Many world religions have elevated individuals with the title of "saint," which often simply means "pious one," "devout," or "holy one." The reference is to their moral lifestyle or teachings and their loyalty and obedience to the law codes established by the gods. Another term was "wise men" or "sages," often elderly men, who could be consulted for advice.

Divination was the means by which the gods communicated with humans and humans with the gods. An "oracle" was a divine vision or message from the gods, as well as the term for the individual receiving one. Oracles were understood to be 'possessed' by a god or goddess and went into ecstatic trances. Sometimes a priest had to translate the messages, as they were often in unknown languages. The Hebrew equivalent of oracles were the prophets of Israel. The prophets were not modern theologians who interpreted elements on their own, nor fortune tellers. When in a trance, the words of the God of Israel were uttered. The English books of the prophets have made it easy to distinguish the elements. The words of God are always introduced with "Thus, says the Lord," and indented as poetical works to highlight his commands.

Divine encounters could be received by anyone and anywhere, although the most common places were near rivers, forests, and mountaintops. A common reaction was to construct a small pile of stones, a cairn, to indicate to others that something extraordinary had happened at this spot. Many of these cairns became temples that were then considered sacred space, the site where divination took place and the earthly homes of the gods.

Many cities claimed to have been founded by heroes born from sexual encounters between gods, usually in disguise, and humans, and promoted their tombs as pilgrimage sites. There were at least 14 cities claiming to have the tomb of Herakles/Hercules, as far away as Spain. Because of their great deeds, the heroes were accorded apotheosis, meaning they could be worshipped and appealed to for benefits, as gradients of divinity.

Each Greek city-state and town had a local god or goddess. Some of these were ancient, and some had been adopted through military conquests or exposure through trade. Appeals were made to the local god or goddess to 'mediate' between the city and the Olympians, as a client would petition his patron for benefits. Hence, a patron god or goddess. The community cared for the deity and the temple functions through sacrifices and rituals; the deity showed gratitude by ensuring the prosperity of the community.

Religious festivals were organized with yearly celebrations of honor. The cult statue was removed and washed in a nearby river, and dressed in new robes. A procession headed by the cult statue in a wagon included priests, temple acolytes, dancers, and singers. The story of the god or goddess and their relationship to the city was told through re-enactments and plays and celebrated with athletic games. The leftover sacrifices that day were then distributed.

Greek culture and religion permeated the Middle East when Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered the area. He brought Greek concepts of the gods, social conventions, and philosophy, layering them over older traditions. After the death of Alexander the Great, his generals fought for leadership in the Wars of the Diadochi, particularly Seleucus I in Syria and Ptolemy I in Egypt.

In 167 BCE, the Seleucid leader, Antiochus IV, took the unprecedented step of outlawing "Jewish customs." This story is found in the intertestamental books of Maccabees I-IV in later Bibles. A group of Jews under the leadership of Mattathias of the Hasmoneans rebelled against Greek rule, ultimately driving the Greeks out temporarily. Those rebels who had been arrested and tortured gave us a new term, "martyr," meaning "witness." Not a witness as in seeing something, but a witness in a law court, 'testifying to the truth.'

As each of them died, they made elaborate speeches, directed to Antiochus, proclaiming their faith in God who would 'raise them up' and vindicate them. As the God of Israel controlled everything, God had permitted the Greeks to conquer the Jews because of their sins, and thus, the martyrs were 'dying for the sake of the nation,' or vicarious suffering for everyone. The concept became and remains a fundamental element of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Being "raised up" became "resurrection" after death, a reward through automatic transformation to Heaven.

During the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (81 to 96 CE), the Roman Empire began persecuting and executing Christians for the crime of atheism, defined as disrespect of the gods. The Jews had been excused from this under an edict of Julius Caesar as reward for the services of Jewish mercenaries, but Gentile Christians did not have the same exemption because they were not circumcised. Converted Gentile Christians were released from circumcision, but beginning with Paul the Apostle and the other disciples, these new Gentile believers had to cease all sacrifices to the other gods. Rome saw this as 'angering the gods,' and thus they were executed for treason.

Christians utilized the story of the Maccabees to now claim that any Christian who had suffered and died under Rome was a martyr, who joined the angels in gathering around the throne of God, eternally singing praises. From Heaven, these martyrs were now in a position to intervene for prayers and benefits for the community. Thus, the Christians martys became "patron saints."

The tombs of famous Christian martyrs became sites of pilgrimage, where Heaven and Earth were integrated. But in practical terms, the tombs of martyrs brought economic benefits to the city, through housing pilgrims, providing food, and the ubiquitous souvenir vendors.

As Christians began taking over older temples, administrative basilicas, and building new churches, debates arose over how to translate the ancient concept of temples as sacred space into these buildings. Ancient temples were tainted with idolatry. Even the civic functions in administrative buildings, the basilicas, the town council meetings, the Roman Senate, and the law courts, began with sacrifices to the gods. Saint Ambrose solved the problem of idolatry when building his new church in Milan. He claimed that he had a dream of two earlier Christian martyred soldiers (Gervasius and Protasius) who showed him where they were buried. He had their skeletons dug up and buried in the walls of the new church.

Both sons and daughters were a financial drain on families. Sons had to have their campaigns for elections funded, and dowries for daughters were another financial strain. Roman families often adopted out their extras to other barren families. The eldest daughter was still committed to a marriage with another family, but extra daughters were 'given to the church' to spend their lives in good deeds and charity. This was a sense of 'cradle-to-grave virginity' for some Christian women. Ambrose claimed that physical bodies of virgins endowed the building with sacredness. In the Middle Ages, a fugitive from the law could avoid arrest by taking up residence in a church, protected from the mob until their trial, as sanctuary.

In 415, a British monk, Pelagius, was put on trial in Jerusalem for heresy. During the trial, a local parish priest had a dream that showed him where Stephen, the first Christian martyr in the book of Acts, was buried. They dug up Stephen and brought his bones to literally sit at the tribunal in Jerusalem. This convinced the panel that it was a sign from God that Pelagius was a heretic, and thus they condemned him.

Bishop Augustine of Hippo had sent his agent, Orosius, to attend the trial. Orosius was charged with taking some of the bones of Stephen and helping to distribute them in pieces across the Mediterranean so that others could share in 'this wonderful power.' By this time, the Vandals had invaded Spain, and he was afraid to go there, so he went to the town of Mahon on the island of Minorca, off the Spanish coast. There was a synagogue community at Mahon, and the governing magistrate was a Jew. Upon presenting the bones of Stephen to the Christians on the island, Bishop Severus recalled the death of Stephen at the hand of the Jews. Riled up, a Christian mob burned the synagogue and stole the gold lampstand and other articles from the synagogue. We know this story from a circular letter that Bishop Severus sent to other cities. He claimed that the bones of Stephen brought about repentance of all the Jews who subsequently asked to be baptized. This is most likely the first incident of the forced baptism of Jews. But relics were now associated with 'miracles.'

The rush was on. Christians sought out the tombs of earlier Christian martyrs, exhumed the bones, and established shrines and pilgrimage sites at their tombs. Relics were the physical remains of people or objects that have been in contact with holy individuals. Relics were believed to have the ability to protect and endow a believer with good fortune in this life, and to cure diseases and disabilities. Prayers to these saints were also petitions for help on their journey in the afterlife to eventually reach Heaven.

To distribute this benefit to all, Christians broke up the skeletons to distribute bones, teeth, hair, and clothing. The competition was rife in terms of tourist and pilgrimage trade. Seven different churches claimed to have the head of John the Baptist.

