser Feasts and Fasts.” It’s revised every three years after General Convention. The most recent (2009) version is called “Holy Women, Holy Men.” It includes some folks who are not Episcopalians, and even some whose status as Christians (at least orthodox Christians) is open to serious question: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, for instance. The new additions generally seem driven by political considerations–feminism, environmentalism, etc. My own bishop has not, I believe, authorized this version for use in our diocese–we go on for the time being using the old one. Of course, there will be a new one coming out soon, and there may be even further changes. . . .

Edwin
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Why haven’t you canonized anyone since the Reformation? How would you go about canonizing someone? And how would you decanonize someone?

Why is Stanton open to question?
 
Protestants take the concept of saints to mean an average Christian. The literal interpretation from scripture which is their sole authority relies on not “negleting the gathering of the saints” which was simply a Christian of the day. So following that logic they would have to start canonizing themselves.
 
DavidFilmer said:
Suppose protestants wanted to start “canonizing” people using a standard of personal piety similar to that currently used in the Catholic Church. Who would they choose?

The Catholic Church has both Saints and sinners. Some folk want to judge us by our sinners - by the people who fail to uphold the Catholic Faith. That’s hardly fair - judge us by our Saints, who do uphold the Faith. We have many such Saints to offer as examples of faithful Catholics.

If a protestant wanted to offer a similar example of someone who had achieved remarkable piety through the steadfast practice of (some) protestant faith, who might serve as such an example?
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Great thread!!! I feel the exact same way. 👍
 
Andre1000 said:
The Lutherans would of curse take Luther, and the other “Churches” would take the person who founded them. Most protestant “Churches” I know already treat their founder like a Saint.
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In my experience, most non-catholics are unwilling to recognize extortionately heroic virtue in certain Christians. The simply refer to all Christians (in heaven) as saints.
 
joe370 said:
In my experience, most non-catholics are unwilling to recognize extortionately heroic virtue in certain Christians. The simply refer to all Christians (in heaven) as saints.
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Hasn’t been my experience…It is expected of Friends to read scripture and books about the lives of “heroic” Friends and other Christians and seek to cultivate those “heroic” virtues that made them “heroes”.

Hebrews lists those who by faith walked with God…and then states we have a great cloud of witnesses watching us and cheering us on…Levi Coffin, Mary Dyer, Thomas Kelly, William Penn, Isaac Pennington, and John Woolman are all “heroic Friends” we read about…speak about…seek to emulate.
 
Publisher said:
Hasn’t been my experience…It is expected of Friends to read scripture and books about the lives of “heroic” Friends and other Christians and seek to cultivate those “heroic” virtues that made them “heroes”.

Hebrews lists those who by faith walked with God…and then states we have a great cloud of witnesses watching us and cheering us on…Levi Coffin, Mary Dyer, Thomas Kelly, William Penn, Isaac Pennington, and John Woolman are all “heroic Friends” we read about…speak about…seek to emulate.
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That is good to know. 👍
 
Joel Osteen. The man works miracles and can cure you of cancer…if you give him all your money.
 
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