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SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ")

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 1012 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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See also:

SAINT (See also:lat. sanctus, " See also:holy ")  , the See also:term originally applied, e.g. in the New Testament and in the most See also:ancient monuments of See also:Christian thought, to all believers . In this sense it is still used by those See also:modern Christian sects which profess to See also:base their polity on the See also:Bible only (e.g. the See also:Mormons or " Latter See also:Day See also:Saints ") . In ancient See also:inscriptions it often means those souls who are enjoying eternal happiness, or the martyrs . Thus we find inscriptions in the Catacombs such as vivas inter sanctos, refrigera cum spiritu sancto, and See also:people were buried ad sanctos . For a See also:long See also:time, too, sanctus was an See also:official See also:title, particularly reserved for bishops (v . Analecta Bollandiana, xviii . 410-411) . It was not till almost the 6th See also:century that the word be-came a title of See also:honour specially given to the dead whose cult was publicly celebrated in the churches . It was to the martyrs that the See also:Church first began to pay See also:special honour . We find traces of this in the 2nd See also:half of the 2nd century, in the Martyrium Polycarpi (xviii . 3) in connexion with a See also:meeting to celebrate the anniversary of the See also:martyr's See also:death . Another passage in the same document (xvii .

3) shows clearly that this was not an innovation, but a See also:

custom already established among the Christians . It does not follow that it was henceforth universal . The Church of See also:Rome does not seem to have inscribed in its See also:calendar its martyrs of an earlier date than the 3rd century . The essential See also:form of the cult of the martyrs was that of the honours paid to the illustrious dead; and these honours were officially paid by the community . They consisted in a gathering at the martyr's See also:tomb on the anniversary of his death . St See also:Cyprian, speaking of the confessors who died in See also:prison, wrote to his priests, " Denique et See also:dies eorum, quibus excedunt, adnotate, ut commemorationes eorum inter memorias martyrum celebrare possimus" (Epist. xii . 2) . The See also:list of anniversaries of a church formed its See also:Martyrology (q.v.) . In the See also:early days each church confined itself to celebrating its own martyrs; but it was not long before it be-came customary to celebrate the anniversaries of martyrs of other churches . In the See also:oldest See also:Roman ferial we already find festivals of Carthaginian martyrs, and similarly, in the Carthaginian calendar, Roman festivals, while See also:Wright's See also:Syriac Martyrology contains numerous traces of this See also:exchange of festivals . From the 5th century onwards certain celebrated saints were honoured almost universally; St See also:Augustine (Sermo, 276, § 4) says that the festival of St See also:Vincent was celebrated throughout the whole of the Christian See also:world . The same was the See also:case of the festivals of St See also:Stephen, St See also:James and St See also:John, and St See also:Peter and St See also:Paul, as is shown by the liturgical documents, but these festivals were held in connexion with that of See also:Christmas (26th, 27th and 28th See also:December), and were not strictly speaking anniversaries .

The calendars at first included only martyrs, but their See also:

scope was gradually widened . The first to find a See also:place in them were the bishops . Apparently they were at first arranged in a See also:series of anniversaries See also:separate from that of the martyrs, as seems to be shown by the existence at Rome of the Depositio episcoporum See also:side by side with the Depositio martyrum; the two lists seem to have been combined, as in the calendar of See also:Carthage, which includes the dies nataliciorum martyrum et depositions episcoporum . Some of the most famous bishops also ended by passing from one calendar into the other . Finally, the ascetics came to See also:share in the honours paid to the martyrs, and we see in the Historia religiosa of See also:Theodoret how quickly this assimilation took place . In times of persecution the martyrs were buried among the See also:rest of the faithful, but one can understand that their tombs, at which gatherings took place at least on the day of their anniversary, were distinguished from the See also:ordinary tombs by some sign . When the See also:peace of the Church permitted it, they were enshrined in chapels and often in sumptuous basilicas . In the See also:West these buildings were raised over the tomb, which was See also:left intact; but in the See also:East there was no hesitation in disturbing the See also:graves of the saints and removing the bodies to a See also:basilica built to receive them . It is in this way that the See also:relics of St Babylas were placed in the See also:sanctuary built by See also:Gallus at See also:Daphne (See also:Socrates, Hist. eccl. iii . 18; See also:Sozomen, Hist. eccl. v . 19) . As a See also:matter of fact, the discipline of the Eastern churches with regard to the relics was, from the very beginning, much less severe than that of Rome and a See also:great number of the Western churches .

