Exploring Intercession of Departed Saints: Orthodox Christian Perspective Part I

The Orthodox Christian belief in the intercession of departed saints (የቅዱሳን ምልጃ በአጸደ ነፍስ) stems from the faith's understanding of life, death, and the eternal connection between the faithful and God. Saints who have passed away continue to intercede for the living through their prayers. This belief is supported by biblical teachings and the writings of early Church Fathers, emphasizing the ongoing communion between the earthly and heavenly kingdom.

Orthodox Christianity views death as a transition rather than an end. It involves two separations:

1. Separation of Body and Soul/ Physical death (የሥጋና የነፍስ መለየት/ የሥጋ ሞት) as stated on Genesis 3:19 "አፈር ነህና፥ ወደ አፈርም ትመለሳለህ።”

2. Separation Soul from God (የነፍስ ሞት): as staed in Matthew 25:41, "እናንተ ርጉማን፥ ለሰይጣንና ለመላእክቱ ወደ ተዘጋጀ ወደ ዘላለም እሳት ከእኔ ሂዱ።."

Upon physical death, the soul moves towards God, remaining conscious and capable of experiencing His presence. Job expresses this hope in Job 19:26-27, “ይህ ቁርበቴም ከጠፋ በኋላ፥ በዚያን ጊዜ ከሥጋዬ ተለይቼ እግዚአብሔርን እንዳይ አውቃለሁ። እኔ ራሴ አየዋለሁ፥ ዓይኖቼም ይመለከቱታል፥ ከእኔም ሌላ አይደለም። ልቤ በመናፈቅ ዝሎአል።” Similarly, St. Paul reflects on this in Philippians 1:23-24, acknowledging the desire to be with Christ after his death. “በእነዚህም በሁለቱ እጨነቃለሁ፤ ልሄድ ከክርስቶስም ጋር ልኖር እናፍቃለሁ፥ ከሁሉ ይልቅ እጅግ የሚሻል ነውና”

In the Gospel of Luke, even the rich man who lived in wrongdoing and sin, upon realizing his brothers on earth had not repented, begged Abraham to send Lazarus to them to teach them “በሲኦልም በሥቃይ ሳለ አሻቅቦ አብርሃምን በሩቅ አየ አልዓዛርንም በእቅፉ። እርሱም እየጮኸ፦ አብርሃም አባት ሆይ፥ ማረኝ፥ በዚህ ነበልባል እሣቀያለሁና የጣቱን ጫፍ በውኃ ነክሮ መላሴን እንዲያበርድልኝ አልዓዛርን ስደድልኝ አለ።”…. እርሱም፦ እንኪያስ፥ አባት ሆይ፥ ወደ አባቴ ቤት እንድትሰደው እለምንሃለሁ፤ አምስት ወንድሞች አሉኝና፤እነርሱ ደግሞ ወደዚህ ሥቃይ ስፍራ እንዳይመጡ ይመስክርላቸው አለ። (Luke 16:20-31). The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus, who had already departed, to help both himself and his brothers, highlighting that saints can assist others even after their departure.

Similarly, in 2 Kings 13:20, it is written, "ኤልሳዕም ሞተ፥ ቀበሩትም። ከሞዓብም አደጋ ጣዮች በየዓመቱ ወደ አገሩ ይገቡ ነበር። ሰዎችም አንድ ሰው ሲቀብሩ አደጋ ጣዮችን አዩ፥ ሬሳውንም በኤልሳዕ መቃብር ጣሉት፤ የኤልሳዕንም አጥንት በነካ ጊዜ ሰውዮው ድኖ በእግሩ ቆመ። " This verse emphasizes that saints and the righteous can still heal after they depart from this world. Elijah also healed the dead while he was alive (1 Kings 17:21-22). These events highlight that they can continue to pray and heal after their departure, just as they did during their earthly lives.

Conclusion

In summary, the Orthodox Christian belief in the intercession of departed saints reflects the faith's view of death as a transition and the eternal connection between the faithful and God. Saints, now in God's presence, intercede for the living, demonstrating the enduring communion that goes beyond death, offering comfort and assurance to the faithful on their spiritual journey.