This past Thursday was a historic day for the Orthodox Church in America…one that was met with tremendous joy and celebration. We received a communication from the Holy Synod of Bishops which proclaimed:
“THEREFORE, meeting in Solemn Assembly in Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois, under the Presidency of The Most Blessed TIKHON, Archbishop of Washington and Metropolitan of All America and Canada, We, the Members of The Holy Synod of The Orthodox Church in America, do hereby decide and decree that the ever-memorable Servant of God MATUSHKA OLGA be numbered among the saints. With one mind and one heart, we also resolve that her honorable remains be considered as holy relics; that a special service be composed in her honor; that her feast be celebrated on November 10 and the Feast of All Saints of North America, the Second Sunday after Pentecost; that holy icons be prepared to honor the newly-glorified saint in accordance with the Canons of the Sacred Ecumenical and Regional Councils; that her life be published for the edification of the Faithful, that the name of the new saint be communicated to the Primates of all Sister Churches for inclusion in their calendars; and that the date and location of the Rite of Glorification be communicated to the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of our Church in due time.”
In our relatively young Church in North America, where Saints and slowly being revealed to the Church, we are blessed to witness the canonization of the first female Saint of North America in Matushka Olga of Alaska. She was a native Alaskan woman born in 1916, who in very many ways was like St. Tabitha from the book of Acts. Even though she was extremely poor, she gave to others who were even poorer. She made warm clothes, coats, and boots, and sent them to not only to the destitute in her village, but also to parishes hundreds of miles away.
Matushka Olga served as the local midwife, having given birth to thirteen children herself! She cared not only for those who were pregnant, but also for women who had suffered abuse…offering them steam baths, support, and assurance of the love of God. Even after her repose, there are accounts throughout the country of women who have experienced severe sexual abuse during childhood, encountering Matushka Olga in their prayers as she helps them through the process of healing. Perhaps for this reason, the Church will continue to recognize her as a patron saint of those who have suffered abuse or trauma. So I encourage all of us here today to ask for her assistance if you know a loved one who is struggling through such a horrible darkness in their life.
I thought today would be as good a day as any to answer the question of how the Orthodox Church recognizes a Saint. I say that word “recognize” because the Church does not “create” or “make” saints. The processes of “canonization”, recognizes that someone already was a saint, in their own lifetime.
For the first thousand years of the Christian Church, there wasn’t any formal way of canonizing Saints. Right around the turn of the first millennium, the Roman Church began to create a more formal and official register of Saints with the Church authorities. After the Great Schism with the Orthodox Church, the West developed a more legalistic and precise method of determining Saints.
The Orthodox Church never developed any official process for recognizing saints, but rather continued the practices of the Early Church. It was, and still is today, a very organic process. Local regions would simply begin to remember well-known Christians when they got together for Liturgy and ask for their help in prayer. They would visit their relics, which often were miracle working having remained vehicles of the Holy Spirit. The recognition of a Saint truly still does come from the people…the “ekklesia”…the body of God.
This is precisely how Matushka Olga was recognized this past week! Since her falling asleep in the Lord, she has been venerated by not only Alaskans, but by many of the faithful of North America. Her life has been told and retold to people. Miracles have been recorded and shared. Now, after 40 years of local veneration, the Church has officially recognized her as a “saint”…a “holy one of God”.
So what happens now? Matushka Olga has been canonized, meaning that the Church has found her worthy to have her name placed in the list of Saints in the Church. She will be remembered every year on November 10th and on the feast of All Saints of North America. There will be hymns that will be written about her life so that we can emulate her love for God. Icons will be written so that we can bring her image into our Churches and our homes to encourage us to live a life of charity and piety. Books will be written and collected about her life. Her name and life will be sent out to all of the other Orthodox Churches in the world to add to their lists of Saints that are commemorated. In what is sure to be an extraordinarily beautiful and “Pascha like” celebration in Alaska, her body will be exhumed, and a Liturgy will be celebrated around her relics.
We give Glory to God today for this momentous day in which the handmaiden of God Olga has been revealed to the world as a Saint. May she continue to inspire us to become Saints in our own lifetime…emulating “her generosity, humility, piety, patience, and her selfless love for God and neighbor” in our own lives…Amen