From the 4th century on are recorded cases of See also:

translation of the bodies of saints, and they did not even shrink from dividing the sacred relics . In the West the principle already laid down by St See also:Gregory the Great in his See also:letter to See also:Constantia, namely that of not disturbing the bodies of the saints, was for a long time the See also:rule in all cases, and the portions distributed to the churches were simply brandea, that is to say, See also:linen which had lain upon the tomb of the See also:saint, or, in other words, representative relics . But as early as the 7th century there is See also:proof of a relaxation of this rule which had so well safeguarded the authenticity of the relics . It was finally disregarded altogether; in the 9th century See also:translations of relics were extremely frequent, and led to inextricable confusion in the future . As to the belief in the efficacy of the prayers of the saints for those still living on See also:earth, and similarly in the efficacy of the prayers addressed to the saints, St See also:Cyril of See also:Jerusalem indicates in the following words the advantages of the See also:commemoration of the saints: " Then we make mention also of those who have fallen asleep before us, first of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, that See also:God would at their; prayers and intercessions receive our supplication " (See also:Cat . Myst. v . 9) . It is difficult to understand a much-discussed passage of See also:Origen (De oratione, 14), except as applying to See also:prayer addressed to the saints . The Fathers of the 4th century, and notably the Cappadocian Fathers, provide us with a quantity of See also:evidence on this subject, which leaves no doubt as to the practice of the invocation of saints, nor of the See also:complete approval with which it was viewed . St See also:Basil, for example, says: " I accept also the See also:holy apostles, prophets and martyrs, and I See also:call upon them for their intercession to God, that by them, that is by their See also:mediation, the See also:good God may be propitious to me, and that I may be granted redemption for my offences " (Epist . 360) . The cult of the saints early met with opposition, in See also:answer to which the Church Fathers had to defend its lawfulness and explain its nature .

The Church of See also:

Smyrna had early to explain its position in this matter with regard to St See also:Polycarp: " We See also:worship See also:Christ, as the Son of God; as to the martyrs, we love them as the disciples and imitators of the See also:Lord " (Martyrium Polycarpi, xvii . 3) . St Cyril of See also:Alexandria defends the worship of the martyrs against See also:Julian; St Asterius and Theodoret against the pagans in See also:general, and they all See also:lay emphasis on the fact that the saints are not looked upon as gods by the Christians, and that the honours paid to them are of quite a different See also:kind from the See also:adoration reserved to God alone . St See also:Jerome argued against See also:Vigilantius with his accustomed vehemence, and especially meets the objection based on the resemblance between these See also:rites and those of the pagans . But it is above all St Augustine who in his refutation of Faustus, as well as in his sermons and elsewhere, clearly defined the true See also:character of the honours paid to the saints: " Non eis templa, non eis altaria, non sacrificia exhibemus . Non eis sacerdotes offerunt, absit, Deo praestantur . Etiam apud memorias sanctorum martyrum cum offerimus, nonne Deo offerimus ? . . Quando audistis dici apud memoriam sancti Theogenis: offero tibi, sancte Theogenis: See also:aut ? offero tibi Petro, aut: offero tibi Paule?" (Serino, 273 . 7; cf . Contra Faustum, xx . 21) .

The undoubted abuses which See also:

grew up, especially during the See also:middle ages, raised up, at the time of the See also:Reformation, fresh adversaries of the cult of the saints . The See also:council of See also:Trent, while reproving all superstitious practices in the invocation of the saints, the veneration of relics and the use of images, expresses as follows the See also:doctrine of the Roman Church: " That the saints who reign with Christ offer to God their prayers for men; that it is good and useful to invoke them by supplication and to have recourse to their aid and assistance in See also:order to obtain from God His benefits through His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, who alone is our Saviour and Redeemer " (Secs. See also:xxv.) . At the See also:present day the See also:canonization (q.v.) of saints is reserved in the Roman Church to the See also:sovereign pontiff . The See also:Anglican Church, while still commemorating many of the See also:Catholic saints, has not, since the Reformation, admitted any new names to the authoritative list, with the single exception of that c.f See also:King See also:Charles I., whose " martyrdom " was celebrated by authority from the Restoration until the See also:year 1859 . See D . Petavius, De theologicis dogmatibus, De incarnatione, 1., xiv . ; F . See also:Suarez, Defensio fidei catholicae (against King James I.) ; L . See also:Duchesne, See also:Les Origines du culte chretien, ch. viii . ; E . See also:Lucius, See also:Die Anfange See also:des Heiligenkults (See also:Tubingen, 1904) ; H . R .

