[InChristAlone]

Originally Posted by OBW

Doesn't matter what he looks like. Within the Biblical use of the term saint, he is or is not based on his status as child of God, as are you and I.

Mike, thank you for your comment. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Scripturally speaking, all Christians are considered saints.

Anyway, I have done a small research:

The word “saint” comes from the Greek word "aghios"(hágios), which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious" or "he or she who is separated". The New Testament uses the word saint or saints 67 times. In every instance, the reference is to all believers. The idea of the word “saints” is a group of people set apart from the corruption of the world. They are those who set apart for the Lord and His kingdom. First Corinthians 1:2 says: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy…” The words “sanctified” and “holy” come from the same Greek root as the word that is commonly translated “saints.” Christians are saints by virtue of their connection with Jesus Christ. Christians are called to be saints, to increasingly allow their daily life to more closely match their position in Christ.

1. In many Protestant churches, the word "saint" is used more generally to refer to anyone who is a Christian. This is similar in usage to Paul's numerous references in the New Testament of the Bible. In this sense, anyone who is within the Body of Christ (i.e., a professing Christian) is a 'saint' because of their relationship with Christ Jesus. A Protestant pastor writes, "Rejoice today you who are Christians, rejoice I say, for you are cleansed and sanctified, and now appear holy before God. If you have repented of your sins, seen the need to have the wrath of God removed from off of you who rightly deserve it, the filth and stench of sin (Rom 6:23, 3:23), and you have confessed your sins to God (1 John 1:9), you already have eternal life (John 3:16-17) and have been made righteous in the sight of God because you have placed your trust in Christ to save you (Rom 10:9-13). If you have, then right at this very moment, you can know that you are a saint of God. You don’t have to wait until you die and go to the Kingdom of Heaven. If you are His, you are a saint right now! When God sees you He sees the Son of God’s holiness.” (That does not resonate with me because I don't feel a living experience of Christ's holiness in me behind these words. I can blow my own trumpet, saying that I am a saint and when God sees me, He sees the Son of God’s holiness. But I am afraid it's self-deception).

In Orthodox and Catholic teachings, a saint is not only every Christian believer but also one who has been recognized for having an exceptional degree of holiness.

2 The Catholic Church teaches that it does not make or create saints, but rather, recognizes them. In the Church, the title of Saint refers to a person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the Catholic Church, and is therefore believed to be in Heaven. Canonization is the process by which the Catholic Church confers sainthood upon a person based on that person's special deeds. In his book, Saint of the Day, editor Leonard Foley, OFM, says this of saints: "[Saints'] surrender to God's love was so generous an approach to the total surrender of Jesus that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ." In his book, on Making Saints, author Kenneth L. Woodward notes the following: A saint is always someone through whom we catch a glimpse of what God is like—and of what we are called to be. Only God "makes" saints, of course. The church merely identifies from time to time a few of these for emulation. “

3 a) In the Eastern Orthodox Church, in the general sense of the word, all Christians are saints. A Christian is separated from the domination of death, evil, sin and the devil when he or she is baptized and becomes a member of the Church – the “household of God” (Epesians 2:19). This new status makes every Christian a saint in the general sense. It describes our new condition. We are all now “children of the Kingdom” and no longer “children of the wicked one” (Mathew 13:38). We are all now “children of light” and no longer “walk in darkness”. But this is not enough. As St. Paul says, “ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Epesians 5:8). Those who “have walked” the road of growth in communion and obedience to God, approach the perfection of Godlikeness. Those who have done so in significant proportion we call “Saints” in the specific sense of the word, and we honor them as Saints in the worship of the Church. It is better for the rest of us to focus upon what God expects of us as we seek to “walk in the light” daily, than to spend too much energy on our titles.

b) Another source: In the EO church, a saint is defined as anyone who is in Heaven, whether recognized here on earth, or not. A saint is one who is holy, that is, set apart for God's service. It is a person who has cooperated with God's grace to the extent that his or her holiness is beyond doubt. In the Holy Scripture, the word saint is used to refer to those who have been set apart for the service of God, consecrated for his purposes. As such, all members of the Church are called saints, regardless of their personal holiness or sinlessness. It is still appropriate to use the term in this way. Aside from the more general use of the word saint to refer to all members of the Church, Holy Tradition also ascribes Saint as a title to particular persons whose lives have shown most clearly what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Saints are not thought of as either perfect or infallible, and it is only because of the work of Christ in them that the Church praises these people. Sainthood in the Orthodox Church does not necessarily reflect a moral model, but the communion with God: there are countless examples of people who lived in great sin and became saints by humility and repentance, such as Mary of Egypt, Moses the Ethiopian, and of course Dysmas, the repentant thief who was crucified. Therefore, a more complete definition of what a saint is, has to do with the way that saints, through their humility and their love of humankind, saved inside them the entire Church, and loved all people. Because the Church shows no true distinction between the living and the dead (the saints are considered to be alive in Heaven), saints are referred to as if they were still alive.

Personally, I don't feel any holiness in myself. Yes, I am a saint in the Biblical use of the word. But I have not walked the road of growth in communion and obedience to God. I am full of sins and passions, with lack of humility and love to God and my neighbor. I am still a beginner, a “nominal Christian”, or a nominal saint. While Father Lazarus has walked a lot with the Lord. So when I compare him with myself, he looks more like a saint than I am.