Refuting arguments for intercession of the saints

Is saintly intercession an apostolic practice?

The practice of invoking the saints is taught and affirmed by the Roman institution. Naturally, this dogma cannot be found anwhere in God-breathed scripture, but the 25th session of the Council of Trent asserts that this is a historic practice of the Church:

'The holy Synod enjoins on all bishops, and others who sustain the office and charge of teaching, that, agreeably to the usage of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, received from the primitive times of the Christian religion, and agreeably to the consent of the holy Fathers, and to the decrees of sacred Councils, they especially instruct the faithful diligently concerning the intercession and invocation of saints...that it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid, (and) help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our alone Redeemer and Saviour' [1]

This article will analyse the historicity of this claim, then will address some of the passages that are misused by Catholic apologists in their defence of saintly intercession.

Firstly, the writings of antenicene fathers bear no evidence of intercession of the saints. Notably, Justin Martyr condemned consulting with the dead and offering sacrifices to idols. Admittedly, the Roman institution does not teach that believers should offer sacrifices to the dead. However, in such a letter, it would be natural to write about intercession of the saints, but he never addressed this issue:

'And this is the sole accusation you bring against us, that we do not reverence the same gods as you do, nor offer to the dead libations and the savour of fat, and crowns for their statues, and sacrifices.' [2]

Origen (despite the fact that his writings are often dismissed due to his unorthodox views) is an early writer who did not advocate for intercession of the saints.

'There is therefore One whose favour we should seek, and to whom we ought to pray that He would be gracious to us—the Most High God, whose favour is gained by piety and the practice of every virtue. And if he would have us to seek the favour of others after the Most High God, let him consider that, as the motion of the shadow follows that of the body which casts it, so in like manner it follows, that when we have the favour of God, we have also the good-will of all angels and spirits who are friends of God.' [3]

Origen argued that believers should seek favour with God first, then the 'good will' of the angels will follow. Similarly, St. Irenaeus of Lyons condemned the practice of angelic intercession:

'Nor does she [the Church, personified as the bride of Christ] perform anything by means of angelic invocations, or by incantations, or by any other wicked curious art; but, directing her prayers to the Lord, who made all things, in a pure, sincere, and straightforward spirit, and calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, she has been accustomed to work miracles for the advantage of mankind, and not to lead them into error.' [4]

Thus, St. Irenaeus absolutely rejected angelic intercession. He described this practice as a 'wicked curious art', suggesting that the concept was strange to him.

Catholic Cathechism 336 encourages believers to ask for angelic asisstance, citing St Basil of Ceasera:

'From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.' [5]

However, this quote from St Basil of Caesarea (around 360 AD, post nicene period) is dated much later than the quote from St Irenaeus of Lyons. In addition, the catholic catechism takes this quote from St Basil of Caesarea out of context:

'Just as all the angels share a single designation, so too they share a nature that is absolutely the same. Yet some of them preside over the nations, whereas others accompany each individual believer. An entire nation, however, is more honorable than a single person to the same extent that the dignity of the nationleading angel is necessarily greater than that of the angel who has been entrusted with the care of a single individual. No one will deny that every believer has an angel that accompanies him, acting like a kind of pedagogue and shepherd and directing his life, if he calls to mind the saying of the Lord' [6]

'So, then, what is the point of this argument? It is this: if something is second or third in rank and dignity, it does not in every case have a different nature. For in the case of angels, one is a prince, another a servant, and yet all are angels in nature: while they differ in dignity, there is communion in nature.'

In his letter, St Basil ranked the members of the trinity in terms of 'dignity': Father, 1st; Son, 2nd; and Holy Spirit, 3rd. He then explained that angels have different levels of dignity (or different offices, roles in heaven) , but they all share the same nature. St Basil then linked this to the trinity: although the persons of the trinity had different ranks, they were still one in nature. This was a criticism of the heretic Eunomius who believed that the Son and the Holy Spirit were created beings, distinct from the Father in essence.

The St Basil quotation would only prove that angels 'accompany' and 'shepherd' believers, suggesting that they are disciplinarians and guardians. He never goes into any detail on invoking the angels in daily prayer.

