Biblical basis Intercession of the living for the living According to the
Epistle to the Romans, the living can intercede for the living: "Now I (
Paul) beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me" (). Mary intercedes at the
wedding at Cana and occasions Jesus's first miracle. "On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, 'They have no more wine.' 'Woman, why do you involve me?' Jesus replied. 'My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you (). When God was displeased by the four men who had attempted to give advice to the patriarch Job, he said to them, "My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly" ().
Moses says to God, Forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.' The Lord replied, 'I have forgiven them, as you asked (). The elders of the church can intercede for the sick people. "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven" ().
Intercession of the living for the dead Some interpret 2 Timothy 1:16–18 to support prayer for the dead: "The Lord give mercy unto the house of
Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well." The
deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees 12:43–46 speaks explicitly about the prayer of the living for the dead: "And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."
Intercession of the dead for the living Early Christians derived some of their views from Judaism. "[A]t least some Jews in the first century believed that the angels in heaven were praying for those on earth and presenting their prayers to God. Those in heaven—Onias, Jeremiah, and the angels—were intimately involved in what was happening on earth." In Luke 15:7 Jesus says that those in heaven rejoice when a sinner repents. In Hebrews 12:1, the author refers to them as a "cloud of witnesses". According to Fr. Lawrence, "It was part of the Church's faith in the first century that those in heaven interceded for those on earth." The intercession of the dead for the living is shown in
2 Maccabees 15:14–17; an intercession on behalf of Israel by the late high priest
Onias III plus that of
Jeremiah, the prophet who died almost 400 years earlier. "And Onias spoke, saying, 'This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God.
Teaching by Christian denomination Orthodox Intercessory prayer to saints plays an important role in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches such as the
Coptic Orthodox Church.
Catholic pleads with
Jesus (top left) for the life of a
gravedigger afflicted by plague during the
Plague of Justinian (
Josse Lieferinxe, )
Catholicism teaches the intercession of the saints, the doctrine that the saints—both alive and in heaven—pray for the Church. This is related to the doctrine of the
Communion of saints, which is mentioned in the
Apostle's Creed. In conjunction with the doctrine of the intercession of the saints, the Catholic Church teaches the
comprecation of saints—that Christians can ask God for a share in the prayers of the saints—as well as the
invocation of saints—that Christians can invoke saints directly as intercessors in their prayers.
Gregory of Nazianzus said of his deceased father: "I am well assured that his intercession is of more avail now than was his instruction in former days, since he is closer to God, now that he has shaken off his bodily fetters, and freed his mind from the clay which obscured it"; and
Jerome wrote: "If the Apostles and Martyrs, while still in the body, can pray for others, at a time when they must still be anxious for themselves, how much more after their crowns, victories, and triumphs are won! One man, Moses, obtains from God pardon for six hundred thousand men in arms; and Stephen, the imitator of the Lord, and the first martyr in Christ, begs forgiveness for his persecutors; and shall their power be less after having begun to be with Christ?" The doctrine of intercession and invocation was set forth by the
Council of Trent, which teaches that "... the saints who reign together with Christ offer up their own prayers to God for men. It is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid, and help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Who alone is our Redeemer and Saviour". In ecumenical conversations, agreement has been reached that "asking the saints to intercede for us expresses the solidarity of the church wherein all are meant to be of mutual support to one another. Analogous to what is done among living persons, the request directed toward a saint to pray for us is a precise expression of solidarity in Jesus Christ, through the ages and across various modes of human existence".
Lutheran (
Lutheran), Article XXI
Evangelical Lutheranism affirms belief in the
communion of saints, which is named in the
Apostle's Creed. The Evangelical Lutheran confessions approve honouring the saints by thanking God for examples of his mercy, by using the saints as examples for strengthening the believers' faith, and by imitating their faith and other virtues. Evangelical Lutheranism broadly accepts the intercession of the saints, though it rejects the invocation of the saints. The Augsburg Confession emphasizes that Christ is the only Mediator between God and man, and that He is therefore the only One to and through Whom Christians ought to pray. Though most Lutheran denominations do not, the
Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran—a Lutheran denomination with Evangelical Catholic churchmanship—affirmed a belief in the invocation of the saints. The
Apology of the Augsburg Confession teaches that "blessed Mary prays for the Church". With regard to the
Blessed Virgin Mary specifically,
Martin Luther advocated the use of the pre-Council of Trent version of the
Hail Mary as a sign of reverence for and devotion to her. The 1522
Betbüchlein (Prayer Book) of Lutheranism thus retained the Ave Maria.
Reformed The
Reformed Churches, which hold to
Calvinist theology, understand the
communion of saints mentioned in the
Apostles' Creed to consist of all believers, including those who have died, but invocation of departed saints is regarded as a transgression of the
First Commandment. Specifically, John Calvin in the Institutes of the Christian Religion (), believes that the Bible demonstrates that the central principle of worship is on the direct invocation of God. Calvin quotes Psalm 44, "If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god, shall not God search this out?” The next principle Calvin brings out from the Bible is that all prayer must be done only through the intercession of Christ. Calvin teaches that in Hebrews 13:15, Christians are reminded that "without the intervention of his priesthood our lips are not pure enough to celebrate the name of God". Because of the intercession of Christ, Calvin says that Christians can join the Apostle Paul and "Pray without ceasing;" (1 Thess:5:17). In contrast, Calvin believes that the practice of praying to saints is a demonstration of "distrust, because they are either not contented with Christ as an intercessor or have altogether robbed him of this honour".
Anglican Reflecting the Reformed theology of
Thomas Cranmer—the guiding figure of the
Protestant Reformation in England—the
Thirty-nine Articles (1563), which became a
confession of faith for historic Anglicanism, condemn "invocation of saints" as "a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God" (Article XXII). Theologians within the
Anglican Communion make a clear distinction between a "Romish" doctrine concerning the invocation of saints and what they view as the "Patristic" doctrine of intercession of the saints, permitting the latter, but forbidding the former. Anglicanism has affirmed the 'comprecation of the saints' (termed by Anglican bishop
William Forbes as
advocation of the saints), which is “the practice of asking God Himself for a share in the prayers of the saints”. Anglicans believe that comprecation “is a truly primitive and Catholic practice, found in the ancient Liturgies and open to no possible theological objection. It affirms the truth that the saints do pray for us, it meets the human need for active fellowship with the departed and it brings into the sphere of practical religion the communion of saints as including not only those on earth but those beyond the veil.” Anglican theologian James Clark writes that "In comprecation, therefore, we can remain mindful of that portion of the communion of saints already in Paradise, while simultaneously upholding the biblical principle that we are to address God alone in our prayers and petitions, avoiding altogether any creeping danger of idolatry…" and that “we can rightfully avail ourselves of their prayers, not by asking the saints directly to pray for us, but by praying to God that He would bless us through their intercessions”
Methodist Article XIV of the Methodist
Articles of Religion from 1784, echoing the Anglican
Thirty-nine Articles, rejects invocation of saints by declaring the doctrine "a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God".
Baptist The
Baptist Churches reject the intercession of the dead for the living, but they are in favour of the intercession of the living for the living according to (cf.
intercessory prayer). == Parallels in other religions ==