Praying to Orthodox Saints

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Hello all. I am named for a Russian saint who is only honored as such in the Orthodox Church. I was wondering if it would be permissable to request his intercession or if that would be in some way contrary to Catholicism.
 
I think it’d be okay. We are allowed to ask for intercession from those who aren’t officiallly recognized as saints in the Catholic Church. And the Eastern Orthodox have valid sacraments, etc. If you’re going to pray to an Eastern Orthodox saint, I think it’s a great opportunity to say a prayer for unity in the Church.
 
We Eastern Catholics do it all the time. Many of the saints on our liturgical calendar(s) were not in communion with Rome when they died. Heck, Pope Francis made St. Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, and he wasn’t in communion with Rome when he died.
 
You may privately ask the intercession of anyone you reasonably think is in Heaven.

With respect to venerating Orthodox saints generally, if it’s a pre-schism saint, then no problem. Many post-schism saints were also holy people who lived virtuous lives and did not do anything contrary to Catholic principles. Some of them have even been praised by Catholic Popes. The only ones I’d personally be careful about are those who went around opposing the Catholic Church.

Would it be possible to inquire as to exactly which saint you are asking about?
 
When did that happen? I never heard of a Catholic pope canonizing a non-Catholic.
 
February 2015. And apparently Pope St. John Paul II also referred to him as “the great doctor of the Armenian Church.”
 
St. Gregory Palamas is a post-Schism Orthodox saint who is liturgically venerated by the Melkite Greek Catholics and the Ukrainian Greek Catholics at the very least. I believe there are also several Russian Orthodox saints who are similarly liturgically venerated by Russian Catholics.
 
Yes, as I said there are a number of them who are recognized as holy people. As the person is not even asking about liturgical veneration but simply about private prayer, it makes it that much easier.
I myself pray to St. Seraphim of Sarov on a regular basis. (And I am neither Russian nor Eastern Catholic, I just like him.)
 
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FireFromHeaven said:
Hello all. I am named for a Russian saint who is only honored as such in the Orthodox Church. I was wondering if it would be permissable to request his intercession or if that would be in some way contrary to Catholicism.
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I pray with my Grandmother & her sister as though they were in purgatory even though they weren’t Catholic. I don’t know the official teaching on that… just saying if it’s wrong, you wouldn’t be the only one doing it.
 
The doctrine of Gregory Palamas on grace is not in accord with Scripture, Tradition or the Magisterium, so how can he be considered a saint?
 
That’s quite a broad accusation, especially considering the fact that he is revered as a saint on an official level by Eastern (Byzantine) Catholics. And his theology is fundamental to the spiritual tradition of the Christian/Catholic (Byzantine) East. Eastern Orthodox and Eastern (Byzantine) Catholics would say that Palamas’ teachings on grace are completely in accord with Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. What his teaching doesn’t accord with is the Latin “phronema” or worldview/mindset. The fact that his teachings don’t accord with the Latin understanding of the nature of things doesn’t de facto make his teachings heterodox.
 
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Margaret_Ann said:
The doctrine of Gregory Palamas on grace is not in accord with Scripture, Tradition or the Magisterium, so how can he be considered a saint?
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Saints don’t necessarily get everything right . . . look at Aquinas on human life . . .😱
 
Phillip_Rolfes said:
Interesting. Have you ever read what St. Seraphim had to say about the Roman Church? Short version, he wasn’t a fan…
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Pope John Paul II referred to him as a saint.

Criticizing the Catholic Church does not equate to opposing the Church. From what I have read about Fr. Seraphim’s life, he did nothing his whole life that the Church would frown upon. If he had, then a Pope who later became a saint himself would not have been calling him a saint. He loved Our Lady and led an exemplary life.

You are getting off topic for the thread because it is not about liturgical veneration by churches. Again, the OP asked about private prayer, and you are trying to turn the thread into some other discussion. This type of “discussion” is a big reason why I choose to not post here very much any more these days; one starts posting about an intereting and enjoyable topic, and someone else makes it about something else.
If you don’t mind, I think I will return to not posting now, as I am not interested in arguing with you about this topic, Fr. Seraphim or anything else. You are simply derailing what was a nice discussion about saints. Muting topic and you now.
 
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I apologize to all if I have derailed this thread by pointing to the liturgical veneration of Orthodox saints by the Eastern Catholic Churches. My sole purpose in doing so was to try and help the OP see that, not only is it permissible for a Catholic to pray to and venerate Orthodox saints, but it is officially sanctioned by the liturgical practices of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

So, to directly answer the OP’s question; Yes. It is permissible to request St. Dmitri Donskoi’s intercession. No, doing so is not contrary to Catholicism.

I’m sorry that I answered the question in such a roundabout way. 😳
 
Touche, but I’ll still take Aquinas over Palamas. 😉
 
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