Biblical case for rejecting intercession of the saints (responding to Sam Shamoun)

Sam Shamoun tried to defend intercession of the saints in one of his livestreams (with a curious guest named Alex). His objection was typical of a Roman Catholic apologist:

"The only problem is when people try to define terms in a narrow sense and claim that when you ask for someone to pray for you, that's necromancy (contacting the dead); that's not what the bible means by contacting the dead. Contacting the dead in historical cultural context is what pagans would do when they would go to graves and channel spirits of the dead, or ask a spirit to come and use them as a medium. This is not what Catholic and Orthodox or the ancient Christians are doing...but to say "Holy Mother, Pray for me [or] Saint Paul, pray for me" - that is not contacting the dead." [7]

However there is a major problem with this objection:

'There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead' Deuteronomy 18:10-11 ESV

Or, alternatively:

'or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.' Deuteronomy 18:11 NIV

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges commentary analyses the meaning of דָּרַשׁ, doresh: 'Heb. enquirer of, or resorter to (doresh, see on seek, Deuteronomy 12:5) the dead: a general description of the consulter of ghosts and familiar spirits.' [8]

In this verse, mediums and spiritists are distinguished from seekers of the dead. Therefore, the practice of necromancy could be expressed in any form of communication with the dead. Similar language is used in Jeremiah, describing how God's people seek him in prayer:

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.' Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

Therefore, it could be argued that intercession of the saints is a form of necromancy.

Misused passages by Catholic Apologists

Roman Catholic apologists typically use verses from John's Revelation to defend their stance on intercession of the saints. For instance, many Roman Catholic apologists argue that Revelation 8:3 supports this dogma:

'Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.' Revelation 8:3 NIV

Firstly, the Book of Revelation describes a series of apocalyptic events. At the beginning of chapter 8, the Lamb opens the seventh seal, which signifies the final judgement (day of the Lord). John Macarthur exegetes this passage in his sermon on the Seventh Seal:

"So now we find this is a beautiful, beautiful heavenly picture of intercession, with the imagery drawn from the priest offering incense on the altar and setting a fire. And the symbol of the flames and the incense rising speaks to the prayers of the people. That’s what it meant in the Old Testament economy. In this case, what this angel is doing, as if he were a priest, is added to the prayers of the saints who are also at the golden altar before the throne.

Go back to chapter 6 of Revelation, and here we find these saints in the fifth seal...

Here are saints who had been martyred and entered into heaven. And what are they crying?  Verse 10, “They cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” This is most interesting. They’re praying for divine wrath. They’re praying for divine vengeance. " [9]

Therefore, this is is an image of intercession, but the angels are not interceding for believers who are on earth; they are interceding for the martyred saints in heaven, praying for divine vengence. Furthermore, it should be noted that, immediately afterwards, destruction is brought down on earth:

'Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.' Revelation 8:5 NIV

As indicated previously, it is likely that the incense represents the angel's prayers:

'May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.' Psalm 141:2 NIV

Lastly, there is another passage that Roman Catholic apologists misinterpret:

'Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.' Hebrew 12:1-2 NIV

However, one must read these verses in light of Hebrews 11. The author of Hebrews is demonstrating that the saints are examples for Christians to follow, showing that their faith in God produced their good works.

Sources

[1] Papal Encyclicals. (1563). General Council of Trent: Twenty-Fifth Session - Papal Encyclicals. [online] Available at: https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fifth-session.htm.

‌[2] Martyr, J. (n.d.). CHURCH FATHERS: The First Apology (St. Justin Martyr). [online] www.newadvent.org. Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm.

‌[3] Ccel.org. (2026). Origen: Origen Against Celsus - Christian Classics Ethereal Library. [online] Available at: https://ccel.org/ccel/origen/against_celsus/anf04.vi.ix.viii.lxiv.html [Accessed 6 Apr. 2026].

‌[4] www.newadvent.org. (n.d.). CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, II.32 (St. Irenaeus). [online] Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103232.htm.

[5] Catholicculture.org. (2024). Catechism of the Catholic Church. [online] Available at: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/catechism/index.cfm?recnum=1785.

[6] Basil (2014). Against Eunomius. Catholic University of America Press.

[7]Shamounian Explains (2024). Prayers to the Saints | Sam Shamoun. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycyTnsfmzw8 [Accessed 8 Apr. 2026].

[8] Biblehub.com. (2026). Deuteronomy 18:11 Commentaries: or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. [online] Available at: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/deuteronomy/18-11.htm [Accessed 8 Apr. 2026].

‌[9] Grace to You. (2026). The Seventh Seal. [online] Available at: https://www.gty.org/sermons/66-31/the-seventh-seal [Accessed 6 Apr. 2026].

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