What is a "Saint?"

(All Saints of Russia) (July 3, 2005)

As we noted yesterday, the Church year now underway in the season after Pentecost is marked by the celebration of saints. Last Sunday was the Feast of All Saints; yesterday, we remembered and celebrated St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco; and today we celebrate the Feast of all the saints of the Russian land. By the way, I know that the icon we have for the feast isn’t really the icon for all the saints of Russia, but for the New Martyrs and Confessors. Well, we don’t have the other one; and the saints on the icon here are among the saints of Russia! I’m convinced that, had it not been for the example of the saints of Russia across time and space, and for their prayers, that the New Martyrs and Confessors would not have been able to endure the persecution they suffered not so very long ago. We, who are Orthodox Christians following the traditions of the Church of Russia, are also heirs of this great tradition of faith and practice, and are of one household with such saints as St. Sergius of Radonezh, and St. Seraphim of Sarov, and St. Olga. She was the grandmother of St. Vladimir, the Enlightener of Russia; and no doubt was a great influence upon her grandson by the example of her life, and by her prayers. Of course, Russia is not alone in having so great a cloud of witnesses as her saints; for example, many churches today celebrate all the saints of Mt. Athos, in Greece. But the saints of Russia are a significant part of our heritage, and we do well to commemorate them this day.

What is a saint? That’s not a question that can be answered easily, or quickly. In one sense, we can begin with the Greek word hagios, which can be translated as “holy” or as “saint.” Its meaning conveys the sense of something that is different, not of this world. So a saint is someone who lives, not according to the ways of this world, but rather by the way of heaven. We can also grasp what it means to be a “saint” by looking at the icons of saints. See the halo – that circle of gold behind their head? That isn’t some sort of gold tiara given by God to those who are holy; rather, it is the only way the writer of the icon can show the truth – that is, that the uncreated light of the glory of God is shining forth from that person. This is because a saint is someone who has labored to bring into reality the potential created in us all at our baptism and chrismation. A saint is someone who has “put on” Christ – has drawn near to God in prayer and fasting; has left this world with its possessions and pains and pleasures behind, and so grown in likeness to Christ that, when we see them, we see Him, in the uncreated light of His glory, as was shown forth on the mount of Transfiguration.

It’s sometimes said that there are two kinds of people in the world: sinners who think they are saints; and saints who think they are sinners. We can get an idea about where we fall on this spectrum by deciding which group is ours. Do you pray enough? Fast enough? Give enough? Struggle enough against your sins and the passions? If we answer, “yes” to any of these questions, guess what: we’re sinners who think we’re saints. The saints aren’t perfect; even as they attained a level of perfection beyond what most of us will achieve, they saw their sins in greater detail than most of us could bear. The saints, like us, never stopped sinning; but, unlike most of us, they grieved deeply over even the slightest of things; while we are quite often blind to serious flaws and faults, and the hurt we do to others, to ourselves, and to our relationship with God.

Brothers and sisters, called to be saints: Let us love God more than we love ourselves. Let us turn our hearts and minds away from the things of this world, and all that binds us to it, and set our desires instead on the way of life that is pleasing to God, beneficial to the salvation of our souls, and which will let some of the light of Christ shine forth from us to encourage those around us, both among those who are of the household of faith, and those who are searching for what we have been given in the Orthodox Church and faith and way of life; to the glory of God, and to the salvation of our souls.

All saints of Russia, pray to God for us!