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holdencaulfield
Guest
I say no. What do you think?
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catherine_m
Guest
Definately not. Alot of people pray to him and ask him for protection when they are traveling.
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Assuming he never existed, is it a sin. I’m not saying he didn’t exist, I’m just being hypothetical.
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catherine_m
Guest
But you wouldn’t pray to someone you assumed didn’t exist. If people are praying to him they are praying to him in his capacity as a saint that they believe exists. So even if he never existed your prayers would not go unheard or unanswered because the intention was genuine to pray to a saint you believed in and God would see it as such.
I hope that makes sense!!
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peso73
Guest
I agree :yup:But you wouldn’t pray to someone you assumed didn’t exist. If people are praying to him they are praying to him in his capacity as a saint that they believe exists. So even if he never existed your prayers would not go unheard or unanswered because the intention was genuine to pray to a saint you believed in and God would see it as such.
I hope that makes sense!!
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holdencaulfield
Guest
That’s the way I understand it.But you wouldn’t pray to someone you assumed didn’t exist. If people are praying to him they are praying to him in his capacity as a saint that they believe exists. So even if he never existed your prayers would not go unheard or unanswered because the intention was genuine to pray to a saint you believed in and God would see it as such.
I hope that makes sense!!
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Does anyone really think that he had a dog’s head?
http://www.beyond-the-pale.co.uk/christophoros.jpg
http://www.beyond-the-pale.co.uk/christophoros.jpg
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Caesar
Guest
Certainly not. For one thing, St. Christopher has been widely venerated throughout the Church for many centuries.
There are various saints, particularly martyrs of the early Church, who have had stories and even names, not necessarily accurate, bestowed on them after death in order for the faithful to properly venerate them.
There is no sin here, nothing that could possibly cause harm to souls. Quite the opposite in fact.
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catherine_m
Guest
No I’m sure not. He was fully human.
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childofmary1143
Guest
Where did you get this picture and who said that he had/has a dog’s head?
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cam100
Guest
But has any authority claimed that St. Christopher didn’t exist? Why would someone assume he didn’t exist?
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peso73
Guest
I think because recently the church had acknowledged there was no evidence for his historical existance, no letters, or records, etc…just a miraculous story…I guess maybe like Paul Bunyan and his giant ox or something, like more of a folk tale.
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TMC
Guest
There are a few different stories about Saint Christopher and who he was. In the East there is a tradition that Christopher was a dog-headed cannibal soldier in some army or another. After he was captured he converted to Christianity and did various laubable things before eventually being martyred. (Obviously I don’t remember all the details). The Western tradition is different, but I don’t remember it.
No, but the Church did a revew of many ancient Saints in the 50s or 60s and found no real historical evidence for some of them. They were not technically unsainted, I think. Their feast days are off the calendar, but they still have local feast days and so on. Christopher was part of that process. The dog-headed cannibal story probably didn’t help him much.
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cam100
Guest
The Church never said that St. Christopher didn’t exist. I think some people got confused because he was replaced on the calendar. This has been discussed before in the Apologist forum. For example:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=7544&highlight=christopher
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peso73
Guest
umm…regardless of the guy with the dog’s head, or the person carring baby jesus across the river, I would bet a lot of money that their is someone in heaven named Chistopher for sure, and that person would be a saint by definition, so…
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holdencaulfield
Guest
The Eastern Orthodox Church always portrays him with a dog’s head.
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Yes that’s why I was wondering.
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peso73
Guest
well, I’d say if you’re worried about it, replace your St. Christopher medal/visor clip, or whatever, with your guardian angel, that’s what I have in my car, if you pray to him for safe travels or whatnot, one’s guardian angel, in my estimation, would be an even more interested party
and like the other post or two mentioned, I am pretty sure God wouldn’t hold it against anyone, as St. Christopher has been part of our tradition for so long, God knows what we are asking for anyway, as He knows our hearts, so…probably ok either way…OR, if you wanna get REALLY wild, you could always pray to the Lord!
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Yea good point.well, I’d say if you’re worried about it, replace your St. Christopher medal/visor clip, or whatever, with your guardian angel, that’s what I have in my car, if you pray to him for safe travels or whatnot, one’s guardian angel, in my estimation, would be an even more interested party
and like the other post or two mentioned, I am pretty sure God wouldn’t hold it against anyone, as St. Christopher has been part of our tradition for so long, God knows what we are asking for anyway, as He knows our hearts, so…probably ok either way…OR, if you wanna get REALLY wild, you could always pray to the Lord!
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bpbasilphx
Guest
You are mistaken, Holden, that Orthodox iconography “always” portrays him with a dog’s head. There are others where he is not.
However, the legend is that he asked for his great physical beauty would be taken away lest he prove a distraction or snare to others.
However, the legend is that he asked for his great physical beauty would be taken away lest he prove a distraction or snare to others.
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