The Saints

This week I will talk about Saints and I hope to clarify our understanding about Saints as Orthodox Christians.

Let’s begin with the actual word. The word “Saint” comes from the Latin word “Sanctus” which means “Holy.” The Greek word used for “Saint,” also means “Holy.” The word in Greek is “Agios.” Now as Orthodox Christians we all understand that this word is also used to worship God in the Trisagion (Thrice Holy Hymn), which was sung by the Seraphim in Isaiah 6 and which we use in the Liturgy. The interesting thing about the word “Agios” is that from its etymology (root words) means “Unearthly” (a- being a negative particle, and gios meaning earth such as Geology). So the understanding was Holiness is Unearthly meaning coming from Heaven. With the Saints, the article (the word “the”) is always used which implies that their Holiness does not come from themselves. But for God there is no article, because He is Holy in Himself, it’s who He is; His essence. So the Saints derive their Holiness from God by believing in His Son and following His way. So now that we know the word “Saint” means “holy one,” let’s move on to see what the understanding about Saints is in the Orthodox Church.

As good Christians, we are Saints, but we venerate those who have finished their race on Earth and now stand in the presence of God in Heaven. We venerate (honor) the Saints in our Church for their example, because they lived the faith of Christ till the very end of their lives. And we continue to ask them to intercede for us just as we ask the Saints who are with us now to intercede for us. And this is the understanding: why should they stop praying for us if all they do in Heaven is worship God? Now their intercession is stronger because they have passed their tests on Earth and finished the race and are closer to God than we are. To illustrate this better it is like a child whose parent is very angry at him and they will not listen to anything they say when they approach them, but the child being on good terms with the other parent asks the other parent to ask the angry parent to forgive the child. The angry parent will listen to the spouse because the relationship is much stronger with the spouse than it is with the child.

We also follow their example. Such as St. Paul the Apostle who started off as a fanatic Jew and became the farthest reaching Apostle to the entire world. Also like St. Abba Moses the Black whose whole life is a life of repentance. He started off as a desert bandit and a leader of a mob and then became a monk and contemplated the wonderful works of God and died as a martyr for his faith. We follow their examples and look up to them as role models, and we imitate them as they imitated Christ. Because everyone needs heroes in life, of course our Hero of Heroes in Our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is through the Saints that the Church continues because just as the Apostles followed Christ’s example and brought faith to many in the world, those who believed also followed their example, and we followed theirs. It is like a passing on of a flame, as Jesus said, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15) and as Paul later said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

However, many denominations wandered off from the correct teaching about Saints. Catholics, in the middle ages started teaching wrong things about the Saints, such as they were higher than us and that they did so many good works that it became a surplus and we could buy some of that surplus to count for us on the Judgment Day. The first reason why the teaching about the Saints being higher than us is wrong is that although now, truly they are higher than us, they were mere humans who received the grace of God and worshipped Him in Spirit and Truth and ran their race and struggled but finished the race and endured until the end. They are just showing us the example that we must follow, we too can become Saints like them and even higher if we worship God in Spirit and Truth as they did. The second thing which is about the surplus of works is wrong because the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus in the Parable of the Ten Virgins explicitly says, “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:6-10). The oil is symbolic of the works of the saints; the five wise virgins COULD NOT GIVE to the five foolish because these works are theirs and cannot be shared on the Judgment Day. The correct understanding of faith and works is that God is the one we focus on, not other people. So if we surpass the entire world, we will still not attain a surplus because God is infinite and we can never be.

The Protestant view of Saints is also incorrect. The Protestants consider every single member of their churches a Saint just like the ones who are now in Heaven. The biggest error is this view because simply they forget one very important thing; the Saints in Heaven are in Heaven, they proved themselves in the tests. We, however, the ones on Earth, are struggling and there is no telling how someone may go in their life such as one of the first seven Deacons in Acts 6, Nicolas. He was ordained a Deacon and was full of the Holy Spirit, but under pressure he fell and finally stood away from the correct view and he became the leader of one of the first heretic sects, the Nicolaitans, who are in fact mentioned in the Book of Revelation. This heretic sect preached that we should sin to receive God’s mercy. This example is in the Bible, and today there are many Protestants who leave their faith. Now do we see the fault in calling us Saints and giving us a feeling of being high above when in truth some will become apostates?

The Saints are our examples and our forerunners into Heaven. They show us how we are supposed to live our lives and how to be strong in times of trouble, temptation, and fear. Their stories serve as encouragement and lead us to glorify and praise God more and more, as it says in the first verse of Psalm 150, “Praise God in His Saints” (Psalm 150:1 LXX). These stories also give us practical examples of people who have actually lived the life that Christ wanted them to live, which also gives us hope that we can live the life of Christ. Many of the Saints are martyrs, if not the majority. These martyrs gave us the purest example of endurance till the end. It was because of these that the Church grew and spread all over the world because people saw their works, their works preached instead of their words. Their blood spoke out, and as Tertullian the Scholar said, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Their stories give us the strength of faith. I honestly believe if we didn’t have the examples of Saints, the Church would have never become this big and strong.

So to review, good Christians are Saints, but we shouldn’t call ourselves that to give ourselves of feeling of exaltation, because there is no telling how someone might turn. The Saints we venerate and give the title are those who passed their tests on earth and now are in the presence of our Lord in Heaven and will face no more temptation and will pray in front of him always. The Saints are our example and our brethren who have preceded us in the race. We should use their examples for us to learn and be encouraged.

And Glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.