The Inclusion in the Calendar of The Orthodox Church of the Ascetics of The West, Canonized before 1054: Pro et Contra

Abstract

The article analyzes the opinion on the glorification of ascetics in the face of saints. It was formulated by Metropolitan Juvenal (Poyarkov). This topic is very important, since there are no clear rules according to which one or another ascetic of the West could be canonized or included in the saints. A man who is an ascetic of piety, who died in the West before the split of the Church into Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, who is he? Is this person a saint? The opinion of Metropolitan Juvenal (Poyarkov) was generally approved by the participants of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus and held in the Trinity–Sergius Lavra on June 6–9, 1988. On the sidelines of the Council, Metropolitan Juvenal formulated the main criteria of holiness for making decisions on the canonization or inclusion of certain ascetics in the monastic calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church. This also applies to the ascetics of the Western Church. Among the criteria are torment for Christ's sake, reverence of the soul, etc. These criteria are always considered in conjunction, implying the readiness of the soul to meet Christ.