Miracles: Friends or Foes?

On March 9, Copts and other Oriental Orthodox Churches commemorate the departure of St. Kyrillos VI, known to be a man of prayer, a beholder of the divine light, and a wonder worker. Sadly, many volumes have been dedicated to his miracles while far less has been written about his dedication to the life of prayer.

March 2021 also marks the production of a movie dedicated to St. Nektarios of Aegina, a Greek Orthodox saint known for his humility, unconditional love toward irreputable individuals, and being a wonderworker. Like the former, he is more famous for his miracles among simple believers than for the rest of his virtues.

For many, it is easy to believe that all miracles attributed to these men are factual, true, and indisputable — attesting to their union with God, from which they derived their holiness and offered healing and comfort to the people.

Personally, I have never struggled with believing miracles exist, though I have an issue with their frequency. My struggles are mainly the following:

If all these miracles are true, how is it that I still see many individuals — Orthodox and otherwise — with diverse diseases, whether in hospitals or long-term care homes where I provide(d) care? They are all doing the same things: praying, reading the lives of saints, and hoping for a miracle. Those affected include fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, grandparents, and infants.
How is it that God picks and chooses to heal some, yet cancer continues to eat the flesh of many? COVID-19 has killed over a million people — why is God not putting a stop to the cause and choosing instead to work case by case?
The faithful, it seems, are focusing on miracles rather than on God.

The first two questions will likely have no satisfactory answer. We know from the ascetic tradition that when Abba Anthony asked similar questions, he was told to worry about his own salvation rather than the wisdom of God. I am certain I will not get a better answer than the one Abba Anthony received.

As for "the faithful are focusing on miracles rather than God," I think much can be said about it.

First, denial of miracles is not useful. It will simply alienate believers in them and make them question the faith of the person denying them — nor does it make you any more of a realist. As Fyodor Dostoevsky put it in The Brothers Karamazov, "To my thinking, miracles are never a stumbling block to the realist. It is not miracles that dispose realists to belief… Faith does not, in the realist, spring from the miracle but the miracle from faith."

Second, the faithful need to be invited to discern the spirits. Questioning the frequency of miracles is valid; believing every claim of a miracle taking place is problematic. The number of miracles attributed to a figure like St. Kyrillos VI almost makes it seem as though a Copt need never see a doctor when they can simply ask St. Kyrillos VI.

Third, the faithful need to be reminded of how the early Church thought of miracles. St. John Chrysostom, in his 42nd homily on the Gospel of John, says: "For miracles, it says, are not for believers, but for unbelievers." Believers do not need the miracle to believe. Miracles are performed only when a dire need arises. Saints are not intended to replace an Advil when a believer has a cold — they are intended to be those in whose steps we walk to meet the Bridegroom when we lose our way.

I will leave you with a quote from the late Bishop Epiphanious, abbot of the Monastery of St. Macarius:

"The concept of [supernatural] miracles has replaced Christ, ecclesial life, and the liturgical life for many… The most important miracles in Christianity are the incarnation, the resurrection, and the Eucharist.\"

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