“If we exclaim, ‘All Saints, Pray to God for us!’, then the whole Heaven will immediately Pray, ‘O Lord, help them!'”
Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
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Saint Nektarios once appeared to a most-pious cleric and complained:
“It’s as if we Saints are in retirement… The people don’t Pray to us, don’t entreat us, don’t ask us for anything, don’t give us any handiwork to do. They don’t give us the opportunity to Pray to God for them…”
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
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“What does the daily invocation of the Saints signify – of different ones each day, during the whole year, and during our whole life? It signifies that God’s Saints – as our brethren, but perfect – live, and are near us – ever ready to help us by the Grace of God. We live together with them in the house of our Heavenly Father, only in different parts of it. We live in the Earthly, they in the Heavenly half; but we can converse with them and they with us. God’s Saints are near to the believing heart, and are ready in a moment to help those who call upon them with faith and love.
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“For someone to have special reverence towards a Saint, the Saint must speak within them in one way or another. When a certain event for a person takes place with the help of a Saint, they have a special love for that Saint. This event can be a serious one, or it can be simple. “
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Cleave to the Saints, for they who cleave to them shall be made Holy.”
Saint Clement of Rome
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“There is no passion, no sin for which the Lives of the Saints do not show how the passion or sin in question in conquered, mortified, and uprooted”.
Saint Justin Popovich of Serbia
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“Read the Lives of the Saints, engrave them upon your heart, and endeavour to bring your life into conformity with theirs.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“The words of the Saints are words of God and not of men.”
Saint Symeon the New Theologian
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“When I am dead, come to me at my grave, and the more often the better. Whatever is in your Soul, whatever may have happened to you, come to me as when I was alive and kneeling on the ground, cast all your bitterness upon my grave. Tell me everything and I shall listen to you, and all the bitterness will fly away from you. And as you spoke to me when I was alive, do so now. For I am living and I shall be forever.”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
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“God’s Saints are represented in their inward actions as listening to the inward Guest, Who works within them – the Lord – venerating Him, smiling from inward sweetness and tenderness, and enjoying heavenly rest.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“There are no writings by female Saints. This is not because there are fewer Holy women than men. There are more Holy women, but female Saints lead a hidden life; they are able to keep their life secret. The All-Holy Virgin received great Grace from God. We do not have revelations that come from the All-Holy Virgin, but we know that she had great Grace; the Church and all who Pray to her are aware of it.”
Saint Sophrony of Essex
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“My children, God walks on the Earth through His Saints.”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“God’s Saints are near to believing hearts and, like the truest and kindest of friends, are ready in a moment to help the faithful and pious who call upon them with faith and love… I speak by experience.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“There is no Icon like Nicholas.”
Russian Proverb
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“Though the Christian Prays alone, he has the Choir of the Saints standing with him.”
Saint Clement of Alexandria
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“You should Venerate Icons of the Saints, for the Saints have been crucified with the Lord; and you should make the Sign of the Cross upon your person before doing so, bringing to mind their communion in the sufferings of Christ. In the same way you should Venerate their Holy Shrines and any Relic of their bones; for God’s Grace is not sundered from these things, even as the Divinity was not sundered from Christ’s Venerable Body at the time of His life-quickening death. By doing this and by glorifying those who Glorified God – for through their actions they showed themselves to be perfect in their love for God – you too will be glorified together with them by God, and with David you will chant: “I have held Thy friends in high honour, O Lord’”.
Saint Gregory Palamas
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“We depict Christ as Our King and Lord, and we do not strip Him of His Army. For the Saints are the Lord’s Army.”
Saint John of Damascus
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“The Saints aren’t made from other material, they’re humans just like us. In this they differ: they took seriously the question of their Salvation.”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
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“If you wish, the Lives of the Saints are a sort of Orthodox Encyclopedia. In them can be found everything which is necessary for the Soul which hungers and thirsts for Eternal Righteousness and Eternal Truth in this life, and which hungers and thirsts for Divine Immortality and Eternal Life. If faith is what you need, there you will find it in abundance: and you will feed your Soul with food which will never make it hungry. If you need love, truth, righteousness, hope, meekness, humility, repentance, Prayer, or whatever virtue or spiritual struggle, in them, the Lives of the Saints, you will find a countless number of Holy Teachers for every spiritual struggle and will obtain Grace-Filled help for every virtue.”
Saint Justin Popovic
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“The Saints were people like all of us. Many of them came out of great sins, but by repentance they attained the Kingdom of Heaven. And everyone who comes there comes through repentance, which the Merciful Lord has given us through His sufferings.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
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“When I read the Lives of the Saints as a child, I felt as though a ray of Divine Light had entered my heart. It filled my heart with sweetness, joy, and jubilation and lit a desire and love for God and Heavenly things.”
Elder Philotheos Zervakos
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“The humble are like nightingales that hide in ravines and spread joy to the Souls of men with their sweet songs.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“When we read the Lives of the Saints we gain two things. Firstly, the example of their struggles wakes us from the numbness of negligence and, secondly, when we read the Lives of the Saints with reverence, the Saints intercede to Christ for us.”
