The Orthodox Church teaches that committing suicide is a sin. Why? Because we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Our lives – and everything in them – are a gift, which God gave to us out of love. Moreover, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19); we must take care of them. In this post, we explore the Orthodox view on suicide.
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The plague of moral relativism
The National Library of Medicine defines suicide as the act of deliberately taking one’s own life. This includes any action that might cause a person to die (e.g. purposefully crashing a car). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States in 2017. That roughly translates to 47,170 lives. Suicide claimed more lives than homicide (approx. 19,510). And it was the second leading cause of death for individuals ages 10-34, which accounted for 31.1% of total suicides in 2017. For each confirmed death, between 8 and 25 suicide attempts were made.
With the spread of moral relativism, man has become God. He is now the authority on what is right, good, and true for him, but not for anyone else. Because of this approach, many people see suicide as a viable option to alleviate their pain and suffering. Because God isn’t really part of the picture anymore. He has become a ball of clay that people can remold to suit their moral tastes.
Suicide is a rejection of God
Direct suicide, in the eyes of the Church, is and will always be the ultimate rejection of God and His love for us. Killing ourselves means rejecting the presence of God in the most fundamental sense, as a part of each of us. Further, we are guilty of the sin of pride, because we made a decision reserved for God alone.
We know that God is merciful. But this does not mean we should use our freedom as an opportunity for sin. As Orthodox Christians, we cannot justify suicide simply because God is merciful. By that reasoning, we could justify just about anything. Think of how silly you would sound using that excuse before God. “Well, God, I knew [insert sin here] was wrong, but I did it anyway because I knew you would forgive me.” Trying to take advantage of God’s loving kindness in such a manner will not end well for anyone who attempts it.
The wisdom and mercy of the Church
After having said this, we must make something crystal clear. The Church does not judge anyone who has committed or attempted to commit suicide. Judgment belongs to God along. Rather, as the hospital for the soul, the Church approaches all who are suffering with the utmost compassion. Those considering taking their own lives are in need of medical and spiritual care. The Orthodox Church recognizes this, and can help shed a light in the darkness.
The canons and practice of the Church prohibit an Orthodox burial for a person who has committed suicide. However, in her mercy and wisdom, the Church understands not all who killed themselves were mentally sound. The Church Fathers tells us if the person who committed suicide had “no control of himself” or was not “of sound mind, whether […] as a result of a demon or of an ailment of some sort,” and this was verified by medical professionals and the ecclesiastical leadership of the Church, that person could then receive an Orthodox burial (Question XIV of the 18 Canons of Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria. Pedalion, p. 898). If mental instability is absent, and/or the person held a philosophical view affirming the right to suicide, or allowed despair to overcome good judgment, he/she will not receive an Orthodox burial.
Conclusion
We leave you today with a bit of inspiration and hope in the midst of the terrible tragedy of suicide. As Father Seraphim Solof writes: “We recognize that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us, and can rejoice in it. The world – and our families and friends – will not be better off without us. Christ came into the world and into our lives willingly, knowing us intimately in all of our darkness and pain, knowing the cost and yet loving us completely, ‘to the end’ (John 13:1).”
Keep Reading: Why The Orthodox Church Does Not Allow Cremation >>
2 Responses
st john committed suicide. he was not sick, and instructed his followers to dig a grave and then shovel by shovel to cover his living body with dirt until he was dead. it is a slow process, and at any point he could have repented from this mortal sin and decided to save his own God given gift of life, but he never did, and thus died. further, he had instructed his own followers to kill him this way, involving them in committing the sin of killing another person. the heathens that killed Christ, the apostles and many more Christians are arch-villains in Church history.
Yet the men that killed st john are never named or discussed, and the mortal sin of suicide committed by st john is likewise never discussed. Instead the act of his suicide and involving other Christians in the act is somehow seen as acceptable. There IS iconography of his suicide and the people who assisted him. his suicide is not disputed, it is simply never discussed. I am an expert in O Christian iconography and very well educated in Church history and theology. I have no question to ask here, simply an interesting observation. In icons showing the “gathering of saints” in heaven, there stands st John alongside the others. Christ did not remove John from hell before His resurrection, as John wasn’t dead at that time. There isn’t any way to reconcile John’s acts with the Commandments of God, the teachings of Christ Himself or the traditions and theology of the Church.
I myself never really thought it through until a few years ago, and I converted into Orthodoxy over thirty years ago. St John “falling asleep in the Lord” is a peculiar phrase for deliberately killing oneself, whether by using a gun, a bomb, poison, or being buried alive. Perhaps St John should be given a new title, one that reflects his acts and wishes more accurately? He cannot be called a Patron saint of Help with Preventing Suicide, now can he? Instead st Johns choices set a horrifying example of “rules for thee but not for me”, and the Church’s willful ignorance of what st john really did. Many Orthodox Christians who contemplate suicide are dissuaded by the consequences in the after life, before the judgement seat of God. John committed suicide, even commanding his followers to kill him, and now stands in heaven? He must have had a good lawyer! John’s suicide prevented him from speaking of the Truth of Christ ever again, and ended his Christian ministry. This, like all suicides, was a purely selfish choice, one that denied others the opportunity to hear the Gospel in favor of John’s truth: killing and suicide. This doesn’t mean that what he did and wrote are less valuable or sacred, but where do we draw the line? “that whomsoever believes on Him shall have life eternal” or ” I am going to kill myself and you all are going to assist”. ? No need to respond, my questions are rhetorical. My take on it is that Christ and His teachings were optional for st John, when he didn’t like them, he ignored them or “re-imagined” them. I try not to follow st John’s suicide example, but I do pick and choose through his writings, as st John the Theologian evidently did himself. As an old man who has considered suicide occasionally myself, St John is a terrible example of Christian humility. He gave in to Satan’s will and the committed the ultimate sin, even dragging others into it with him, I have not. Contemplating these thoughts is disturbing, isn’t it? “the Gospel of Love” author disregards God’s commandment and Christ’s teachings, commits suicide in the end, alone with his murderers, faithless and Godless, in a dirt hole. Then straight to eternal hell. Yet the Church depicts his end as some wonderful thing.
Do the rest of us get to heaven through suicide when we are tired of life?
Milus,
Christ is in our midst. There is no evidence that St. John the Theologian committed suicide, and to spread such misinformation as fact is quite dangerous. Since there is no evidence of his having done this, that also means there is no iconography in existence that depicts this. What you speak is blasphemy, and we would recommend seeking out your priest immediately to atone for this. May God forgive us all.