Philippians 1.1: 'Saints'

[J. A. McIntyre]

Phi 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

I'm interested to read Orthodox commentary on this passage. It seems the Apostle is speaking to all those in Philippi and calls them saints.

[Peter Farrington]

In the early Church all the members of the Church were called saints, and indeed we are all called to be saints. The idea that only some people are saints in the particular sense developed later.

It does after all 'only' mean 'holy'. So in one sense the local church is addressed as all those who are holy in Christ, but in the sense we are now more used to only some people would be described as holy, both through a sense of humility (I would not call myself 'Holy Peter') and in the sense that those who were confessors and martyrs came to be seen by others as more holy than those who had neither confessed the faith nor been martyred.

A writer could still write to a local Church and speak of those who are holy in Christ Jesus and called to be holy. But a writer would also speak of the Holy Virgin Mary, or Holy Alban or Holy Theodore, meaning those who by their lives had shown that they lived out that which we are all called to.

Best wishes

Peter

[Kris]

Phi 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

I'm interested to read Orthodox commentary on this passage. It seems the Apostle is speaking to all those in Philippi and calls them saints.

Hi,

The term "saint" (lit. holy) is most commonly used to describe people of exceptional holiness (The Theotokos, the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, etc), who have been recognised as such by the Church.

However, this is by no means the only way in which the term is used. St. Paul uses it many times in his Epistles as a general term to describe all the members of the Church, the Body of Christ. The passage you quoted is one such verse.

In XC,
Kris

[Herman Blaydoe]

Our priest often begins his sermons: "Servants of Christ, called to be saints..."

I freely acknowledge that I am called to become a saint, I am reluctant to claim that I have attained that calling just yet.

[M.C. Steenberg]

Our priest often begins his sermons: "Servants of Christ, called to be saints..."

I freely acknowledge that I am called to become a saint, I am reluctant to claim that I have attained that calling just yet.

Herman - That's a gentler version of what I once heard in a parish in Europe, where a priest began his homily (in a manner I later learned was his custom) by saying: 'So, which of you have been canonised saints since we last spoke? None? That's disappointing. Please try harder for next week'.

INXC, Matthew