The royal saints are the key figures of whom Orthodox laity ought to emulate regarding worldly matters.
When the non-monastic layman looks for role models, he discovers that the vast majority of our saints are either monastics or martyrs. While these saints are important for guidance in spiritual matters, their extraordinary lives are detached from the ordinary life of the layman. Monks have the distinction of not having children, whereas martyrs chose death over compromise, serving as symbols of the faith against evil. There are those who mention the occasional non-monastic such as Saint John of Krondstadt, but though a non-monastic he was nonetheless celibate.
The Orthodox Christian righteous kings and pious queens serve as role models because they were sainted for their worldly achievements. Though the lives of Saint Justinian or Saint Irene of Hungary, pictured below, were far removed from that of the average layman today, both share the goal of family and children, to create a world where their children can live in Christ. Therefore, while the monks and martyrs may guide the faithful better in terms of spiritual matters, the royal saint is just as if not more relevant to the layman in terms of worldly matters.
There are many great things that the contemporary Orthodox faithful ought to emulate from our righteous kings and pious queens. They built glorious cathedrals of great splendor and beauty. They defeated the Pagans and brought entire populations under the faith. They practiced proper morals in the form of traditional marriage and had many children. However, their greatest importance is that they represent men and women of whom God is alive. When Nietzsche gave his famous proclamation, “God is dead,” he was not asserting Atheism, rather observing how Christians lost their faith during the latter half of the nineteenth century. If one says he believes that murder is wrong but that it ought not to be punished through hanging, jail, or even a fine, his belief is empty. Likewise, if one says he believes that Jesus Christ is Lord, that the only way to God is through the faith, and that truth is determined by the Church, but that he does not believe in monarchy, a state church, and a state faith, his faith in Christ is just as absurd, hence “God is dead.” The royal saints are key figures because, like the martyrs, the symbolize the truth of the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he does not compromise, and that anyone who declares otherwise is of antichrist and ought to be destroyed.
When the non-monastic layman looks for role models, he discovers that the vast majority of our saints are either monastics or martyrs. While these saints are important for guidance in spiritual matters, their extraordinary lives are detached from the ordinary life of the layman. Monks have the distinction of not having children, whereas martyrs chose death over compromise, serving as symbols of the faith against evil. There are those who mention the occasional non-monastic such as Saint John of Krondstadt, but though a non-monastic he was nonetheless celibate.
The Orthodox Christian righteous kings and pious queens serve as role models because they were sainted for their worldly achievements. Though the lives of Saint Justinian or Saint Irene of Hungary, pictured below, were far removed from that of the average layman today, both share the goal of family and children, to create a world where their children can live in Christ. Therefore, while the monks and martyrs may guide the faithful better in terms of spiritual matters, the royal saint is just as if not more relevant to the layman in terms of worldly matters.
There are many great things that the contemporary Orthodox faithful ought to emulate from our righteous kings and pious queens. They built glorious cathedrals of great splendor and beauty. They defeated the Pagans and brought entire populations under the faith. They practiced proper morals in the form of traditional marriage and had many children. However, their greatest importance is that they represent men and women of whom God is alive. When Nietzsche gave his famous proclamation, “God is dead,” he was not asserting Atheism, rather observing how Christians lost their faith during the latter half of the nineteenth century. If one says he believes that murder is wrong but that it ought not to be punished through hanging, jail, or even a fine, his belief is empty. Likewise, if one says he believes that Jesus Christ is Lord, that the only way to God is through the faith, and that truth is determined by the Church, but that he does not believe in monarchy, a state church, and a state faith, his faith in Christ is just as absurd, hence “God is dead.” The royal saints are key figures because, like the martyrs, the symbolize the truth of the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he does not compromise, and that anyone who declares otherwise is of antichrist and ought to be destroyed.
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