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prayer

A collection of 10 issues

Reformers on Intercession of Mary & Saints

Martin Luther Now I do not know in all the Scriptures anything that so well serves such a purpose as this sacred hymn of the most blessed Mother of God, which ought indeed to be learned and kept in mind by all who would rule well and be helpful lords.

Palamas and Islam Revisited

In this post I will be quoting from Gregory Palamas: The Hesychast Controversy and the Debate with Islam, Translated Texts for Byzantinists, Volume 8, translated with an introduction and notes by Norman Russell, published by Liverpool University Press, 2020. Palamis assumes that both Christians and the Turkish Muslims have the

Origen on Prayer & Intercession of Saints

Here will be quoting from the English translation of Origen on Prayer, published by Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Grand Rapids, MI, pp. 25-29. Origen lists four different types or moods of prayer, which can be broken down as: 1. Request. 2. Prayer. 3. Intercession. 4. Thanksgiving Origen permits that requests,

Origen and the Worship of Angels

Origen is often misquoted as denying that Christians were to pray to or invoke angels or the saints in heaven to intercede for believers on earth. They base this on Origen’s response to the Christian critic and pagan Celsus, whom this prolific Christian wrote a thorough refutation to. In

St. Cyril on the Eucharist & Intercession

I quote from St. Cyril of Jerusalem’s Catechetical Lectures to show the beliefs and practices of Churches at that time in respect to the liturgy, the holy Eucharist, intercessory prayers of angels and departed saints, prayers for the dead in Christ, etc. All emphasis will be mine. (On the

MEDIATION IN ISLAM

There are certain narrations that are deemed to be authentic according to Sunni Islam, which plainly show Muhammad’s followers using either him or someone close to him as a means of mediating between the Islamic god and his followers. Take, for instance, the following hadiths which speak of gazing

EARLY CHURCH & PRAYERS OF SAINTS

The following citations were compiled by William Albrecht. They document the widespread belief in the prayers/intercessions of angels and saints for believers on earth. All emphasis will be mine. Shepherd of Hermas (AD 89-145) Chapter 4 I prayed him much that he would explain to me the similitude of

PRAYING TO SAINTS

The following is taken from this post: Prayers to Saints in the Pre-Nicene Era – Energetic Procession. It is commonly claimed that the practice of praying to departed saints and to angels is a late development in Christianity, probably post-dating the Council of Nicea. In this post, I will try to

Jewish Traditions about the Afterlife

Kaddish Prayer (c. Second Temple Period, before 70 CE): The earliest form, known as the “Half Kaddish”, dates back to the Second Temple period. The Mourner’s Kaddish is a Jewish prayer traditionally recited for eleven months after a loved one’s death and on the death anniversary (yahrzeit). It

ALMSGIVING & ATONEMENT

In the Greek translation of Daniel, which is longer than the Hebrew version, teaches that almsgiving or giving charity is an atonement for sins: “Therefore, O king, let my counsel please thee, and atone for thy sins by alms, and [thine] iniquities by compassion on the poor: it may be