Saints often become the patrons of places where they were born or had been active. However, there were cases inmedieval Europe where a city which grew to prominence obtained for its cathedral the remains or somerelics of a famous saint who had lived and was buried elsewhere, thus making them the city's patron saint – such a practice conferred considerable prestige on the city concerned. InLatin America and thePhilippines, Spanish and Portuguese explorers often named a location for the saint on whosefeast or commemoration day they first visited the place, with that saint naturally becoming the area's patron.[citation needed]
Occupations sometimes have a patron saint who had been connected somewhat with it, although some of the connections were tenuous. Lacking such a saint, an occupation would have a patron whose acts or miracles in some way recall the profession. For example, when the previously unknown occupation ofphotography appeared in the 19th century,Saint Veronica was made its patron, owing to howher veil miraculously received the imprint ofChrist'sface after she wiped off the blood and sweat.[3][4][5]
Apart from Lutheranism and Anglicanism, it is, however, generally discouraged in otherProtestant branches, such asReformed Christianity, where the practice is considered a form ofidolatry.[8]
A saint can be assigned as a patron by a venerable tradition, or chosen by election. The saint is considered a special intercessor with God and the proper advocate of a particular locality, occupation, etc., and merits a special form of religious observance. A term in some ways comparable is "titular", which is applicable only to a church or institution.[9]
Although Islam has no codified doctrine of patronage on the part of saints, it has nevertheless been an important part of bothSunni andShia Islamic traditions that particularly important classical saints have served as the heavenly advocates for specific Muslimempires,nations,cities,towns, andvillages.[10]Martin Lings wrote: "There is scarcely a region in the empire of Islam which has not a Sufi for its Patron Saint."[10]: 119 As the veneration accorded saints often develops purely organically in Islamic climates,[neutrality isdisputed] in a manner different from Catholic and Eastern OrthodoxChristianity, "patron saints" are often recognized through popular acclaim rather than through official declaration.[10] Traditionally, it has been understood that the patron saint of a particular place prays for that place's wellbeing and for the health and happiness of all who live therein.[10]
However, theWahhabi andSalafi movements have latterly attacked the veneration of saints (as patron or otherwise), which they claim are a form of idolatry orshirk.[10] More mainstream Sunni clerics have critiqued this argument since Wahhabism first emerged in the 18th century.[11]
Elijah andJethro (Shuaib) are considered patron saints of theDruze people.[12][13] In theOld Testament, Jethro wasMoses' father-in-law, aKenite shepherd and priest ofMidian.[14]Muslim scholars and theDruze identify Jethro with the prophet Shuaib, also said to come from Midian.[15] Shuaib or Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of the Druze who revere him as their spiritual founder and chief prophet.[16]
Druze identify Elijah as "al-Khidr".[17] Druze, like someChristians, believe that the Prophet Elijah came back asSaint John the Baptist,[17][18] since they believe inreincarnation and the transmigration of the soul, Druze believe that El Khidr and Saint John the Baptist are one and the same; along withSaint George.[18]
Due to theChristian influence on the Druze faith, twoChristian saints become the Druze's favorite venerated figures: Saint George and Saint Elijah.[19] Thus, in all the villages inhabited by Druzes and Christians in centralMount Lebanon a Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them.[19] According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery:Saint George because he confronted the dragon and the Prophet Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests ofBaal and won over them.[19] In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted towarrior saints that resemble their own militarized society.[19]
^Slocum, Robert Boak; Armentrout, Donald S. (2000)."Patronal Feast".An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. New York: Church Publishing, Inc. p. 390.ISBN0-89869-211-3.
^Knight, Kevin (2020)."Patron Saints".Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved28 August 2021.
^abcdeLings, Martin (2005) [1983].What is Sufism?. Lahore: Suhail Academy. pp. 119–120 etc.
^Commins, David (2009).The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. I.B.Tauris. p. 59.Abd al-Latif, who would become the next supreme religious leader ... enumerated the harmful views that Ibn Jirjis openly espoused in Unayza: Supplicating the dead is not a form of worship but merely calling out to them, so it is permitted. Worship at graves is not idolatry unless the supplicant believes that buried saints have the power to determine the course of events. Whoever declares that there is no god but God and prays toward Mecca is a believer.
^abFukasawa, Katsumi (2017).Religious Interactions in Europe and the Mediterranean World: Coexistence and Dialogue from the 12th to the 20th Centuries. Taylor & Francis. p. 310.ISBN9781351722179.
^Israeli, Raphael (2009).Peace is in the Eye of the Beholder. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 244.ISBN9783110852479.Nabi Shu'eib, biblical Jethro, is the patron saint of the Druze.
^Mackey, Sandra (2009).Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict. p. 28.ISBN978-0-3933-3374-9.
^A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East. Routledge. 2013.ISBN9781135355616.
^abSwayd, Samy (2015).Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 77.ISBN9781442246171.since Elijah was central to Druzism, one may safely argue that the settlement of Druzes on Mount Carmel had partly to do with Elijahʼs story and devotion. Druzes, like some Christians, believe that Elijah came back as John the Baptist
^abBennett, Chris (2010).Cannabis and the Soma Solution. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 77.ISBN9781936296323.transmigration of the soul is a Druze tenet, and Druze believe that El Khidr and John the Baptist are one and the same. (Gibbs, 2008) The mythology of Khizr is thought to go back even further than the time of John the Baptist or Elija
^abcdBeaurepaire, Pierre-Yves (2017).Religious Interactions in Europe and the Mediterranean World: Coexistence and Dialogue from the 12th to the 20th Centuries. Taylor & Francis. pp. 310–314.ISBN9781351722179.
^Kananaikil, Jose (1983).Scheduled Castes and the Struggle Against Inequality: Strategies to Empower the Marginalised. Indian Social Institute. p. 17.
