Is there any testimony of Holy Scripture to appearances of saints?
The Evangelist Matthew relates that after the death of our Lord on the cross, many bodies of the saints of the Old Covenant arose, and, after his resurrection, came out of their tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many (Mat 27:52–53; see Q167, Q368). Since so great a sign could not be without purpose, it may be supposed that these saints arose and appeared in order to proclaim the descent of Jesus Christ into Hades and his triumphant resurrection.
It has always been God’s will to set aside certain persons and objects for a holy purpose and for his glory. The Scriptures testify that by touching the bones of the Prophet Elisha, a dead man was restored to life (2/4 Kgs 13:21).
The Apostle Paul worked many miracles in person, and the same was done in his absence by handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his body (Act 19:11–12). This shows that the saints, even after death, may be granted to continue working miracles through earthly means which have received holy virtue from them, what the Church calls relics.
St John of Damascus explains: “The relics of the saints have been given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ as salutary springs, from which manifold blessings flow… for their bodies were temples inhabited by God” (St John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, IV.15; cf. 1Co 6:19; see Q360, Q378).
