Homily 645 – 1 APE
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
June 15, 2025
Epistle:  (330) – Hebrews 11:33-12:2
Gospel:  (38, mid-79) Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God.

Today we remember all the saints, known to us and those known only to God.  Let’s take the opportunity to explore what it means to be a saint.

Starting with the word itself.  Saint is from a Latin word, Sanctus, meaning “holy”.  We get a lot of words from this root.  Sanctified – to be made holy.  Sanctum – a holy place, a place of peace.

The important part of this is to always remember that Saint means “holy.”  We can say Saint Paul, or we can say Holy Paul.  We can say St. Nicholas, or we can say Holy Nicholas.  Anything we can describe as holy, we can use the adjective “saint.”

In the Greek, the word is Agios.  Agios Oros – the holy mountain, referring to Mount Athos.  Agios Sophia – Holy Wisdom, the primary Church in the primary city of Constantinople, the great Church.

In Slavonic, sv’atyi.  In the Slavonic, the prayer Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us is  is sv’atyi bozhe, sv’atyi kr’epkii, sv’atyi b’ezsm’ertnyi Pomiluy nas.  In Greek, the prayer is Agios O Theos, Agios Eeskhiros, Agios Athanatos, eleison imas

Different words, different sounds, all saying the same thing.

The fans on either side of the altar table are of the seraphim, and they have the word sv’atyi three times – Holy, Holy, Holy.  When you see a protodeacon in the Slavic tradition, their orarion – the stole worn over and around the shoulder, usually has that same word inscribed three times.  Because both offer that hymn standing before and around the Throne of God.

Second thing, how does the Church go about recognizing saints?  It all begins with local veneration of someone.  St. Olga of Alaska is a good example.  She has been proclaimed by the OCA to be a saint, to be holy, and the first services for her will be next weekend.

St. Olga was known to the Yu’pik people of Southern and Southwestern Alaska even before her husband was made a priest.  People sought her counsel and her wisdom.  Even after she died in 1979, people continued to go to her tomb and ask for her counsel.

Every year, without fail, her memory was recalled on the anniversary of her repose, November 8, which because Alaska celebrates on the Old Calendar, is October 25 on their calendar.  And the commemorations, quietly and steadily, grew to incorporate not just the villages around her home, but Anchorage, and Juneau, and Sitka, and eventually throughout the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska.

Word began to spread further, and the Diocese of Alaska presented the thoughts and love of the people to the Holy Synod, who after learning about her, felt the same as the people in Alaska.  They loved her, and recognized her sanctity, as the Alaskans had already done.

It is identical to us sharing the story of a beloved relative with our friends, and having those friends recognize the beauty and holiness and love of the relative.  And so, the Holy Synod has proclaimed her holiness, her sanctity, that she is no longer someone that we pray for.

We believe now that she prays for us, and our services reflect that prayer.  The last time we will pray for the soul of Matushka Olga will be on June 19 at the Church of St. Nicholas in Kwethluk, Alaska, with an all-night vigil, during which her glorification will be proclaimed.  With the Divine Liturgy the following morning, we will commemorate Saint Olga, who we will ask to pray for all of us.

Kwethluk is in far southwest Alaska, near the Bering Sea, and has a population of 720 people.  That makes it a bit smaller than Cambridge, Iowa.  The nearest “big city” is Bethel, population 6,300.  That makes Bethel the eighth largest city in Alaska.  And the nearest highway is 400 miles to the east, in Anchorage.  This is important because even though she was in a very tiny remote village, her impact on people was so great she became known throughout the vast land of Alaska.

She will be remembered on our calendar on the date of her burial, November 10, which is October 27^th on the Old Calendar.  The OCA, deferring to the Diocese of Alaska, will celebrate her on October 27^th each year.

What the Church does isn’t to declare a saint, but to recognize one.  The Church doesn’t do much of anything in this world to be honest.  What the Church does is recognize what God has done.  It is the same with ordinations.  The Church doesn’t make a priest, or a deacon, or even a bishop.  The Church recognizes what God has done, and reveals it – glorifies it – to the faithful.

Will other groups recognize St. Olga?  Maybe, maybe not.  There is no central authority in Orthodoxy to “register” so to speak the names of the people enrolled by the various churches as saints.  Over time, as people continue to hear her story, I suspect more and more people and Orthodox Churches will recognize her.  But only God knows.  The important part is that we recognize her.

Here is the best part of this discussion.  We don’t have to work at being a saint yourself.  It requires effort, for sure – but our only objective is to love Christ, and love our neighbor.  We need to live selflessly – setting aside all that is our wants and desires and goals.  Our only desire is to please God by loving Him, and loving others.  The Holy Spirit does the rest.

In doing so, we become one with God, acting in unison with God.  We don’t have to be theologians or be knowledgeable about the intricacies of doctrine and dogma.  We have to be witnesses, showing others by our actions that we love them, and God loves them.  Even the unlovable ones.  Maybe even the evil ones.

And we do this by prayer, of course, but moreso by acts of service to others.  And in order to do what is needed, we have to not only care about our neighbor, we have to actually know them.  And know them well enough that they allow us to see their needs.

Then, we will be given the information we need to serve them, and like all the holy ones before us, we can act in unison with God.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.  Glory to Jesus Christ!