Elder Arsenios the Cave-Dweller
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“The Martyrs suffered greatly when they were tormented. They suffered in the same way as any normal person would have suffered, with the difference that they were continually united to Christ through Prayer and partook of a force which was greater than their pain, and in this way they were able to conquer. If, however, they had abandoned Prayer, even for just a moment, their pains would have become unbearable and they would have been ready to deny Christ. However, hanging onto Prayer, they were strengthened and endured the pain of their Martyrdom until the end.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“The Lord gave the Holy Spirit to the Saints, and they love us in the Holy Spirit. The Saints hear our Prayers and have the power from God to help us.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
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“Read the Fathers, even one or two lines a day. They are strengthening vitamins for the Soul.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Ask the Angels and the Saints to intercede for you, just as you’d ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they’re also standing face to face with you.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“What would happen if the sun stopped shining on the Earth? Life of Earth would stop. Thus even in Spiritual darkness man cannot remain, and the Lord frees us from the great darkness, sending to the world His Saints, who shine in Spiritual darkness.”
Saint Luke the Surgeon, Archbishop of Simferopel
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“The Saints of every generation, joined to those who went before them form a golden chain, each one being a link that is fastened to the others in faith and love. Thus, in a single God, they are all one, and the Light that shines in one is the same Light that shines in all.”
Saint Symeon the New Theologian
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“May all Christians be found worthy of either the Pure White Crown of a Holy life or the Royal Red Crown of Martyrdom.”
Saint Cyprian of Carthage
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“Which friend did you gain in Heaven to welcome you when you leave this world? In whose field did you work to receive your wages? Cleanse the filth of the heart, so that the Holy Spirit may rest in you.”
Saint Isaac the Syrian
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“One cannot possibly understand the teaching of the Saints unless one has a pure mind and is trying to imitate their life.”
Saint Athanasius the Great, Patriarch of Alexandria
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“The best guide for us is to read the Lives of the Saints.”
Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
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“You victorious Martyrs who endured torments gladly for the sake of our God and Saviour, you who have boldness of speech toward the Lord Himself, you Saints, intercede for us who are timid and sinful men, full of sloth, that the Grace of Christ may come upon us, and enlighten the hearts of all of us so that we may love Him.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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Saint Iakovos said: “Once, I saw the Saint alive inside of his Reliquary. I asked him: “My Saint, how did you live in Asia Minor, what Virtues and Blessings did you have?” The Saint replied: “I slept in the cave in which was the stable and covered myself with straw to take cover in the winter so I wouldn’t freeze. I had humility and faith.” Not long after, Saint John said to Saint Iakovos: “Wait, Father Iakovos, because now two people have come to Pray for a sick child. Wait until I go help him.” Immediately the Reliquary appeared empty, because the Saint left. In a short while, he returned, though I didn’t see how he did, but I saw him inside his Reliquary like a [living] man!”
Saint Iakovos of Evia and Saint John the Russian of Evia
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“Come close, all of you, and tell me of your troubles as though I were alive, and I will see you, I will hear you, and I will come to your aid.”
Saint Matrona of Moscow, the Blind
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“When we think of the Saints, the Saints also think of us and help us. This is how a person forms a friendship with the Saints – and such a friendship is more reliable than any other. Then, even when alone, he lives together with everyone: with the Saints, with the Angels, and with the whole world.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“You Victorious Martyrs who endured torments gladly for the sake of God and Saviour, you who have boldness of speech toward the Lord Himself, you Saints, intercede for us who are timid and sinful men, full of sloth, that the Grace of Christ may come upon us, and enlighten the hearts of all of us so that we may love Him.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“O all ye Saints, entreat the Lord God for me. You behold the Glory of the Lord in the Heavens, since on Earth you loved God with all your Souls and with all your minds. You overcame the world by the power of the Grace which the Lord gave you on account of your humility; you bore with every affliction for love of God; and my spirit burns to behold you in contemplation of the Glory of the Lord, and my Soul yearns day and night for the Lord, and longs to delight in His love.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
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“The Apostles, being themselves light, administered light to those who believed, enlightening their hearts with that Heavenly Light of the Spirit by which they were themselves enlightened.”
Saint Makarios the Great of Egypt
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“The candles lit before Icons of Saints reflect their ardent love for God for Whose sake they gave up everything that man prizes in life, including their very lives, as did the Holy Apostles, Martyrs and others. These candles also mean that these Saints are lamps burning for us and providing light for us by their own Saintly living, their virtues and their ardent intercession for us before God through their constant Prayers by day and night. The burning candles also stand for our ardent zeal and the sincere sacrifice we make out of reverence and gratitude to them for their solicitude on our behalf before God.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“Therefore, how easy it is to communicate with the saints! It is only necessary to purify the eye of the heart, to fix it firmly upon a saint known to you, to pray to him for what you want, and you will obtain it.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“If you are suffering for your faith in Christ, the Lives of the Saints will console you and encourage you and make you bold and give you wings, and your torments will be changed into joy.”
Saint Justin Popovich of Serbia
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“Let us return to the Christ-bearing Ascetics and to the Holy Fathers.”
Saint Justin Popovich of Serbia
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“Abba Isaac is so sweet!”
Saint Tikhon of Mount Athos