# Is Praying to Saints in the Bible? > The Council of Trent says it is good and useful to invoke the saints, and that the honour of images is referred to the prototypes. The Catechism calls image honour veneration, not the adoration due to God alone. Augsburg and Article XXII refuse calling on the saints. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-praying-to-saints-in-the-bible - Religions: Christianity - Denominations: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican - Beliefs: none - Tags: saints, prayer, dulia, invocation - Updated: 2026-10-11 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) The Council of Trent says the saints in heaven pray for men and that it is good and useful to invoke them. The Catechism says the honour paid to sacred images is veneration, not the adoration due to God alone. The Augsburg Confession says the Scriptures do not teach calling on the saints, and Article XXII rejects the invocation of saints. This page quotes those texts and the verses each side cites. It does not decide. Mary in particular is [What Do Christians Believe About Mary?](/christianity/what-do-christians-believe-about-mary). ## Key Points - Trent’s decree on invocation, in Waterworth’s English, says the saints who reign with Christ “offer up their own prayers to God for men,” and that “it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them.” [(1)](#ref-1) - The same decree says that by images “we adore Christ; and we venerate the saints.” It says divinity is not believed to be in the images. The fetched decree does not use the words latria or dulia. - [Catechism 2132](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7F.HTM) [(2)](#ref-2) says the honour paid to sacred images is a “respectful veneration,” not “the adoration due to God alone.” [Catechism 956](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM) [(3)](#ref-3) says those in heaven “do not cease to intercede with the Father for us.” - An [Orthodox clergy answer](https://www.oca.org/questions/teaching/mary-prayer-death) [(4)](#ref-4) says Orthodox Christians “do not pray to the Mother of God instead of God” and “seek her intercession before her Son.” The page is not a synod. - [Augsburg XXI](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_xxi/) [(5)](#ref-5) says the Scriptures “do not teach that we are to call on the saints or to ask the saints for help.” [Article XXII](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion) [(6)](#ref-6) calls the Romish doctrine of invocation of saints “a fond thing.” - [1 Timothy 2:5](/bible/1-timothy/2/5) [(7)](#ref-7) says there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” [Revelation 5:8](/bible/revelation/5/8) [(8)](#ref-8) says the elders hold vials “which are the prayers of saints.” ## What the Council of Trent Says The twenty-fifth session, in J. Waterworth’s English on papalencyclicals.net, a third-party host, teaches the saints and the use of images together: [(1)](#ref-1) > teaching them, that the saints, who reign together with Christ, offer up their own prayers to God for men; that it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid, (and) help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our alone Redeemer and Saviour; but that they think impiously, who deny that the saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven, are to be invocated; or who assert either that they do not pray for men; or, that the invocation of them to pray for each of us even in particular, is idolatry; or, that it is repugnant to the word of God; and is opposed to the honour of the one mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus; or, that it is foolish to supplicate, vocally, or mentally, those who reign in heaven. “Think impiously” and “idolatry” are the decree’s words for the denial. They are not this page’s words for Christians who refuse the practice. The decree says Jesus Christ is “our alone Redeemer and Saviour,” and it still commands invocation of the saints. On images, the same decree says due honour and veneration are to be given them, “not that any divinity, or virtue, is believed to be in them, on account of which they are to be worshipped,” and not that anything is to be asked of the images, “but because the honour which is shown them is referred to the prototypes which those images represent.” Then: “we adore Christ; and we venerate the saints.” The fetched English does not use the words latria or dulia. [Catechism 971](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2C.HTM), quoted on the Mary page, likewise does not use the word hyperdulia. ## Do Catholics Worship Saints? [Catechism 2132](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7F.HTM) [(2)](#ref-2): > The honor paid to sacred images is a “respectful veneration,” not the adoration due to God alone. The paragraph says Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment, which proscribes idols. It says the movement toward the image does not terminate in the image but tends toward what the image represents. The fetched paragraph does not use latria or dulia. It uses veneration for the honour of images and adoration for what is due to God alone. [Catechism 956](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM) [(3)](#ref-3) says of those who dwell in heaven: “They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.” The sentence names Christ as the one mediator and still says the saints intercede. Trent’s “to be invocated” is the further step: asking them. Worship, in the Catechism’s pair of words on this page, is the adoration due to God alone. Veneration is the word it uses for images. Whether a reader hears “pray to” as that adoration is the disagreement. The page quotes both wordings and does not decide. ## What Eastern Orthodox Christians Say The [Orthodox Church in