EO Saint Calls Krishna, Buddha & Abu Bakr Holy Men!

In his writing titled The Agony of the Church, the EO Saint Rev. Nicholai Velimirovic, D.D, called the first Muslim caliph Abu Bakr, the Hindu god Khrisna, Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster, and Lao Tze saints or holy men! He even included some pagan figures/gods in his list!  

First of all she must become again a heresy towards Europe and European secular, antidivine civilisation, just as she was a heresy towards the theocratic Israel and semi-theocratic Greece and Rome. Theoretically, she must stick to Theocracy, historically, to Christocracy, and practically to Sanctocracy.

She must loose herself from all the chains binding her either to the chariot of any dynasty or of any oligarch or president, or whatever political denomination it may be, and insist upon the Holy Wisdom to lead humanity. It ought to be absolutely indifferent to the Church what political denomination, or social creed, or institutional shape a human society shall have as long as this is founded upon any other ideal but saintliness.

The Church ought to know only two denominations politics and social life, inter-human as well as international and inter-racial relations in trade and business, in education and family life i.e. saintliness and unsaintliness.

If you ask what saintliness ought to mean, Christianity has not to argue but to show you the saintliness in the flesh. Christ the saintly Lord, St Paul and St John, Polycarp and Leo, Patrick and Francis, Sergius and Zosim, St Theresa and hundreds of other saints.

And if somebody thinks still that a few thousands of Christian saints are not a sufficient argument to show that saintliness is practicable, then the Church has still not to give her ideal up and to take as her ideal thousands of great and small Napoleons and Bismarcks, and Goethes and Spencers, or Medicis and Cromwells or Kaisers and Kings no, in the latter case it would be much nicer for the Church to point out the saintly men outside of Christian walls, like St Hermes and St Pythagoras, or St Krishna and St Buddha, or St Lao-Tze and St Confucius, or St Zoroaster and St Abu-Bekr. Better even is unbaptised saintliness than baptised earthliness. (The agony of the church: Velimirovic, Nikolaj, 1880-1956, With foreword by the Rev. Alexander Whyte, D.D., principal of New College, Edinburgh [Student Christian Movement, London, 1917]. pp. 119-121; emphasis mine)