See also:

Percival, The Invocation of Saints (See also:London, 1896) ; A . P . See also:Forbes, An Explanation of the See also:Thirty-nine Articles (See also:Oxford, 1878) . (H . DE.) ST AFFRIQUE, a See also:town of See also:Southern See also:France, See also:capital of an See also:arrondissement in the See also:department of See also:Aveyron, on the Sorgues, 68 m . N.N.W. of See also:Beziers on a See also:branch See also:line of the railway to Clermont See also:Ferrand . Pop . (1906) town, 4473; See also:commune 6571 . An old See also:bridge over the Sorgues and some megaliths in the neighbourhood, especially, the dolmen at Tiergues, are of antiquarian See also:interest . There is considerable See also:trade in See also:wool. and Roquefort See also:cheese . St Affrique grew up in the 6th century around the tomb of St Africain, See also:bishop of Comminges . In the 12th century a fortress was built on the neighbouring See also:rock of See also:Caylus .

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The See also:

possession of St Affrique was vigorously contested during the See also:wars of See also:religion . It was eventually occupied by the See also:Huguenots till 1629, when it was seized and dismantled by a royal See also:army . ST ALBANS, EARLS AND See also:DUKES OF . The See also:English title of See also:earl of St Albans was first See also:borne by See also:Richard See also:Bourke, or de See also:Burgh, 4th earl of See also:Clanricarde (d . 1635), who was lord See also:president of See also:Connaught from 1604 to 1616 and See also:governor of See also:Galway in 1616 . In 1624 he was made See also:Baron Somerhill and See also:Viscount Tunbridge in the English See also:peerage, and in 1628 earl of St Albans, Baron Imanney and Viscount Galway . He ,became the third See also:husband of Frances, See also:dowager countess of See also:Essex, whose first husband had been See also:Sir See also:Philip See also:Sidney, and his English titles became See also:extinct on the death of his only son, Ulick, 2nd earl of St Albans and See also:marquess of Clanricarde, in 1657 . The second creation of an earl of St Albans was in 1660, when See also:Henry, Baron Jermyn, was made an earl under this title; but again it became extinct on his death in 1684 . The dukedom of St Albans was created in 1684 in favour of CHARLES BEAUCLERK (1670-1726), a natural son of Charles II. by Nell Gwynne . See also:Born in London on the 8th of May 1670, Charles was made Baron Hedington and earl of See also:Burford in December 1676 . He became See also:colonel in the 8th See also:regiment of See also:horse in 1687, and took service with the See also:emperor See also:Leopold I., being present at the See also:siege of See also:Belgrade in 1688 . After the See also:battle of -See also:Landen in 1693, See also:William III. made him See also:captain of the gentlemen pensioners, and four years later See also:gentleman of the bedchamber His See also:father had given him the re-version of the See also:office of hereditary See also:master See also:falconer and that of hereditary registrar of the See also:Court of See also:Chancery, which See also:fell vacant in 1698 .

His Whig sentiments prevented his See also:

