Did St. Augustine support the direct invocation of saints? Bl. Chemnitz argues NO. His views were consistently directed away from the practice. 🧵
If my Romanist friends have a citation from his work which seems to suggest he did,, please share it below. Peace of Christ :)
How did he understand the departed saint?
1. The blessed in heaven remain concerned for the church militant, sustaining a general care and interceding for us.
2. Martyrs can obtain favours from the Lord due to their patience, but this power derives entirely from God.
De civitate Dei, Bk. 22, ch. 9: “The martyrs can obtain such things from the Lord, and that on account of their patience they now have power.”
3. When tackling the question of whether the saints are aware of the affairs of the living, he binds his conscience to the Word of God and denies that they do. (1)
And in what way the saints can be said to aid the living, he sees it as a great mystery. (2)
4. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice owed solely to God.
Ps. 50:14–15: “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving … and call upon Me in the day of trouble.”
Heb. 13:15: “Through Christ let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God...that acknowledge His name.”
5. Saints are honoured with latreia (honoured through love, remembrance & imitation of men in this life ), but not worshipped; Christ alone is Mediator.
6. Attempts to seek intercession from angels or saints and not Christ are misguided.
7. St. Augustine recorded dozens of healings, visions, and exorcisms, which he credited to God, who works through angels or martyrs, using the occasion to confirm faith in Christ’s resurrection.
8. Therefore, we distinguish that Latreia belongs to God alone, douleia may extend to creatures, but cannot justify invocation or adoration.
In conclusion, according to St. Augustine, the saints are to be honoured through love, remembrance, and imitation. This is what he meant when he said duoleia, not what has been later attributed to him by the papalists.
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