In the Christian Orthodox tradition, there are several ranks of holiness. Among all the saints, the saints of the Church stand out especially, who have worked hard to preach the gospel and establish the dogmatic teachings of the Christian faith.
Saints refers to holy people who have been clothed in the highest ecclesiastical dignity. Thus, saints are bishops, archbishops, metropolitans and patriarchs, who acquired the special grace of the Holy Spirit.
The saints of the Church are known to the Christian world because of not only their holy pious life. Many of these people possessed the gift of wonderworking, prophecy. Some saints had a brilliant theological education, others simply possessed not so much knowledge of God as knowledge of God (as much as possible). All these people became famous for their numerous dogmatic and moralizing treatises on which the Christian faith is based.
Among the main saints of the Church, Vasily the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom are distinguished. Saints lived in the 4th-5th centuries. They are called the great saints and teachers of the Church. Basil the Great and John Chrysostom composed the divine liturgies, which are still served in Orthodox churches. All three are known for their dogmatic treatises on the Holy Trinity and the Gods of Jesus Christ.
One of the most revered saints in the Russian people is St. Nicholas of Lycia, called the Miracle Worker. The saint lived in the 4th century. He is known for many of his miracles both in life and after death. Since the assumption of the saint, many people after prayers to this righteous received fulfillment of their requests.
Russia has granted Christianity many saints. Among them, we can distinguish the metropolitans of Peter, Alexius, and Jonah. Among the twentieth-century saints in Russia, new martyrs stand out. For example, Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany) of Kiev, Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazan) of Petrograd, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Tikhon (Belavin).
In addition, all Orthodox nowadays bishops can be called saints. This naming does not refer to the personal holiness of man (since during his lifetime few people call saints), but to the greatness of the hierarchal rank. The Patriarchs of the Churches may be called the Primates.
