Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church are confirmed by canonization which lists the decedent into the Community of Saints. After canonization, the saint is usually listed in the Menologium. The saint is honoured by illustrating him on icons, mentioning him in kondaks or troparions, narrating his achievements in the Lives of Saints, confirming a celebration date in the Orthodox calendar and building churches and monasteries holding his name. The office of canonization is usually the last prayer to the departed and first prayer to the saint (all-night vigil, moleben, megalynarion). Canonization is usually divided into two categories: local and church-wide. The church-wide canonization is always performed by the highest church organ, that is the Metropolitan or Patriarch above the Council of Eparchs, the chief member above the Most Holy Synod in the synodal period, or the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia above the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in contemporary Russia. The local canonization is performed in either one church or monastery, or in one eparchy, by the local episcope with the approval of the Metropolitan or Patriarch and the highest church organ, to honour one person or people who are better known in a particular region. In cases when the local canonization was performed without the blessing of the highest church organ, the previous canonization process won't be annulled but will be performed again as it should be. Sometimes the Head of the Church himself or the metropolitanate accomplishes the local canonization. Both local and church-wide canonizations are honoured the same way; they should not be expressed as higher and lower canonizations. A saint can be both local and church-wide, and in very rare cases he or she can be de-canonized. Canonization takes place under different time and reason; for example in the same day when the translation of the relics is accompanied by a wonder, or only several centuries later. Church historians name either five or seven periods of canonization in Russia; those who state there were five periods typically merge the Nicholas II-period with the Synodal-period and the post-revolutionary with the post-Soviet era. However, the seven period-system is used here for a better understanding of the Russian canonization history. Those are the following: 1) 9th century – 1547, 2) 1547 and 1549 (Macarius Councils), 3) 1550–1721 (pre-Petrine period), 4) 1721–1894 (Synodal-period), 5) 1894–1917 (Nicholas II-period), 6) 1917–1987 (post-revolutionary period), 7) from 1988 (post-Soviet period). (en)
Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church are confirmed by canonization which lists the decedent into the Community of Saints. After canonization, the saint is usually listed in the Menologium. The saint is honoured by illustrating him on icons, mentioning him in kondaks or troparions, narrating his achievements in the Lives of Saints, confirming a celebration date in the Orthodox calendar and building churches and monasteries holding his name. The office of canonization is usually the last prayer to the departed and first prayer to the saint (all-night vigil, moleben, megalynarion). (en)