advancement under See also:Anne, but he was restored to favour at the See also:accession of See also:George I . He died at See also:Bath on the loth of May 1726 . His wife See also:Diana, daughter and heiress of See also:Aubrey de See also:Vere, last earl of Oxford, was a well-known beauty, who became See also:lady of the bedchamber to See also:Caroline, princess of See also:Wales, and survived until the 15th of See also:January 1742 . Charles was succeeded by his eldest son, CHARLES BEAUCLERK, 2nd See also:duke of St Albans (1696-1751), while his youngest son, Lord Aubrey Beauclerk (c . 1710-1741), became a captain in the royal See also:navy, and perished in a fight in the West Indies on the 22nd of See also:March 1741 . The second duke's son and See also:heir, GEORGE BEAUCLERK, 3rd duke (1730-1736), was followed by his second See also:cousin, George Beauclerk (1758-1787), 4th duke, who died unmarried, and was succeeded as 5th duke by his cousin, Aubrey Beauclerk (1740-1802) . He was succeeded by his son Aubrey, the 6th duke (1765-1815), whose See also:infant son Aubrey, 7th duke (b . 1815), died within a year of his father . The 8th duke, William (1766-1825), was the second son of the 5th duke . His son William (1801-1849), the 9th duke, married the actress See also:Harriot Mellon, widow of the banker See also:Thomas See also:Coutts . She was celebrated for her beauty, and was painted by See also:Romney . Her See also:fortune derived from her first husband passed to her granddaughter Angela, Baroness See also:Burdett-Coutts in her own right .

The 9th duke was succeeded by his son by a second See also:

marriage, William Amelius Aubrey de Vere (1840-1898), whose son, Charles See also:Victor See also:Albert Aubrey de Vere, became the 11th holder of the title . ST ALBANS, HENRY JERMYN, EARL of (c . 1604-1684), was the third son of Sir Thomas Jermyn of Rushbroke, See also:Suffolk . At an early See also:age he won the favour of See also:Queen Henrietta Maria, whose See also:vice-See also:chamberlain he became in 1628, and master of the horse in 1639 . He was a consummate courtier, a See also:man of dissolute morals, and much addicted to gambling . He was member for See also:Bury St See also:Edmunds in the Long See also:Parliament and an active and reckless royalist . He took a prominent See also:part in the army See also:plot of 1641, and on its See also:discovery fled to France . Returning to See also:England in 1643, he resumed his See also:personal attendance on the queen, and after being raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn of St Edmunds-bury in that year, he accompanied Henrietta Maria in 1644 to France, where he continued to See also:act as her secretary . In the same year he was made governor of See also:Jersey, whence he conducted the See also:prince of Wales to See also:Paris . He conceived the See also:idea of ceding the Channel Islands to France as the See also:price of See also:French aid to Charles against the parliament; and in other respects also he meddled with See also:foreign politics, his great See also:influence with the queen being a continual embarrassment to royalist statesmen, especially after the See also:execution of Charles I . When Charles II. went to See also:Breda, Jermyn remained in Paris with Henrietta Maria, who persuaded her son to create him earl of St Albans in 166o . See also:Gossip which the historian See also:Hallam accepted as See also:authentic, but which is sup-ported by no real evidence, asserted that Jermyn was secretly married to the widow of Charles I .

At the Restoration St Albans became lord chamberlain, and received other appointments . He supported the policy of friendship with France, and he contributed largely to the See also:

close See also:secret understanding between Charles II. and See also:Louis XIV., being instrumental in arranging the preliminaries of the treaty of See also:Dover in 1668 . In 1664 he obtained a See also:grant of See also:land in London near St James's See also:Palace, where Jermyn See also:Street preserves the memory of his name, and where he built the St Albans' See also:market on a site afterwards cleared for the construction of See also:Regent Street and See also:Waterloo Place . The earl, who was a friend and See also:patron of See also:Abraham See also:Cowley, died in St James's Square, for the See also:building of which he had provided the See also:plan in January 1684 . St Albans being unmarried, the earldom became extinct at his death, while the See also:barony of Jermyn of St Edmunds-bury passed by special See also:remainder, together with his See also:property, to his See also:nephew Thomas Jermyn, and after the latter's death to Thomas's See also:brother Henry Baron Dover (q.v.) . ST ALBANS, a See also:city, municipal See also:borough, and market town in the St Albans See also:parliamentary See also:division of See also:Hertfordshire, England, on the See also:main line of the Midland railway and on branches of the London & See also:North-Western and the Great See also:Northern lines, 20 M . N.W. of London . Pop . (1891) 12,898; (1901) 16,019 . St Albans became the seat of a bishop in 1877; the See also:diocese covering the greater part of Essex and Hertfordshire, with small portions of See also:Cambridgeshire, See also:Bedfordshire and See also:Buckinghamshire . The great See also:cathedral, or See also:abbey church, is finely situated on the steep See also: