In traditional Christian iconography, saints are often depicted as having halos, which is a symbol of their holiness. Note that Judas is depicted without a halo.

A saint is a holy person.^[1] In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.

In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth.^[1] (2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 3:14-19; 2Corinthians 13:5) In Orthodox and Catholic teachings, all Christians in heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered to be worthy of higher honor, emulation, or veneration.^[2][3]

In the Christian Bible, only one person is expressly called a saint: "They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD." (Psalms 106:16-18) The apostle Paul declared himself to be "less than the least of all saints" in Ephesians 3:8.

General characteristics[link]

The term in English is mostly used for Christians, and is "...used predominantly in the popular and theological sense indicated above, that is, as referring to all those who have died and are with God in Christ."^[4]

Many religions use similar concepts to venerate individuals worthy of honor in some way, e.g., see Hindu saints. John A. Coleman S.J., Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley,^[5] wrote that saints across various cultures and religions have the following family resemblances:

1. exemplary model;
2. extraordinary teacher;
3. wonder worker or source of benevolent power;
4. intercessor;
5. a life often refusing material attachments or comforts;
6. possession of a special and revelatory relation to the holy.^[6]

While there are parallels between these (and other) concepts and that of sainthood, each of these concepts has specific meanings within a given religion. Also, new religious movements have sometimes taken to using the word in cases where the people so named would not be regarded as saints within mainstream Christianity. Some of the Cao Dai saints and saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica are examples of such.^{[citation needed]}

The anthropologist ^[7] Lawrence Babb in an article about Sathya Sai Baba asks the question "Who is a saint?", and responds by saying that in the symbolic infrastructure of some religions, there is the image of a certain extraordinary spiritual king's "miraculous powers", to whom frequently a certain moral presence is attributed. These saintly figures, he asserts, are "the focal points of spiritual force-fields", exerting "powerful attractive influence on followers but touch the inner lives of others in transforming ways as well."^[8]

Christianity[link]

Anglicanism[link]

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In the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, the title of Saint refers to a person who has been elevated by popular opinion as a pious and holy person. The saints are seen as models of holiness to be imitated, and as a 'cloud of witnesses' that strengthen and encourage the believer during his or her spiritual journey (Hebrews 12:1). The saints are seen as elder brothers and sisters in Christ. Official Anglican creeds recognise the existence of the saints in heaven.

So far as invocation of the saints is concerned,^[9] one of the Church of England's Articles of Religion "Of Purgatory" condemns "the Romish Doctrine concerning...(the) Invocation of Saints" as "a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God". However, each of the 44 member churches in the Anglican Communion are free to adopt and authorise their own official documents, and the Articles are not officially normative in all of them (e.g., The Episcopal Church USA, which relegates them to "Historical Documents"). Anglo-Catholics in Anglican provinces using the Articles often make a distinction between a "Romish" and a "Patristic" doctrine concerning the invocation of saints, permitting the latter.

In high-church contexts, such as Anglo-Catholicism, a saint is generally one to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated) a high level of holiness and sanctity. In this use, a saint is therefore not a believer, but one who has been transformed by virtue. In Roman Catholicism, a saint is a special sign of God's activity. The veneration of saints is sometimes misunderstood to be worship, in which case it is derisively termed "hagiolatry".

Some Anglicans and Anglican churches, particularly Anglo-Catholics, personally ask prayers of the saints. However, such a practice is seldom found in any official Anglican liturgy. Unusual examples of it are found in The Korean Liturgy 1938, the liturgy of the Diocese of Guiana 1959 and The Melanesian English Prayer Book.

Anglicans believe that the only effective Mediator between the believer and God the Father, in terms of redemption and salvation, is God the Son, Jesus Christ. Historical Anglicanism has drawn a distinction between the intercession of the saints and the invocation of the saints. The former was generally accepted in Anglican doctrine, while the latter was generally rejected. There are some, however, in Anglicanism, who do beseech the saints' intercession. Those who beseech the saints to intercede on their behalf make a distinction between "mediator" and "intercessor", and claim that asking for the prayers of the saints is no different in kind than asking for the prayers of living Christians. Anglican Catholics understand sainthood in a more Catholic or Orthodox way, often praying for intercessions from the saints and celebrating their feast days.

According to the Church of England, a saint is one who is sanctified, as it translates in the Authorised King James Version (1611) 2 Chronicles 6:41

Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

Eastern Orthodoxy[link]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church a saint is defined as anyone who is in Heaven, whether recognized here on earth, or not.^[2] By this definition, Adam and Eve, Moses, the various prophets, except for the angels and archangels are all given the title of "Saint". Sainthood in the Orthodox Church does not necessarily reflect a moral model, but the communion with God: there are countless examples of people who lived in great sin and became saints by humility and repentance, such as Mary of Egypt, Moses the Ethiopian, and of course Dysmas, the repentant thief who was crucified. Therefore, a more complete definition of what a saint is, has to do with the way that saints, through their humility and their love of humankind, saved inside them the entire Church, and loved all people.

Orthodox belief considers that God reveals his saints through answered prayers and other miracles.^[2] Saints are usually recognized by a local community, often by people who directly knew them. As their popularity grows they are often then recognized by the entire church. The formal process of recognition involves deliberation by a synod of bishops.^[2] If successful, this is followed by a service of Glorification in which the Saint is given a day on the church calendar to be celebrated by the entire church.^[10] This does not, however, make the person a saint; the person already was a saint and the Church ultimately recognized it.

It is believed that one of the ways the holiness (sanctity) of a person is revealed, is through the condition of their relics (remains).^{[citation needed]} In some Orthodox countries (such as Greece, but not in Russia) graves are often reused after 3 to 5 years because of limited space. Bones are washed and placed in an ossuary, often with the person's name written on the skull. Occasionally when a body is exhumed something miraculous is reported as having occurred; exhumed bones are claimed to have given off a fragrance, like flowers, or a body is reported as having remained free of decay, despite not having been embalmed (traditionally the Orthodox do not embalm the dead) and having been buried for some years in the earth.

The reason relics are considered sacred is because, for the Orthodox, the separation of body and soul is unnatural.^{[citation needed]} Body and soul both comprise the person, and in the end, body and soul will be reunited; therefore, the body of a saint shares in the "Holiness" of the soul of the saint.^{[citation needed]} As a general rule only clergy will touch relics in order to move them or carry them in procession, however, in veneration the faithful will kiss the relic to show love and respect toward the saint. Every altar in every^{[dubious – discuss]} Orthodox church contains relics, usually of martyrs. Church interiors are covered with the Icons of saints.

Because the Church shows no true distinction between the living and the dead (the saints are considered to be alive in Heaven), saints are referred to as if they were still alive. Saints are venerated but not worshipped. They are believed to be able to intercede for salvation and help mankind either through direct communion with God, or by personal intervention.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the title Ὅσιος, Hosios (f. Ὁσία Hosia) is also used. This is a title attributed to saints who had lived a monastic or eremitic life, and it is equal to the more usual title of "Saint".^{[citation needed]}

Mormons (Latter-day Saints)[link]

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The beliefs within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) with regard to saints are similar but not quite the same as to the Protestant tradition described below. In the New Testament the saints are all those who have entered into the Christian covenant of baptism. The qualification "latter-day" refers to the doctrine that members are living in the "latter days", before the Second Coming of Christ, and is used to distinguish the members of the LDS Church, which considers itself the restoration of the ancient Christian church.^[11] Therefore members are often referred to as "Latter-day Saints" or "LDS", and among themselves as "Saints".^[12]

Oriental Orthodox[link]

The Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Armenian Apostolic churches do accept the existence of saints, but officially recognize them via their own individual processes. For example, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria canonizes saints, through the approval of that church's Holy Synod. A requirement of the Coptic Orthodox faith is that at least 50 years must pass from a saint's death to his canonization, and the Coptic Orthodox Pope must follow that rule.

Protestantism[link]

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In many Protestant churches, the word "saint" is used more generally to refer to anyone who is a Christian. This is similar in usage to Paul's numerous references in the New Testament of the Bible.^[14] In this sense, anyone who is within the Body of Christ (i.e., a professing Christian) is a 'saint' because of their relationship with Christ Jesus. Many Protestants consider prayers to the saints to be idolatry as an application of divine worship that should be given only to God himself is being given to other believers, dead or alive.^[15] Many Protestants sects also consider the practice to be similar to necromancy as the dead are believed to be awaiting resurrection, unable to do anything for the living saint.

Within some Protestant traditions, "saint" is also used to refer to any born-again Christian. Many emphasise the traditional New Testament meaning of the word, preferring to write "saint" to refer to any believer, in continuity with the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.

Lutheranism[link]

In the Lutheran Church, all Christians, whether in heaven or on earth, are regarded as saints. However, the church still recognizes and honors specific saints, including some of those recognized by the Catholic Church, but in a qualified way: according to the Augsburg Confession,^[16] the term "saint" is used in the manner of the Roman Catholic Church only insofar as to denote a person who received exceptional grace, was sustained by faith and whose good works are to be an example to any Christian. Traditional Lutheran belief accounts that prayers to the saints are prohibited, as they are not mediators of redemption.^[17][18] But, Lutherans do believe that saints pray for the Christian Church in general.^[19] Philip Melancthon, the author of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, approved honoring the saints by saying they are honored in three ways: 1. By thanking God for examples of His mercy; 2. By using the saints as examples for strengthening our faith; 3. By imitating their faith and other virtues.^[20][21][22] The Lutheran Churches also have liturgical calendars in which they honor individuals as saints.

Methodism[link]

While Methodists as a whole do not practice the patronage or veneration of saints, they do honor and admire them. Methodists believe that all Christians are saints, but mainly use the term to refer to bibilical people, Christian leaders, and martyrs of the faith. Many Methodist churches are named after saints, such as the Twelve Apostles, John Wesley, etc. Although, most are named after geographical locations associated with an early circuit or prominent location. Some Methodist congregations observe All Saints Day if they follow the liturgical calendar. Many encourage the study of saints, that is, the biography of holy people. The 14th Article of Religion in the United Methodist Discipline states, "The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshiping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God." John Wesley, the theological father of world Methodism, did not practice or permit Roman Catholic practices associated with the veneration of the Virgin Mary or prayers to saints.

[edit] Roman Catholicism

One Roman Catholic website states that "There are over 10,000 named saints and beatified people from history, the Roman Martyrology and Orthodox sources, but no definitive head count".^[23]

Rev. Alban Butler published Lives of the Saints in 1756, containing 1,486 saints. The latest edition of this work, edited by Father Herbert Thurston, S.J., and British author Donald Attwater, contains the lives of 2,565 saints.^[24] Monsignor Robert Sarno, an official of Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, expressed that it is impossible to say the exact number of saints.^[25]

The Catholic Church teaches that it does not, in fact, make or create anyone a saint. Rather, it recognizes a saint.^[26] In the Church, the title of Saint refers to a person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the Catholic Church, and is therefore believed to be in Heaven.

By this definition there are many people believed to be in Heaven who have not been formally declared as saints (most typically due to their obscurity and the involved process of formal canonization) but who may nevertheless generically be referred to as saints. All in Heaven are, in the technical sense, saints, since they are believed to be completely perfected in holiness.^[27] Unofficial devotions to uncanonized individuals take place in certain regions.^[28] Sometimes the word "saint" is used to refer to Christians still sojourning here on earth.^[3]

In his book, Saint of the Day, editor Leonard Foley, OFM, says this of saints: "[Saints'] surrender to God's love was so generous an approach to the total surrender of Jesus that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ." ^[29]

In his book, Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't and Why, author Kenneth L. Woodward notes the following:

A saint is always someone through whom we catch a glimpse of what God is like -- and of what we are called to be. Only God 'makes' saints, of course. The church merely identifies from time to time a few of these for emulation. The church then tells the story. But the author is the Source of the grace by which saints live. And there we have it: A saint is someone whose story God tells.^[30]

The veneration of saints, in Latin, cultus, or the "cult of the saints", describes a particular popular devotion or abandonment to a particular saint or saints. Although the term "worship" is sometimes used, it is intended in the old-sense meaning to honor or give respect (dulia). According to the Catholic Church, Divine Worship is properly reserved only for God (latria) and never to the saints.^[31] They can be asked to intercede or pray for those still on earth,^[32] just as one can ask someone on earth to pray for them.

A saint may be designated as a patron saint of a particular cause or profession, or invoked against specific illnesses or disasters, sometimes by popular custom and sometimes by official statements of the Magisterium.^[33] Saints are not thought to have power of their own, but only that granted by God. Relics of saints are respected in a similar manner to holy images and icons. The practices of past centuries in venerating relics of saints for healing is taken from the early Church.^[34]

For example, an American deacon claimed in 2000 that Blessed John Henry Newman interceded with God to cure him. The American, Jack Sullivan, asserted that after addressing Newman he was cured of spinal stenosis in a matter of hours. In 2009, a panel of theologians concluded that Sullivan's recovery was the result of his prayer to Newman. According to the Catholic Church, to be deemed a miracle, "a medical recovery must be instantaneous, not attributable to treatment, disappear for good."^[35]

Once a person has been declared a saint, the body of the saint is considered holy.^[36] The remains of saints are called holy relics and are usually used in churches. Saints' personal belongings may also be used as relics.^[36] Some of the saints have a symbol that represents their life.

In Church tradition, a person who is seen as exceptionally holy can be declared a saint by a formal process, called canonization. Formal canonization is a lengthy process often taking many years, even centuries.^[37]

The first step in this process is an investigation of the candidate's life, undertaken by an expert. After this, the report on the candidate is given to the bishop of the area and more studying is done. It is then sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.^[38]

If the application is approved, the person may be granted the title of "Venerable".^[38] Further investigations may lead to the candidate's beatification and given title of "Blessed."^[38] At a minimum, two important miracles are required to be formally declared a saint. These miracles must be posthumous. ^[38] Finally, when all of this is done the Pope canonizes the saint.^[38]

Other Christian groups[link]

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There are some groups who do not accept the idea of the Communion of Saints. Some believe all of the departed are in soul sleep until the final resurrection on Judgment Day. Others believe that the departed go to either Paradise or Tartarus, to await the day in which the living and the dead are judged. Certain groups do not believe that the departed have any connection with the living.

Other religions[link]

The use of the term "saint" is not exclusive to Christianity. In many religions, there are people who have been recognized within their tradition as having fulfilled the highest aspirations of religious teaching. In English, the term saint is often used to translate this idea from many world religions.

African Diaspora[link]

Cuban Santería, Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Umbanda and Candomblé, and other similar syncretist religions adopted the Catholic saints, or at least the images of the saints, and applied their own spirits/deities to them. They are worshiped in churches (where they appear as saints) and in religious festivals, where they appear as the deities. The name santería was originally a pejorative term for those whose worship of saints deviated from Catholic norms.

Buddhism[link]

Buddhists hold the Arhats and Arahants in special esteem, as well as Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.

Discordianism[link]

In Discordianism, anyone, living or dead, or even anything can be named a saint. Anyone may canonize anything or anyone else as everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, is a pope in the POEE. This is because "moral perfection isn't necessary for Discordian Sainthood. You just have to suffer a lot."

Hinduism[link]

There are individuals who have been described as being Hindu saints, most of whom have also been more specifically identified by the terms Sant, Mahatma, Paramahamsa, or Swami, or with the titles Sri or Srila.

Islam[link]

The Arabic term wali (Arabic ولي, plural Awliyā' أولياء) is commonly translated into English as "Saint". However, the wali should not be confused with the Christian tradition of sainthood. A prominent early scholar of Sunni Islamic beliefs, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi, mentioned in his book "Al-Aqidah At-Tahawiya":

We do not prefer any of the saintly men among the Ummah over any of the Prophets but rather we say that any one of the Prophets is better than all the awliya' put together. We believe in what we know of Karamat, the marvels of the awliya' and in authentic stories about them from trustworthy sources.^[39]

Unlike Prophets and Messengers, the awliya can be either male and female. One of the best known female saints is Rabi`a al-Adawiyya.

It is widely regarded  in Islam that the saints of saints is Ali Ibn Abi Talib the cousin of Muhammad all Sufi orders originate through his teachings. In addition all saints regard him as their champion 'The Saints of Saints'

In Sufism, the major wali are considered to have been masters in the art of spiritual purification. Some groups within Islam hold the Hadrat (literally, Presence, a title of Sufi saints) in esteem.

Anthropologists^[who?] have also noted the parallels between the regard for some Sufi figures in popular Muslim observance and Christian ideas of sainthood. In some Muslim countries there are shrines at the tombs of Sufi saints, with the observation of festival days on the anniversary of death, and a tradition of miracle-working. In some^[vague] cases, the rites are observed according to the solar calendar, rather than the normal Islamic lunar calendar.^[40]

Judaism[link]

The term Tzadik "righteous", and its associated meanings, developed in Rabbinic thought from its Talmudic contrast with Hasid ("Pious" honorific), to its exploration in Ethical literature, and its esoteric spiritualisation in Kabbalah. In Hasidic Judaism, the institution of the Tzadik assumed central importance, combining former elite mysticism with social movement for the first time.

Sikhism[link]

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The concept of sant or bhagat is found in North Indian religious thought including Sikhism. Figures such as Kabir, Ravidas, Nanak, and others are widely regarded as belonging to the Sant tradition. Some of their mystical compositions are incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. The term "Sant" is still sometimes loosely applied to living individuals in the Sikh and related communities.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

Saints portal

References[link]

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Beyer, Jürgen, et al., eds. Confessional sanctity (c. 1550 - c. 1800). Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2003.
• Bruhn, Siglind. Saints in the Limelight: Representations of the Religious Quest on the Post-1945 Operatic Stage. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 2003. ISBN 978-1-57647-096-1.
• Cunningham, Lawrence S. The Meaning of Saints. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980.
• Hawley, John Stratton, ed. Saints and Virtues. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.
• Jean-Luc Deuffic (éd.), Reliques et sainteté dans l'espace médiéval [1]
• O'Malley, Vincent J. "Ordinary Suffering of Extraordinary Saints", 1999. ISBN 0-87973-893-6
• Perham, Michael. The Communion of Saints. London: Alcuin Club / SPCK, 1980.
• Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Insight on the Scriptures: Volume 1. Brooklyn,: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1988.
• Woodward, Kenneth L. Making Saints. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Further Reading[link]

• Trigilio (PhD, ThD), Rev. John; Rev. Kenneth Brighenti, PhD (2010). Saints for Dummies. pp. 363. ISBN 978-0-470-53358-1. 
• Hebert (S.M.), Albert. Saints Who Raised the Dead: True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles. Illinois: TAN Books. pp. 335. ISBN 0-89555-798-3. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saints

Look up saint in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Inspirational Quotes from the Saints
• Today's Saints on the Calendar
• http://www.oodegr.com/english/istorika/britain/British_saints.htm
• Biographies of Saints and Gurus in the Indian Tradition

The Saint may refer to:

Fiction[link]

• Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations:
  • The Saint (film series), starring Louis Hayward (1938; 1953), George Sanders (1939–1941) and Hugh Sinclair (1941–1943)
  • The Saint (radio show) (1944–1951), a radio program starring Vincent Price and others on NBC Radio
  • The Saint (comics) (1948-1961), a long-running comic strip series
  • The Saint (TV series) (1962–1969), a British television series starring Roger Moore
    • For the 1970s series starring Ian Ogilvy, see Return of the Saint
  • The Saint (TV Films) 1989 TV movie series starring Simon Dutton
  • The Saint (film) (1997), an American film starring Val Kilmer
    • The Saint (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the 1997 film
    • The Saint (novel), a novelization of the 1997 film, by Burl Barer
• "The Saint" (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Il santo (novel), a novel by Antonio Fogazzaro
• The Saint, an omnibus edition of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels, Honour Guard through Sabbat Martyr, by Dan Abnett

Music[link]

• The Saint (music venue), a club showcasing live, original music in Asbury Park, New Jersey
• "The Saint" (song), a song by Orbital from the 1997 film soundtrack of the same title
• The Saints (band), an Australian punk band
• The Saints (1960s band), an English instrumental band

Newspapers[link]

• The Saint (UK newspaper), a student newspaper at the University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom
• The Saint (newspaper), a student newspaper at St. Clair College in Ontario, Canada

Other uses[link]

• The Saint (club), gay nightclub in New York City that operated from 1980 to 1990
• Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, known locally as "il Santo"
• Play Radio (Hampshire), a radio station formerly known at "The Saint"
• Ian St. John, Scottish football player nicknamed "The Saint"
• WVCR-FM, Siena College radio station

See also[link]

• Saint (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s participation were published in 1997. The character has also been portrayed in motion pictures, radio dramas, comic strips, comic books and three television series.

Overview[link]

Simon Templar is a thief known as The Saint because of his initials (ST) and because his heroic exploits fly in the face of an otherwise nefarious reputation. Templar has aliases, often using the initials S.T. such as "Sebastian Tombs" or "Sugarman Treacle". His true name is unknown, and the name "Templar" was adopted at an early age from reading about the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, the Knights Templar. Blessed with boyish humor, he makes humorous and off-putting remarks and leaves a "calling card" at his "crimes", a stick figure of a man with a halo, the logo of the books, the movies, and the 1960s TV series.

The books allude to the possibility that Templar started his career as a criminal and suggest he developed the skills of a burglar. His origin remains a mystery, but in the books his income derives from the pockets of the "ungodly" (as he terms those who live by a less moral code than his own). There are references to a "ten percent collection fee" to cover expenses when he extracts large sums from victims, the remainder being returned to the owners, given to charity, shared among Templar's colleagues, or some combination of those possibilities.

Templar's targets include corrupt politicians, warmongers, and other low life. "He claims he's a Robin Hood", bleats one victim, "but to me he's just a robber and a hood".^[1] Robin Hood appears one inspiration for the character; Templar stories were often promoted as featuring "The Robin Hood of modern crime", and this phrase to describe Templar appears in several stories. A term used by Templar to describe his acquisitions is "boodle" (a term also applied to the short story collection).

The Saint has a dark side, as he is willing to ruin the lives of the "ungodly", and even kill them, if he feels more innocent lives can be saved. In the early books, Templar refers to this as murder, although he considers his actions justified and righteous, a view usually shared by partners and colleagues. Several adventures centre on his intention to kill (for example, "Arizona" in The Saint Goes West has Templar planning to kill a Nazi scientist).

During the 1920s and early '30s, The Saint is fighting European arms dealers, drug runners, and white slavers while based in his London home. His battles with Rayt Marius mirror the 'four rounds with Carl Petersen' of Bulldog Drummond. During the first half of the 1940s, Charteris cast Templar as a willing operative of the American government, fighting Nazi interests in the U.S. during World War II.

While the first of these novels, The Saint in Miami, has Templar stumbling upon a Nazi plot, beginning with the "Arizona" novella Templar is fighting his own war against Germany. The Saint Steps In reveals that Templar is operating on behalf of a mysterious individual known as Hamilton who appears again in the next WWII-era Saint book, The Saint on Guard. The later books move from confidence games, murder mysteries, and wartime espionage and place Templar as a global adventurer.

According to Saint historian Burl Barer, Charteris made the decision to remove Templar from his usual confidence-game trappings, not to mention his usual co-stars Holm, Uniatz, Orace and Teal, as they weren't appropriate for the post-war stories he was writing.^[2]

Although The Saint functions as an ordinary detective in some stories, others depict ingenious plots to get even with vanity publishers and other ripoff artists, greedy bosses who exploit their workers, con men, etc.

The Saint has many partners, though none last throughout the series. For the first half until the late 1940s, the most recurrent is Patricia Holm, his girlfriend, who was introduced in the first story, the 1928 novel Meet - The Tiger! in which she shows herself a capable adventurer. Holm appeared erratically throughout the series, sometimes disappearing for books at a time. Templar and Holm lived together in a time when common-law relationships were uncommon and, in some areas, illegal.

They have an easy, non-binding relationship, as Templar is shown flirting with other women from time to time. However, his heart remains true to Holm in the early books, culminating in his considering marriage in the novella The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal, only to have Holm say she had no interest in marrying. Holm disappeared in the late 1940s, and according to Barer's history of The Saint, Charteris refused to allow Templar a steady girlfriend, or Holm to return (although according to the Saintly Bible website, Charteris did write a film story that would have seen Templar encountering a son he had with Holm).

Another recurring character, Scotland Yard Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, could be found attempting to put The Saint behind bars, although in some books they work in partnership. In The Saint in New York, Teal's American counterpart, NYPD Inspector John Henry Fernack, was introduced, and he would become, like Teal, an Inspector Lestrade-like foil and pseudo-nemesis in a number of books, notably the American-based World War II novels of the 1940s.

The Saint had a band of compatriots, including Roger Conway, Norman Kent, Archie Sheridan, Richard "Dicky" Tremayne (a name that appeared in the 1990s TV series, Twin Peaks), Peter Quentin, Monty Hayward, and his ex-military valet, Orace.

In later stories, the dimwitted and constantly soused but reliable American thug Hoppy Uniatz was at Templar's side. Of The Saint's companions, only Norman Kent was killed during an adventure (he sacrifices himself to save Templar in the novel The Last Hero); the other males are presumed to have settled down and married (two to former female criminals: Dicky Tremayne to "Straight Audrey" Perowne and Peter Quentin to Kathleen "The Mug" Allfield; Archie Sheridan is mentioned to have married in "The Lawless Lady" in Enter the Saint, presumably to Lilla McAndrew after the events of the story "The Wonderful War" in Featuring the Saint).

Charteris gave Templar interests and quirks as the series went on. Early talents as an amateur poet and songwriter were displayed, often to taunt villains, though the novella The Inland Revenue established that poetry was also a hobby. That story revealed that Templar wrote an adventure novel featuring a South American hero not far removed from The Saint himself.

Templar also on occasion would break the fourth wall in an almost metafictional sense, making references to being part of a story and mentioning in one early story how he cannot be killed so early on; the 1960s television series would also have Templar address viewers. Charteris breaks the fourth wall by making references to the "chronicler" of The Saint's adventures and in one instance (the story "The Sizzling Saboteur" in The Saint on Guard) inserts his own name.

Publishing history[link]

The origins of The Saint can be found in early works by Charteris, some of which predated the first Saint novel, 1928's Meet - The Tiger!, or were written after it but before Charteris committed to writing a Saint series. Burl Barer reveals that an obscure early work, Daredevil, not only featured a heroic lead who shared "Saintly" traits (down to driving the same brand of automobile) but also shared his adventures with Inspector Claud Eustace Teal—a character later a regular in Saint books. Barer writes that several early Saint stories were rewritten from non-Saint stories, including the novel She Was a Lady, which appeared in magazine form featuring a different lead character.

Charteris utilized three formats for delivering his stories. Besides full-length novels, he wrote novellas for the most part published in magazines and later in volumes of two or three stories. He also wrote short stories featuring the character, again mostly for magazines and later compiled into omnibus editions. In later years these short stories carried a common theme, such as the women Templar meets or exotic places he visits. With the exception of Meet - The Tiger!, chapter titles of Templar novels usually contain a descriptive phrase describing the events of the chapter; for example, Chapter Four of Knight Templar is entitled "How Simon Templar dozed in the Green Park and discovered a new use for toothpaste".

Although Charteris’s novels and novellas had more conventional thriller plots than his confidence game short stories, both novels and stories are admired. As in the past, the appeal lies in the vitality of the character, a hero who can go into a brawl and come out with his hair combed and who, faced with death, lights a cigarette and taunts his enemy with the signature phrase "As the actress said to the bishop...."

The period of the books begins in the 1920s and moves to the 1970s as the 50 books progress (the character being seemingly ageless). In early books most activities are illegal, although directed at villains. In later books, this becomes less so. In books written during World War II, The Saint was recruited by the government to help track spies and similar undercover work.^[3] Later he became a cold warrior fighting Communism. The quality of writing also changes; early books have a freshness which becomes replaced by cynicism in later works. A few Saint stories crossed into science fiction and fantasy, "The Man Who Liked Ants" and the early novel The Last Hero being examples. When early Saint books were republished in the 1960s to the 1980s, it was not uncommon to see freshly written introductions by Charteris apologizing for the out-of-date tone; according to a Charteris "apology" in a 1969 paperback of Featuring the Saint, he attempted to update some earlier stories when they were reprinted but gave up and let them sit as period pieces. The 1963 edition of the short story collection The Happy Highwayman contains examples of abandoned revisions; in one story published in the 1930s ("The Star Producers"), references to actors of the 1930s were replaced for 1963 with names of current movie stars; another 1930s-era story, "The Man Who Was Lucky", added references to atomic power.

Charteris started retiring from writing books following 1963's The Saint in the Sun. The next book to carry Charteris’s name, 1964's Vendetta for the Saint, was written by science fiction author Harry Harrison, who had worked on the Saint comic strip, after which Charteris edited and revised the manuscript. Between 1964 and 1983, another 14 Saint books would be published, credited to Charteris but written by others. In his introduction to the first, The Saint on TV, Charteris called these volumes a team effort in which he oversaw selection of stories, initially adaptations of scripts written the 1962-69 TV series The Saint, and with Fleming Lee writing the adaptations (other authors took over from Lee). Charteris and Lee collaborated on two Saint novels in the 1970s, The Saint in Pursuit (based on a story by Charteris for the Saint comic strip) and The Saint and the People Importers. The "team" writers were usually credited on the title page, if not the cover. One later volume, Catch the Saint, was an experiment in returning The Saint to his period, prior to the Second World War (as opposed to recent Saint books set in the present day).

The last Saint volume in the line of books starting with Meet - The Tiger! in 1928 was Salvage for the Saint, published in 1983. According to the Saintly Bible website, every Saint book published between 1928 and 1983 saw the first edition issued by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK (a company that originally published only religious books) and The Crime Club (an imprint of Doubleday that specialized in mystery and detective fiction) in the United States. For the first 20 years, the books were first published in Britain, with the U.S. edition following up to a year later. By the late '40s to early '50s, this situation had been reversed. In one case—The Saint to the Rescue—a British edition did not appear until nearly two years after the American one.

French language books published over 30 years included translated volumes of Charteris originals as well as novelisations of radio scripts from the English-language radio series and comic strip adaptations. Many of these books credited to Charteris were written by others, including Madeleine Michel-Tyl.^[4]

Charteris died in 1993. Two additional Saint novels appeared around the time of the 1997 film starring Val Kilmer: a novelisation of the film (which had little connection to the Charteris stories) and Capture the Saint, a more faithful work published by The Saint Club and originated by Charteris in 1936. Both books were written by Burl Barer, who in the early 1990s published a history of the character in books, radio, and television.

Charteris wrote 14 novels between 1928 and 1971 (the last two co-written), 34 novellas, and 95 short stories featuring Simon Templar. Between 1963 and 1997, an additional seven novels and fourteen novellas were written by others.

The Saint on radio[link]

Several radio drama series were produced in North America, Ireland, and Britain. The earliest was for Radio Eireann in 1940 and starred Terence De Marney. Both NBC and CBS produced Saint series during 1945, starring Edgar Barrier and Brian Aherne. Many early shows were adaptations of published stories, although Charteris wrote several storylines for the series which were novelised as short stories and novellas.

The longest-running radio incarnation was Vincent Price, who played the character in a series between 1947 and 1951 on three networks: CBS, Mutual and NBC. Like The Whistler, the program had an opening whistle theme with footsteps. Some sources say the whistling theme for The Saint was created by Leslie Charteris while others credit RKO composer Roy Webb.

Price left in May 1951, replaced by Tom Conway, who played the role for several more months. His brother, George Sanders, had played Templar on film. The next English-language radio series aired on Springbok Radio in South Africa between 1953 and 1957. These were fresh adaptations of the original stories and starred Tom Meehan. Around 1965–66 the South African version of Lux Radio Theatre produced a single dramatization of The Saint. The English service of South Africa produced another series radio adventures for six months in 1970-1971. The next English-language radio series was on BBC Radio 4 in 1995 starring Paul Rhys.

The Saint in film and on TV[link]

Not long after creating The Saint, Charteris began a long association with Hollywood as a screenwriter. He was successful in getting a major studio, RKO Radio Pictures, interested in a film based on one of his works. The first, The Saint in New York in 1938, based on the 1935 novel of the same name, starred Louis Hayward as Templar and Jonathan Hale as Inspector Henry Farnack, the American counterpart of Mr Teal.

The film was a success and eight more films followed over 15 years. The character of Farnack returned in the first five, but George Sanders took over from Hayward. Hugh Sinclair portrayed Templar in two other films. Several of the films were original stories, sometimes based upon outlines by Charteris while others were based loosely on original novels or novellas. There was one final film, The Saint's Girl Friday in 1953, for which Hayward returned to the role. This was followed by an unsuccessful French production in 1960.

In the 1960s Roger Moore revived the role in a long-running television series The Saint. According to the book Spy Television by Wesley Britton, the first actor offered the role was Patrick McGoohan of Danger Man and The Prisoner. The series ran from 1962 to 1969, and Moore remains the actor most closely identified with the character.

Since Moore, other actors played him in later series, notably Return of the Saint (1978–1979) starring Ian Ogilvy; the series ran for one season, although it was picked up by the CBS Network. In the mid 1980s, the National Enquirer and other newspapers reported that Moore was planning to produce a movie based on The Saint with Pierce Brosnan as Templar, but it was never made. A pilot for a The Saint in Manhattan series starring Australian actor Andrew Clarke was shown on CBS in 1987 as part of the CBS Summer Playhouse; the pilot was produced by Don Taffner, but it never progressed beyond the pilot stage. Inspector John Fernack of the NYPD made his first film appearance since the 1940s in that production, while Templar got about in a black Lamborghini bearing the ST1 licence plate. In 1989, six movies were made by Taffner starring Simon Dutton. These were syndicated in the United States as part of a series of films entitled Mystery Wheel of Adventure, while in the UK they were shown as a series on ITV.

In 1991, as detailed by Burl Barer in his 1992 history of The Saint, plans were announced for a series of motion pictures. Ultimately, however, no such franchise eventuated.

The Saint starring Val Kilmer was made in 1997 but diverged far from the Charteris books, although it did revive Templar's use of aliases. Kilmer's Saint is unable to defeat a Russian gangster in hand-to-hand combat and is forced to flee; this would have been unthinkable in a Charteris tale. Whereas the original Saint resorted to aliases that had the initials S.T., Kilmer's character used Christian saints, regardless of initials. This Saint refrained from killing, and even the main villains live to stand trial, whereas Charteris’s version had no qualms about taking another life. Kilmer's Saint is presented as a master of disguise, but Charteris’s version hardly used the sophisticated ones shown in this film. The film mirrored aspects of Charteris’s own life, notably his origins in the Far East, though not in an orphanage as the film portrayed. Sir Roger Moore features throughout in cameo as the BBC Newsreader heard in Simon Templar's Volvo.

On March 13, 2007, TNT said it was developing a one-hour series. The series (for which no broadcast date has been announced) was to be executive produced by William J. MacDonald and produced by Jorge Zamacona.^[5][6] James Purefoy was announced as the new Simon Templar.^[7][8] Production of the pilot, which was to have been directed by Barry Levinson, did not go ahead.^[9] However the show has remained in development and a September 2009 start was planned for a pilot film with Scottish actor Dougray Scott starring as Simon Templar.^[10] Former Saint Roger Moore announced on his website that he will be appearing in the new production, which is being produced by his son, Geoffrey Moore, in a small role.^[11]

Films[link]

Since 1938, numerous films have been produced in the United States, France and Australia based to varying degrees upon The Saint. A few were based, usually loosely, upon Charteris’s stories, but most were original.

