Chapter 11 — Part I — Article IX (Of the Church)
Section 264. Q. On what is grounded the rule of the Church upon earth to invoke in prayer the saints of the Church in heaven? A. On a holy tradition, the principle of which is to be seen also in holy Scripture. For instance, when the Prophet David cries out in prayer, O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel our fathers, he makes mention of saints in aid of his prayer, exactly as now the Orthodox Church calls upon Christ our true God, by the prayers of his most pure Mother and all his saints. See 1 Chron. xxix. 18. Cyril of Jerusalem, in his explanation of the divine Liturgy, says: We make mention also of those who are before departed, first, of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs, that by their entreaties and intercession God may receive our prayers. (Cat. Myst. v. c. 9.) Basil the Great, in his sermon on the day of the Forty Holy Martyrs, says: Whoever is afflicted has recourse to the Forty, and whoever is joyful runs to the same; the one that he may find relief from his sorrows, the other that he may keep his happiness. Here the pious wife is to be seen praying for her children; another asks the return of her absent husband; another the restoration of health to the sick. Yes; let your petitions be with the Martyrs.