Table Of ContentM aking M art yr s E ast a nd We st
M a k i n g
M a rt y r s
East & West
Canonization in the Catholic
and Russian Orthodox Churches
C at h y C a r i d i
NIU Press / DeKalb, IL
Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb 60115
© 2016 by Northern Illinois University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 5
978-0-87580-495-8 (cloth)
978-1-60909-188-0 (ebook)
Cover design by Yuni Dorr
Book design by Shaun Allshouse
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Caridi, Cathy.
Title: Making martyrs East and West : canonization in the Catholic and
Russian Orthodox churches / Cathy Caridi.
Description: First [edition]. | DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press,
2015. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015039179| ISBN 9780875804958 (cloth : alk. paper)
| ISBN 9781609091880 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Christian saints. | Rites and ceremonies. | Canonization.
| Russkai͡a pravoslavnai͡a ͡tserkov’. | Catholic Church.
Classification: LCC BT970 .C28 2015 | DDC 272—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039179
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter One
Christianity’s Unified First Millennium (until ca. 1054) 10
Introduction: Preliminary Remarks 10
A. Development of a Theological Concept of Martyrdom 12
B. Development of a Process by Which a Martyr Was Officially Recognized 17
1. Prelude to a Process: Initially, Spontaneous Local Recognition
by the Faithful 17
2. Historical Elements Leading to a Future Process 19
a. Liturgical Commemorations: Diptychs and Calendars 20
b. Passiones/Acta Martyrum 28
c. Elevatio/Translatio of the Relics to a Church Dedicated to the Martyr 31
C. Local Bishops, Civil Officials, and the Need for Authority 36
Preliminary Conclusions 43
Chapter Two
Russian Orthodoxy from the Conversion of Rus’ (ca. 988) to Today 46
Introduction: Lacunae in Russian Historiography and Some Consequent
Methodological Issues 46
Part 1: From the Conversion of Rus’ (ca. 988) until the 1917 Bolshevik
Revolution 49
A. Theological Concept of Martyrdom 49
B. Process by Which a Martyr Is Recognized as a Saint 53
1. Spontaneous Recognition by the Local Faithful 53
2. But Simultaneously, a More Official Process Exists 54
a. Liturgical Commemorations—Local Calendars 54
b. Writing the Zhitie, Composing a Sluzhba 58
c. Elevatio/Translatio of Relics and Two Requirements that Subsequently
Develop from It 62
i. Requirement 1: The Need for Miracles 62
ii. Requirement 2: Incorrupt Relics 69
vi Contents
C. Authority: Who Makes the Decision to Canonize a Saint? 71
1. The Earliest Russian Martyrs in the First Centuries in the Life of
the Church 71
2. The Unprecedented Canonization Councils of Metropolitan Makarii, 1547 and
1549 74
3. The Holy Governing Synod as the Supreme Authority in the Russian
Church 78
Part 2: From the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 to Today 79
A. The Restoration of the Patriarchate and the Beginnings of a Procedural Shift 79
1. A Sidebar: The Possibility of “Decanonization” 82
B. From the Collapse of the Soviet Union (1990) until Today 83
1. Theological Concept of Martyrdom Revisited 83
2. The Process by Which a Martyr Is Now to Be Recognized, according to the Can-
onization Commission 84
3. Church Authorities Competent to Canonize: A Return to Prior Praxis 91
Preliminary Conclusions 93
Chapter Three
The Catholic Church from the Great Schism (ca. 1054) to Today 100
Introduction 100
A. Theological Concepts of Sainthood/Martyrdom: Refining the Definitions 102
B. Elements of the Process by Which a Martyr Is Recognized 106
1. Liturgical Commemorations: Calendars 107
2. Translatio 111
3. Writing a Vita and the Evolution of an Investigatory Process 113
a. Development of a Detailed Evidentiary Process 117
b. Proofs of Sanctity: Do Martyrs Need Miracles? 120
i. Miracles and Incorrupt Remains 126
C. Authority: Who Makes the Decision to Canonize a Saint? 128
1. Centralization of Authority, Originally as a Response to Local Abuses 128
a. Decretalists and the Evolution of a Canonical/Theological Justification for Papal
Canonization 132
b. Can a Catholic Saint Be “Decanonized”? The Case of Philomena 133
2. Canonizations with Territorial Limitations: The Development of
Beatification 135
a. Urban VIII’s Caelestis Hierusalem Cives as Another Response to
Local Abuse 136
3. Bypassing the Bureaucracy: The Recent Trend of Pope Francis 140
Preliminary Conclusions 141
Contents vii
Chapter Four
Comparisons and Conclusions 145
A. Can Saints Canonized in the Russian Orthodox Church Be Accepted as Saints by
the Catholic Church? 145
B. Can Saints Canonized in the Catholic Church Be Accepted as Saints by
the Russian Orthodox Church? 154
C. Theological Differences or Cultural/Political Ones? 157
Final Thoughts 160
List of Abbreviations 163
Notes 165
Selected Bibliography 189
Index 197
Acknowledgments
A lot of people generously gave a lot of their precious time, and shared a lot of
their priceless expertise, in the making of this book.
Vincenzo Criscuolo, O.F.M. Cap., the Relatore Generale of the Vatican’s
Congregation for the Causes of Saints, spent countless hours sifting through
historical evidence with me, seeking in exchange only the opportunity to
practice his English. (What a deal!) Norman Tanner, S.J., of the Gregorian
University, and Rev. Constantin Simon, formerly of the Pontifical Oriental
Institute, patiently poured through footnotes and constantly offered their
encouragement.
Speaking of offering, Ilya Semenenko-Basin of Moscow has earned my eter-
nal gratitude for sharing his then-unpublished research with me. John Burgess,
of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, pointed out important evidentiary sources
which I would otherwise have missed; and James Muldoon, Professor Emer-
itus of Rutgers University, made astute observations about current events
which helped me tie the research together.
Professor Emeritus Paul Steeves, of Stetson University, probably doesn’t
even remember by now his reply to my general queries before undertaking
this project—yet his answers were more helpful than he could possibly have
imagined. The input of Elina Kahla, Director of the Finnish Institute in St.
Petersburg, was likewise far more valuable than she knows.
Спасибо большой! Господь воздаст вам!
