*Note: Orthodox Christians do not technically pray to saints, at least not in the sense that many think of when using the word prayer. Rather, they ask saints for their prayers. Just as Christians naturally ask godly people on earth to pray for them, so Orthodox Christians ask glorified saints to pray for them. The saints are alive in Christ and make intercession before the throne of God. In addition, only God ultimately “saves” a person from sin, death, and destruction. However, God chooses to use human instruments in the ongoing process of salvation. See 1 Corinthians 9:22; 1 Timothy 4:16; Jude 23. When Orthodox Christians ask Mary, the Birthgiver of God, to “save” them, they are referring to Mary’s intercessions being a means which God uses in the ongoing process of salvation – similar to the human instrumentality mentioned in the texts listed above.