Constantine's mother, Helena of Constantinople, during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 324, claimed that she had found the tomb of Jesus Christ, the site of Pontius Pilate's condemnation of Jesus from the Antonia Fortress, the true cross, crucifixion nails, and other paraphernalia. Later excavations of the earlier sections of Jerusalem uncovered the original streets and buildings. By the Middle Ages, this became the Via Dolorosa, the "street of sorrows," which remains one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for the Catholic Church. Jesus' route is traversed every Good Friday by pilgrims carrying crosses. In terms of iconography, the various sites along the way are portrayed in "the stations of the cross" on the side walls of Catholic churches. Believers process around the church, saying the rosary, and contemplating the suffering of Jesus.

There were two people for whom one could not claim a body. Jesus had bodily ascended into Heaven, and the tradition was that Mary, having "fallen asleep," a euphemism for death, was physically taken to Heaven by angels. Instead, you could have peripheral, associated relics: a thorn from the crown of thorns, a piece of Mary's veil, the spear that pierced the side of Christ. This relic sits today in a museum in Vienna. It was recovered after Adolf Hitler stole it during his conquest of Austria. However, some churches went beyond the norm. Several churches claimed to have the foreskin of Jesus after he was circumcised. Some claimed to have Mary's placenta after his birth.

Relics were placed within a reliquary, an ornate receptacle often covered with gold and jewels, which contributed to the wealth of the churches. Beginning in Late Antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages, the production and traffic in relics was big business. Scientific improvements and technology can now determine if such relics were fakes, beginning with the age of bones and the materials used to create the reliquary.

Not everyone agreed with this new concept. Bishop Athanasius had written a letter in 369 critiquing a group known as the Meletians:

They don't leave the bodies of the martyrs, who fought nobly, in the earth, but they have begun to place them on beds and trestles, so that any who wish to do so may contemplate them. They do this ostensibly to honor the martyrs, but in reality it is an insult; and they do it for despicable purposes. Although they possess no body of a martyr in their own town, and not knowing what a martyr is, they have plotted to steal their bodies and remove them from the cemeteries to Catholic churches . . . they have the means to deceive those whom they mislead. But “error is not the part of Israel” and our Fathers have not handed down such a custom; on the contrary, they consider that such a practice is illegitimate.
(Festal Letter 41)

This may not be Athanasius denouncing the practice in theory, but the legitimacy depending upon the group; he considered the Meletians heretics. They were accused of rebaptizing excommunicated bishops, and many were therefore imprisoned. This passage may have been intended to deny Meletians martyr status and therefore subsequent veneration of their relics. Hence, martyrs' tombs and their relics were only approved upon the victim's orthodoxy.

But the strongest objections came from Jews and pagans. A shared concept in the ancient world was known as corpse contamination. Dead bodies emanated a toxic, vaporous miasma that could pollute the air, as well as people. Jews and pagans considered the collection of relics an anathema, "something vile that was not done," and revolting.

Today, the Vatican controls the distribution and confirmation of a true relic. The modern process of canonization of a saint begins with the investigation of at least three medical miracles or similar divine events in the person's life. After a miracle cure, it must be demonstrated that the person went on to live as an ideal Christian. The Vatican is often reticent in accepting divine miracles. The caution comes from further scientific research that could perhaps conclude that the Vatican made a mistake.

Greece and Rome had special days of the dead, when ghosts could escape Hades for a time and reunite with families. But this was also a fearful time, as those who died from murder or other crimes against a person returned to seek revenge. After a day, they were sent back to Hades, with the banging of pots and beans thrown over the shoulder. Borrowing the days of the dead, Christians celebrated dead saints as All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. All the saints and the martyred dead are honored collectively in the Catholic Church. In England, the date fell on November 1st, where "Hallow's Eve" was the day before; this is the history of Halloween.

Beginning in the Middle Ages and beyond, some of the saints were mummified and placed in caskets in apses or side chapels of cathedrals. In Catholicism, every Catholic church is made sacred with the presence of a relic of a saint. The relic is either buried in the cornerstone (Christ as the “cornerstone”), under the altar, or in a separate chapel with a statue of the saint as her or her particular church. Thus, the names of churches: Saint Agnes, Saint Catherine, Saint Stephen, etc. Beneath the main altar of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, where Peter was anachronically titled the first pope, subsequent popes are buried in the papal catacombs. Only a few from earlier periods are mummified with wax funeral masks. Many of the more famous cathedrals of Europe have saints buried in side chapels behind glass panels, so that the saint can be seen, where his/her physical characters were preserved after resurrection in Heaven. The preservation is considered a miracle.

