Citizen Columns

Citizen Columns >> Answer (November 23rd, 2007)

Question

Does your faith have saints?

Answer

Every day of the Orthodox Christian calendar has numerous saints from every walk of life, from every period of history and every corner of the world, whose lives and deaths testify to the transforming power of their faith in Christ. We live in an age when the only acceptable proof is live demonstration. We're suspicious of religious messages and want to see results. That's what the saints do, sometimes with extraordinary heroism. But that's also the flip side of the saints. Their exploits, especially when legendary elements get added over time, make them appear unreal and impossible to imitate in 21st century Canada. That's why Dorothy Day, the famous Catholic social activist told her devotees, "Don't call me a saint: I don't want to be dismissed so easily." But being a saint did not originally convey something utterly exceptional.

The word saint means "holy," and in the early Christian Church every baptized Christian was considered a saint because they had received the Holy Spirit. "Are you a saint? Do you want to be a saint?" If you ask most Christians these questions you're likely to get a puzzled or even frightened look. But that is the basic Christian vocation: to be filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore to be holy.

The saints are real people, whom we believe continue to live through the power of God, to hear prayers, to be in communion with us and help us as we seek to be faithful Disciples of Christ. They are people of strong character who in their own times and in their own ways resisted whatever pressures were put on them to abandon the way of Christ. They proclaim through their steadfastness, "we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…" (2 Cor 4:8-10). We need their example and prayers more than ever. (For a daily calendar of saints and their lives see www.oca.org.)

Father John Jillions