SPSA Church Giving (opens in a new tab)

Questions & Answers

Intercession

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › St. Mary and the Saints › Intercession

The question

Do the departed saints possess attributes of deity? Do we have any single verse in Holy Scripture that teaches us to pray to the saints in heaven? The Holy Bible clearly teaches us to pray to each other on earth (St. James, St. Paul). Do we really know the situation of the saints in heaven between their departure and the resurrection?

The answer

No, the saints do not possess attributes of deity; they only know what God reveals to them.

The Holy Bible did not mention the word earth either when teaching us to pray for one another. In Holy Book of Jeremiah 15:1 we read, "Then the Lord said to me, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!" At the time of Jeremiah Moses and Samuel were in paradise not on earth.

The saints are in Paradise, a resting place, awaiting the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ when they will hear Him say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34). They are in a state of rest.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 776 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.