When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.Apoc 6:9-11 (emphasis added). It is not merely coincidental that the remains of St. Paul, martyr, are under the altar of a church that bears his name, just as the remains of St. Peter, martyr, are under the altar of a church that bears his name. The practice of venerating the saints and their relics is indeed apolostic, and it is attested by Scripture.
Benedictus Deus in angelis suis et in sanctis suis.
I think St. Jerome expressed it best when, writing in the fourth century, he said:
We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore him whose martyrs they are.
Of course, Jerome is best known for translating the Scriptures from the ancient languages into Latin, the most widely-spoken language in West at the time, so that more people could have access to them. A mere twelve centuries before the KJV ...
Benedictus Deus in angelis suis et in sanctis suis.
"Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints." Amen.
It's a pity that Protestants deny the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, one of the elements of the Apostles' Creed, and the underlying theological dispute made manifest here. When all the theorizing is said and done, I'll be glad to have the prayers of this great cloud of witnesses presented to the Father on my behalf at the hour of my death, than to be without them.