Why are their post-schism Eastern Orthodox saints canonized by the Catholic Church?

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Ben_Sinner

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I don’t understand this. How can the catholic church infallibily canonize a saint who deliberately put themselves in a schism with the church and didn’t repent? I thought one of the requirements for canonization is that the church had to believe the person lived a life consistent to what the church taught to even be venerated or beautified first?

Wouldn’t this mean the catholic church is in error and is false for infallibly canonizing these post-schism Eastern Orthodox saints?
 
Ben_Sinner said:
St. Sergius of Rodenezh, St. Gregory Palamas, St. Maximus the Greek, St. Photios of Constantinople
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The only St. Photios of Constantinople I can find lived prior to the split, so don’t see how he “deliberately put himself in schism.”

St. Sergius & St. Maximus, it seems, were born into their churches, after the split, and had no part in creating it. Exactly what is it that they should have “repented”?

You seem very anxious to find something for which to call the Catholic Church “false.” Do you suppose there’s any chance the Magisterium might understand sainthood better than you do?
 
Ben_Sinner said:
Wouldn’t this mean the catholic church is in error and is false for infallibly canonizing these post-schism Eastern Orthodox saints?
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I don’t pretend to know what or why the church uses as “rules” to the canonization process, but I know two things:
  1. Only members of the church will be saved and go to heaven… but because of invincible ignorance, we do not know who necessarily is or is not a member of the church. Just because they are not members of the church visible does NOT mean that they are not members of the church and could be saved. I also recognize that schism is not the same thing as heresy.
  2. I also know that whatever the limitations set for canonization, the church is infallible in her pronouncements. What that means is that when we come across a saint we DON’T think should be canonized, and they are, then it is US who are in error… not the church. Just because YOU don’t understand why someone was canonized does not mean the church is wrong or false. What it means is that YOU should do more research on the subject in order to understand that infallible pronouncement.
 
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