Talk 81: How to Overcome Doubt or Unbelief When Reading the Lives of the Saints

Orthodox Talks by Priestmonk Kosmas, Sydney, Australia
www.OrthodoxTalks.com

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When reading the lives of the saints, Orthodox Christians can encounter several temptations. One of these is doubt or unbelief, especially concerning events that happened many centuries ago. In the lives of saints we encounter supernatural wonders such as their endurance during martyrdom, their miracles, and their great ascetic achievements, and some find them hard to believe. The question arises: how does one overcome the temptation of doubt or unbelief when reading these marvellous lives?

In this talk, Father Kosmas explains that doubt or unbelief occurs because the faith of present-day Christians has become “weak and dried up.” He then uses the advice of saints and elders to show how to overcome the temptation of doubt or unbelief when reading the lives of the saints, and refers to the examples of ancient and contemporary saints.

The following questions are also discussed: when flying over Australia, what did St Paisios say about the absence of canonized saints there? Are there contemporary examples of saints revealing their relics as happened in ancient times? What does St Nicodemos the Athonite say to those who find it hard to believe that angels communed the desert ascetics of old? Have there been recent instances of such miracles as the warming of the frozen waters in the life of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste?

Other points covered in this talk include: how in his youth a great elder lost his faith, then returned to the Church through a book on the lives of the saints; some examples of saints whose parents often read them the lives of the saints; whether anathemas apply to the heterodox (those outside the Orthodox Church); and how some find it hard to believe that St Ephraim the Syrian, who knew no Greek, spoke fluent Greek to St Basil the Great.

Talk 81 duration: 4hrs 15mins

Chanting duration: 29mins (Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos "Quick to Hear")

Total duration: 4hrs 44mins