Saints and Sinners

Overview

Christians give the name saints to those people who have demonstrated (in life and in death) that they are graced by God, have received special favor from God, or are especially close to God. Such closeness occurs in those who were specially chosen by God for some task (e.g., writing the Gospels or being an Apostle); those who were willing to give up their lives for God’s sake (martyrs) or who were willing to say no to marriage and family for God’s sake, especially when women were considered the property of their fathers and husbands and saying “no” could cost their lives (virgins); those who have led the Church particularly well or have shepherded the Church through hard times (e.g., bishops and popes) or those who have led a movement within Christianity (e.g., founders of religious orders); those who have demonstrated love of neighbor in a particularly committed way through caring for the sick or the poor or educating those who wouldn’t otherwise get education; those who have protected or spread Christianity, either by making it more understandable to others (theologians), by battling those who attacked Christianity (soldiers for faith), or by sharing the faith with people who had never before heard of Jesus Christ (missionaries); those to whom miraculous visions have appeared; and those with avid prayer lives (mystics, ascetics, famous penitents, and others known for praying). Generally these traits fall under the heading “Holiness.”

Juxtaposing saints and sinners in Christian theology is somewhat misleading. According to most strains of Christian thought, human beings tend toward sinfulness (defined as turning away from God’s will). Saints are human beings who have overcome that tendency as much as humanly possible with the help of God’s grace. Some saints were notorious sinners before turning toward God. Christian theology teaches that in life it is never too late to turn toward God. Some Christian traditions teach that one needs to accept Jesus Christ into one’s life only once. Others teach that conversion is ongoing, that each day brings an opportunity to renew one’s commitment to living according to God’s will.

In the art tradition, saints are very common, sometimes as reminders of the stories of their lives, other times as symbolic of a virtue. Sinners are less common in the art tradition and usually appear as side characters in artworks about another theme. Sometimes sinners are depicted as symbolic of particular vices, just as demons are.

Historical Notes

In the days before Christianity was legalized (in the early 300s), Christians venerated the Apostles and martyrs as saints. As the period of persecution ended, other forms of commitment to God were also honored. There have been periods in which a declaration of sainthood was under local control in the Catholic Church rather than under central control. At times, lots of people were declared saints, occasionally based only on legend. A book called The Golden Legend was published in the mid 1200s. It started with what was commonly known about the saint’s life but added a lot of fanciful, sometimes supernatural detail. The Golden Legend was immensely popular, however, and these embellished legends were often accepted as true. Artists sometimes included these details in artworks.

But embellishing the lives of saints didn’t end there; a number of saints would be shocked at what has happened to their stories. Saint Nicholas for example (also known as Santa Claus or Saint Nick), was a bishop in part of what is now Turkey in the 4^th century. That is all that is certain, but a legend that arose early had him tossing 3 bags of gold into a poor man’s house to provide dowries for his daughters. From that evolved the numerous legends of Saint Nick and Santa Claus.

The number of saints that show up in the art world is enormous. These subtopics allow you to dig deeper into a few of these:

• Saints Generally

Subtopics of Saints have loads of great material about some specific people who are considered saints and also about some types of people who are often sainted. There is also an alphabetical list of Saints and which of the below categories they fit within.

• New Testament Biblical Saints
• Old Testament Biblical Saints
• The Four Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
• Specifics of the Apostles
• Groups of Apostles and other Close Followers
• John the Baptist
• Saint Peter
• Mary Magdalene
• Mary and Martha of Bethany (sisters of Lazarus)
• Conversion of Saul/Paul
• Saint Paul Preaching
• Martyrs
• Those Who Gave Heroic Service
• Those with Miraculous Visions
• Prayerful People
• Penitent Saints
• Virgins
• Church Leaders
• Theologians

But if you are curious about which of these categories a saint belongs in, you can see an alphabetical list here (it's a bit awkward but it will suffice until we can improve it):

• Alphabetical List of Saints

While the number of sinners is larger, fewer artists have focused on sin or sinners. That said, it is not unheard of and you can dig deeper in that subtopic here:

• Sin and Sinners