In the modern period, popes are not subject to medical autopsies. From the time of being declared the pope, the Vatican houses medical personnel to oversee the health of the pontiff. The cause of death is most often natural, from old age. But another reason is that a pope's body is considered the property of the Church and is required to remain completely intact for lying in state, public viewing, and eventual burial.

The concept of the saints was applied to both living and dead monastics. The tombs of famous monastics became pilgrimage sites. Sometimes the anticipation preceded their death. It was reported that St. Francis of Assisi (1181 to 1226) had his hair and nails gathered even before he drew his last breath, knowing he would eventually be declared a saint.

Saints were aligned with areas of special functions (agriculture, writing, metallurgy, etc.). Their special functions derived from stories of their martyrdom. For example, Saint Lucy had her eyes gouged out before execution. Thus, she is the patron saint of the blind. Saint Sebastian (255 to 288 CE) was tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows and so became the patron saint of the military and athletes. Saint Jude is the patron saint of lost causes, Saint Antony is the patron saint for finding something that was lost, and statues of Saint Joseph are buried in the front yard to assure the quick sale of a house.

The Church of Saint Antony of Padua (1195 to 1231) is remarkable for an enormous mound at the back of the church, containing crutches, wheelchairs, and other evidence of believers who were cured of disabilities and diseases.

Another popular pilgrimage site from the modern period is located in Lourdes, France. In 1858, Bernadette, an uneducated peasant girl, began visiting a grotto with a spring, where she claimed to have visions of a lady who spoke to her. When questioned by priests, she was told to ask the lady her name. The lady told her, "I am the Immaculate Conception." A peasant would not have known this concept, and so Bernadette was validated as a saint. The site at Lourdes provides bottles from the spring that is considered holy and can now be ordered on the internet.

The elevation of past martyrs and monastics to saints eventually became problematic in relation to all other Christians. If all good Christians went to Heaven when they died, how would this distinguish them from the great sacrifices of martyrs and the monastics? The deaths of martyrs and monastics were an atonement of sins for themselves and the community. They were held as a special, unique group that had to remain elevated above all other Christians.

The Roman poet Virgil's Aeneid had described a place in Hades that allowed for the purging (burning off) of past violations. Such purging became associated with fire. Augustine distinguished a separate place called Purgatory, which contained a purifying fire as against the consuming fire of the unrepentant in Hell. Pope Gregory the Great (530 to 604) distinguished sins through a purgatorius ignis (a cleansing fire). Small sins, after purging for a time, allowed the believer to go to Heaven. Major sins, such as murder, incest, idolatry, and other civil crimes, became mortal sins, with no hope of forgiveness. These sins resulted in immediate and eternal condemnation in Hell.

Major pilgrimage sites to saints contain a plaque or inscription that outlines how many years are spent in Purgatory to remove sins. But there is a caveat: before appealing to a saint, one must have gone to mass a week before and received the Eucharist, and confessed one's sins in the ritual of penance.

Modern Catholic funerals promote prayer cards with pictures of Catholic saints. Mourners can purchase these prayers through contributions to the priest who includes prayers for the dead in the eulogy to help them shorten their stay in Purgatory. In Catholic Churches, high mass, the longer versions of prayers during mass, includes a litany of saints, where people are encouraged to pray for individual saints.

Catholic Churches also include the sacrament of Confirmation, the ritual inclusion of young people once they have passed puberty. At the time, the recipient chooses the name of a patron saint who will oversee his/her faith and religious development for element for this rest of their life.

Modern churches have retained the ancient concept of religious festivals to honor the city's patron god. Now we have church festivals, usually during the summer, that include services to honor the patron saint, food and souvenir vendors, and carnival rides.