Traces of Jewish Hagiolatry
The common notion that hagiolatry is a special feature of Catholic liturgy is only partly true. Apart from personages such as Jesus and Mary, who already in the NT are removed from human mortality, the veneration of saints started with the adoration of martyrs, which soon thereafter was coupled with...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
1981
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1980, Volume: 51, Pages: 39-60 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The common notion that hagiolatry is a special feature of Catholic liturgy is only partly true. Apart from personages such as Jesus and Mary, who already in the NT are removed from human mortality, the veneration of saints started with the adoration of martyrs, which soon thereafter was coupled with supplications for their intercession. Similar ideas emerged in Judaism even before Christianity arose; after its official recognition Christianity and its theology saw in the martyr's crown a merit rewarded by elevation to sainthood. This led, often against the official doctrine, to a kind of worship which resembled the veneration of minor divinities. When the rabbis became aware of the great attraction of the saints' cult, they rightly feared it as a disguised relapse into polytheism and tried to prevent its proliferation. They succeeded only to a certain extent, and a few remnants of the ancient veneration of martyrs has survived to our days. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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