America](https://www.oca.org/questions/teaching/mary-prayer-death) [(4)](#ref-4) clergy answer, which is not a synod, says: > Properly speaking, Orthodox Christians do not “pray to” the Mother of God instead of God; we seek her intercession before her Son, asking her to pray on our behalf. That sentence is about Mary. A separate synod decree on every saint was not fetched for this page. [What Does the Eastern Orthodox Church Believe?](/christianity/what-does-the-eastern-orthodox-church-believe) quotes the icons chapter: icons are not just human pictures, because the Word became flesh. [Eastern Orthodox vs Protestant](/christianity/eastern-orthodox-vs-protestant) sets that chapter beside the Protestant articles. ## What the Augsburg Confession and Article XXII Say [Augsburg XXI](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_xxi/) [(5)](#ref-5) says the history of saints may be set before us so that we may follow the example of their faith and good works. Then: “But the Scriptures do not teach that we are to call on the saints or to ask the saints for help. Scripture sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Atoning Sacrifice, High Priest, and Intercessor. He is to be prayed to.” [Article XXII](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion) [(6)](#ref-6): > The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping, and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also invocation of Saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God. “Romish” and “a fond thing” stay inside that sentence. They are not this page’s names for Catholic Christians. [What Do Anglicans Believe?](/anglican/what-do-anglicans-believe) and [Is Purgatory Biblical?](/christianity/is-purgatory-biblical) quote the same article on purgatory. [Catholic vs Protestant](/christianity/catholic-vs-protestant) is the wider comparison. ## What the Bible Says [1 Timothy 2:5](/bible/1-timothy/2/5) [(7)](#ref-7): “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The verse names one mediator. Trent quotes the same office of Christ and still says the saints are to be invoked. Augsburg reads the one Christ as the one who is to be prayed to. [Revelation 5:8](/bible/revelation/5/8) [(8)](#ref-8): the elders fell down before the Lamb, “having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.” The verse is a heavenly scene. The vials are the prayers of saints. It does not print a prayer addressed to a saint. [Revelation 8:3](/bible/revelation/8/3) says an angel offers incense “with the prayers of all saints” upon the golden altar. That verse is also about prayers offered, not about a formula for addressing the saints. [Hebrews 12:1](/bible/hebrews/12/1) [(9)](#ref-9): “we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.” The verse is about running the race, laying aside sin. It does not say “pray to the witnesses.” [James 5:16](/bible/james/5/16) [(10)](#ref-10): “pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” The verse is about living people praying for one another. It does not name the dead. [Deuteronomy 18:11](/bible/deuteronomy/18/11) [(11)](#ref-11) forbids a consulter with familiar spirits, a wizard, and a necromancer. [Isaiah 8:19](/bible/isaiah/8/19) [(12)](#ref-12) is about familiar spirits and wizards, and it asks whether a people should seek “for the living to the dead.” Those verses are about mediums and consulting the dead. They do not name asking a saint to pray. Readers who treat invocation as that practice, and readers who treat it as something else, are using the verses beyond the people the sentences name. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is Praying to Saints Biblical? Trent says the practice is good and useful and that denying it is impious. Augsburg XXI says Scripture does not teach it. The verses above are what each side sets beside the claim. This page does not decide which reading the verses require. ### What Does God Say About Praying to Saints? No sentence fetched here is a command, “pray to the saints,” or a command, “do not ask the saints to pray.” [1 Timothy 2:5](/bible/1-timothy/2/5) [(7)](#ref-7) says there is one mediator. [Revelation 5:8](/bible/revelation/5/8) [(8)](#ref-8) says the prayers of saints are the vials the elders hold before the Lamb. ### Where Did the Idea Come From? Trent presents invocation as the Church’s teaching and points the honour of images to the second Council of Nicaea. The decree does not give a year for the first prayer addressed to a saint. Augsburg says the Scriptures do not teach the practice. A history of the first century of the custom was not fetched. ### How Do Catholics Explain Praying to Saints? Trent’s sentence is that the saints offer their own prayers to God for men, and that benefits are obtained through Jesus Christ, “our alone Redeemer and Saviour.” [Catechism 956](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM) [(3)](#ref-3) says they intercede through that one mediator. [Catechism 2132](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7F.HTM) [(2)](#ref-2) separates veneration of images from the adoration due to God alone. ### Do Catholics Worship All Saints? The Catechism’s word for the honour of images is veneration, and its word for what belongs to God alone is adoration. Trent says “we adore Christ; and we venerate the saints.” A list of which names may be addressed was not in the pages fetched here. The decree speaks of the saints who reign with Christ, not of one name only. ### Did Jesus Say to Worship the Saints? No saying of Jesus in the verses quoted on this page tells his hearers to worship the saints or to pray to them. [Matthew 26:26](/bible/matthew/26/26) and the other words he speaks at the Supper are on [What Is Transubstantiation?](/christianity/what-is-transubstantiation). They are about the bread and the cup. ### Do Orthodox Christians Pray to Saints? The fetched