The Rise of the Cult of the Saints in the Western Church

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand just why Saint Veneration emerged within the Western Church. It begins with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, citing sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the writings of Robert Bellarmine, and the decrees of the Council of Trent. From there it transitions to the early church fathers, who are cited by Catholic doctrine as proof for the dogma. After the writings of the church fathers are considered, it is necessary to consider the environment in which they lived to get a proper understanding of their point of view. A study of said environment in the first few centuries is also called for in order to see how the culture and environment influenced the rise of the Veneration of the Saints. The paper’s conclusions reiterate the assertion that the Veneration of Saints in the Catholic Church originated from a combination of Greek culture, persecution of the Christians, as well as the growing number of conversions of peoples who previously worshipped the Greco-Roman Pantheon.