Four Saints

I’ve been tagged. I need a break from writing case reports anyway.

Name four favourite saints, a favourite blessed saint, and somebody you think should be canonised.

Four favorite saints:

1) Pope St. Julius I- Most Orthodox would hate me for choosing this, but he is my patron saint. Among other things, he helped to solidify the primacy of the Roman pope and he asserted this primacy over the other patriarchs. He wrote to the Eastern bishops, “this is the custom, that we should be written to first, so that from here what is just may be defined.” The Orthodox Christians nowadays have an anemic and useless view of primacy. They do not give Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem (in that order) the due respect, honor, and yes, authority that these ancient sees deserve. Instead, they look to their national churches and sometimes pull stunts that affect all the Orthodox world without consulting first with their elder brothers in Christ. Through the intercessions of my holy patron Julius, may we learn once again the true meaning of primacy- even if it means swallowing our pride from time to time.

2) St. Moses the Black- This is like my unofficial patron. He is the saint I most admire, most respect, and the one whose intercessions I ask for most often. He lived a sinful, passionate, and violent life until his conversion. Even after his conversion, he struggled to concentrate in prayer and he was tempted by the memories of his past life. He was the first saint whose intercessions I asked for while I was still considering Orthodoxy, and he was the first who ever answered my petitions.

3) St. John Maximovitch- Ever since he helped me in a very dramatic and miraculous way during a stats test, I have been forever in his debt.

4) St. Michael the Archangel- Everyone needs a little protection.

Favorite blessed saint:

Blessed is just a term used to describe certain saints in Orthodoxy. It is not a step below canonization like in the RCC. I guess then that means my favorite blessed saint is St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo-Regius. He may have engaged in some theological speculation which was not in line with the rest of the Church’s theology, BUT he was a holy man of God, a good bishop, and he was willing to be corrected by the Church. That last quality alone puts him far above most Orthodox Christians nowadays. If you have not read his Confessions, do so. To be honest, the only reason I must choose him is because I haven't read anything written by any other blessed saints. I have read Augustine's Confessions and his Sermons to the People. His holiness has impacted me.

Person that should be canonized:

Definitely Dom Denis Chambault. I have no idea why he is not yet canonized. Well, maybe I do. He was Western Rite and that is obviously a bad thing in some quarters. I have yet to hear of a convincing reason why that should be.

Now to tag some people. I'll only tag a couple: John and Steven- you guys are it.