clergy answer says Orthodox Christians seek Mary’s intercession and do not pray to her instead of God. It is not a synod, and it is about the Mother of God. [What Does the Eastern Orthodox Church Believe?](/christianity/what-does-the-eastern-orthodox-church-believe) ### Do Protestants Pray to Saints? [Augsburg XXI](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_xxi/) [(5)](#ref-5) says Christ is to be prayed to, and that Scripture does not teach asking the saints for help. [Article XXII](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion) [(6)](#ref-6) rejects invocation of saints. [What Do Protestants Believe?](/christianity/what-do-protestants-believe) ## The Churches on This Site - [Catholic](/catholic) - [Eastern Orthodox](/eastern-orthodox) - [Lutheran](/lutheran) - [Anglican](/anglican) - [Christianity](/christianity) - [What Do Christians Believe About Mary?](/christianity/what-do-christians-believe-about-mary) - [What Do Catholics Believe?](/christianity/what-do-catholics-believe) - [Catholic vs Protestant](/christianity/catholic-vs-protestant) - [Common Arguments](/common-arguments#is-praying-to-saints-in-the-bible) ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### 1 Timothy 2:5 King James Version. > For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ### Revelation 5:8 King James Version. > And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. ### Revelation 8:3 King James Version. > And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ### Hebrews 12:1 King James Version. > Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ### James 5:16 King James Version. > Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ### Deuteronomy 18:11 King James Version. > Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. ### Isaiah 8:19 King James Version. > And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? ### Matthew 26:26 King James Version. > And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Council of Trent, Session 25](https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fifth-session.htm) (J. Waterworth’s English, on papalencyclicals.net, a third-party host. The decree uses adore for Christ and venerate for the saints. It does not use the words latria or dulia.) 2. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2132](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7F.HTM) (English text on the Holy See’s website. The paragraph says respectful veneration, not the adoration due to God alone. It does not use the words latria or dulia.) 3. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 956](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM) (English text on the Holy See’s website. The paragraph quotes Lumen Gentium on the intercession of those who dwell in heaven.) 4. [Mary / Prayer / Death, Questions and Answers](https://www.oca.org/questions/teaching/mary-prayer-death) (A clergy question-and-answer on the Orthodox Church in America website, not a synodal definition.) 5. [Augsburg Confession, Article XXI](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_xxi/) (Concordia Publishing House English of the Book of Concord.) 6. [Articles of Religion, Article XXII](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion) (Church of England. Romish and a fond thing are the Article’s words.) 7. [First Letter to Timothy, 2:5](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-timothy/2/5). King James Version 8. [Revelation, 5:8](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/5/8). King James Version 9. [Letter to the Hebrews, 12:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/12/1). King James Version 10. [Letter of James, 5:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/james/5/16). King James Version 11. [Deuteronomy, 18:11](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/18/11). King James Version 12. [Book of Isaiah, 8:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/isaiah/8/19). King James Version ## See Also - [Is the Holy Spirit God?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-the-holy-spirit-god) — The Nicene confession that the Holy Spirit is God, in Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal texts, and what those texts say about praying to the Spirit. - [Can You Lose Your Salvation? What Each Church Teaches About "Once Saved, Always Saved"](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/once-saved-always-saved) — Can a Christian lose salvation? Official teaching from Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other churches, with the King James verses each side cites. - [Do Catholics Believe Mary Was Sinless?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/do-catholics-believe-mary-was-sinless) — Ineffabilis Deus in 1854 defines Mary as preserved from original sin at her conception. The Catechism adds that she remained free of every personal sin. An Orthodox clergy answer calls that definition foreign. Augsburg and Article IX speak of original sin in everyone naturally born. - [What Do Christians Believe About Mary?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-do-christians-believe-about-mary) — The Catechism teaches the Mother of God, perpetual virginity, the Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption, and says devotion to Mary is not adoration. Augsburg and Article XXII refuse calling on the saints. An Orthodox clergy answer seeks her intercession and calls the Immaculate Conception foreign. - [What Is Transubstantiation?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-is-transubstantiation) — The Catechism quotes Trent: the whole substance of the bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ, and that change is called transubstantiation. Article XXVIII says that change cannot be proved by holy Writ. An Orthodox essay does not use the word and denies that the gifts are mere symbols.