He's a Catholic Saint, so I'm assuming he's an Orthodox one.
Now, St. Augustine is a Saint, though I've seen people call him "Bl. Augustine."
This just keeps coming up. One of my posts from a while back:
Quote from: Matthew777 on May 11, 2005, 06:09:41 PM
As I said before, if that were true, Fr. Seraphim Rose would already be considered a saint.
You're jumping to conclusions. Remember how we have told you to think before you type?
Quote from: Elisha
Re: Blessed Augustine
-? Reply #25 on: Fri, Mar 11, 2005, 08:44 PM -+
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About the title "Blessed" vs "Saint"...
This is verbatim from The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church by Fr. Seraphim Rose
VIII
Opinion of Blessed Augustine in Modern Times
"In the early years of Christianity, the word "Blessed" with reference to a man of holy life was used more or less interchangeably with the word "saint" or "holy". This was not the result of any formal "canonization" - which did not exist in those centuries - but was based, rather, chiefly on popular veneration. Thus, St. Martin of Tours (4th Century), an unquestioned saint and wonderworker, is referred to by early writers such as St. Gregory of Tours (6th Century) sometimes as "blessed" (beatus) and sometimes as "saint" (sanctus). And so, when Augustine is referred to in the 5th century by St. Faustus of Lerins as "most blessed" (beatissimus), in the 6th century by St. Gregory the Great as "blessed" (beatus) and "saint" (sanctus), in the 9th century by St. Photius as "holy" (agios), these different titles all mean the same thing: that Augustine was recognized as belonging to the rank of those outstanding for their sanctity and teaching. In the West during these centuries his feast day was kept; in the East (where no special feast day would be kept for Wester saints) he was simply regarded as a Father of the Universal Church.
"By the time of St. Mark of Ephesus the word "blessed" had come to be used for Fathers of somewhat less authority as the greatest Fathers; thus, he refers to "blessed Augustine" but "divine Ambrose," "blessed Gregory of Nyssa" and "Gregory the Theologian, greatest among the saints"; but he is by no means entirely consistent in this usage."
"Even in modern times the word "blessed" remains somewhat vague in its application. In Russian usage "blessed" (blazhenny) can refer to great Fathers around whom there has been some controversy (Augustine and Jerome in the West, Theodoret of Cyrus [my comment, typo that should be Cyprus?] in the East)), but also fools-for-Christ (canonized or uncanonized) and to the uncanonized holy persons of recent centuries in general. Even today there is no precise definition of what "blessed" means in the Orthodox Church (as opposed to Roman Catholicism where "beatification" is a whole legal process in itself), and any "blessed" person who has a recognized place in the Orthodox calendar of saints (as do Augustine, Jerome, Theodoret, and many fools-for-Christ) could also be called "saint." In Russian Orthodox practice one seldom hears of "Saint Augustine", but almost always of "Blessed Augustine."
This should settle the title issue. Anymore, please buy the book - an excellent read.
