On
the Canonization of the Recently Deceased Patriarch of the West, John
Paul II
Wickipedia notes:
Eastern
(Byzantine and Oriental Orthodox) form of Canonization
In Byzantine Orthodoxy and
Oriental Orthodoxy, canonization continues to be practiced much as it
was
during the first millennium of Christianity: People are recognized as
saints primarily because they are seen to have preserved the image of
God in
themselves, and in that sense are living icons. This recognition
happens through the simple process of adding a person's name to the
list or
canon of saints who are honored throughout the year. Canonization does
not make a person a saint; canonization simply recognizes that a
person is already a saint. There is no single
comprehensive list of all
Orthodox saints, and no bureaucratic process
to go through before adding a
saint to the canon.
The process traditionally is a
matter of "ripple effect" more than
anything. Individual Orthodox
Christians may venerate someone on a
purely personal level.
Eventually, a parish priest or two may include
commemoration at the local
parish. A Bishop may determine that the saint
in question is suitable for
commemoration throughout his entire diocese, at which point he will
have a
"Glorification" ceremony to announce this. A synod of Bishops may
determine that the saint is of sufficient importance to be commemorated
throughout their jurisdiction or sub-
jurisdiction and likewise have
a broader Glorification ceremony. Once
this has happened, it is usual
for most other jurisdictions to simply
accept the saint as
appropriate for personal veneration, although the
saint still might not be added
to their calendars. In theory, all synods
of all Eastern Orthodox
jurisdictions could hold a massive co-
Glorification ceremony and
announce the suitability of a person to be
venerated in all
jurisdictions. In practice, addition to additional
calendars beyond this point
has been a matter of quiet administrative
detail.
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One
notes that the people of Rome, and the pilgrims at the funeral of
John Paul II, the recently
deceased Patriarch of the West, called loudly
and continually for his
immediate canonization.
There
is a long and very careful process which JP II mandated for
declaring Roman Catholic
saints:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister_en.html
This
process will take several years to grind through its bureaucratic
procedures, and no doubt the
mills will grind the evidence exceedingly
fine. That they will
eventually Beatify and Canonize him, I have little
doubt.
Not
having (or wanting, really) a bureaucracy to grind things for me, I
am decided to follow the
Orthodox practice of adding John Paul II's name
to the list of saints honored
in my Masses.
The
Orthodox see the Laity as the "defenders of the Faith" -- they
remained true to the faith
when the hierarchy went chasing after
Arianism in the 3rd and 4th
Centuries, and they demanded the return of Trinitarian
devotion. The West, since Thomas Aquinas in the 13th Century, has
become very
rationalistic, legalistic, and seems to want to define everything by
rules and
binary logic, drawn up by the Curia in Rome.
As
an Old Catholic Bishop (Ultrajectine), I am not bound by Ultramontane
formalisms and
rulings, so I have determined to listen to the voice of the People of
God, heard in St. Peter's Square at the funeral, and honor in the
Liturgy the Servant of God, Karol Wojtyla, John Paul II, Patriarch of
the
West, as an example of heroic faith, and as a Saint of the Church.
I
invite other bishops and priests to do likewise.
+Samuel Bassett
Old Catholic Bishop of Zzyzx
in California