This is a list of the films featuring Simon Templar and of the actors who played The Saint:

• The Saint in New York (1938 – Louis Hayward)
• The Saint Strikes Back (1939 – George Sanders)
• The Saint in London (1939 – Sanders)
• The Saint's Double Trouble (1940 – Sanders)
• The Saint Takes Over (1940 – Sanders)
• The Saint in Palm Springs (1941 – Sanders)
• The Saint's Vacation (1941 – Hugh Sinclair)
• The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943 - Sinclair)
• The Saint's Girl Friday (1954 - Hayward)
• Le Saint mène la danse (1960 - Félix Marten)
• Le Saint prend l'affut (1966 - Jean Marais)
• The Fiction Makers (1968 - Roger Moore) - edited from episodes of The Saint
• Vendetta for the Saint (1969 - Moore) - edited from episodes of The Saint
• The Saint and the Brave Goose (1979 made for TV - Ian Ogilvy) - edited from episodes of Return of the Saint
• The Saint in Manhattan (1987 made for TV - Andrew Clarke)
• The Saint (1997 - Val Kilmer)

In the 1930s, RKO purchased the rights to produce a film adaptation of Saint Overboard, but no such movie was ever produced.

Television series[link]

• The Saint (1962-1969 - Roger Moore)
• Return of the Saint (1978-1979 - Ian Ogilvy)
• The made-for-TV film series that formed part of Mystery Wheel of Adventure (1989) - all starring Simon Dutton
  • Fear in Fun Park (aka The Saint in Australia)
  • The Big Bang
  • The Blue Dulac
  • The Brazilian Connection
  • The Software Murders
  • Wrong Number

Three of the surviving actors who have played Templar—Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, and Simon Dutton—have been appointed vice presidents of "The Saint Club" that was founded by Leslie Charteris himself in 1936.

The Saint on the stage[link]

In the late 1940s, Charteris and sometime Sherlock Holmes scriptwriter Denis Green wrote a stage play entitled The Saint Misbehaves.^[12]

It was never publicly performed, as soon after writing it Charteris decided to focus on non-Saint work. For many years it was thought to be lost; however, two copies are known to exist in private hands, and correspondence relating to the play can be found in the Leslie Charteris Collection at Boston University.

The Saint in the comics[link]

The Saint appeared in a long-running comic strip series starting as a daily strip 27 September 1948 with a Sunday added on 20 March the following year. The early strips were written by Leslie Charteris, who had previous experience writing comic strips, having replaced Dashiell Hammett as the writer of the Secret Agent X-9 strip. The original artist was Mike Roy. In 1951, when John Spranger replaced Roy as the artist, he altered The Saint's appearance by depicting him with a beard. Bob Lubbers illustrated The Saint in 1959 and 1960. The final two years of the strip were drawn by Doug Wildey before it came to an end on 16 September 1961.

Concurrent with the comic strip, Avon Comics published 12 issues of a The Saint comic book between 1947 and 1952 (some of these stories were reprinted in the 1980s). The 1960s TV series is unusual in that it is one of the few major programs of its genre that was not adapted as a comic book in the United States.

In Sweden, The Saint had a long-running comic book published from 1966 to 1985 under the title Helgonet.^[13] It originally reprinted the newspaper strip, but soon original stories were commissioned for Helgonet. These stories were also later reprinted in other European countries. Two of the main writers were Norman Worker and Donne Avenell; the latter also co-wrote the novels The Saint and the Templar Treasure and the novella collection Count on the Saint, while Worker contributed to the novella collection Catch the Saint.

The Saint in magazines[link]

Charteris also edited or oversaw several magazines that tied in with The Saint. The first of these were anthologies entitled The Saint's Choice that ran for seven issues in 1945-46. A few years later Charteris launched The Saint Detective Magazine (later titled The Saint Mystery Magazine and The Saint Magazine), which ran for 141 issues between 1953 and 1967, with a separate British edition that ran just as long but published different material. In most issues of Saint's Choice and the later magazines Charteris included at least one Saint story, usually previously published in one of his books but occasionally original. In several mid-1960s issues, however, he substituted Instead of the Saint, a series of essays on topics of interest to him. The rest of the material in the magazines consisted of novellas and short stories by other mystery writers of the day. An Australian edition was also published for a few years in the 1950s. In 1984 Charteris attempted to revive the Saint magazine, but it ran for only three issues.^[14]

Leslie Charteris himself portrayed The Saint in a photo play in Life Magazine: The Saint Goes West.

The Saint book series[link]

Most Saint books were collections of novellas or short stories, some of which were published individually either in magazines or in smaller paperback form. Many of the books have also been published under different titles over the years; the titles used here are the more common ones for each book.

From 1964 to 1983, the Saint books were collaborative works; Charteris acted in an editorial capacity and received front cover author credit, while other authors wrote these stories and were credited inside the book. These collaborative authors are noted.(Sources: Barer and the editions themselves.)