Called to Holiness: The True Purpose of the Church
Fr. Geoff Harvey reflects on the Sunday of All Saints, exploring the Orthodox Church's true purpose: to transform ordinary people into saints. He examines what holiness really means, the commitment it requires, and how we are all called to become citizens of God's eternal kingdom, using the lives of the saints as witnesses to Christ's transforming power.
Transcript
Today is the first Sunday after Pentecost, and we celebrate the feast of All Saints—a feast that concludes the liturgical cycle of movable feasts centered on Pascha as its focal point. It reaches its fullness at Pentecost. The cycle of feasts shows us its fruit: the holy lives of men and women transformed by the Holy Spirit throughout the life of the Church.
Have you ever thought about the purpose of the Church? Is it to gather believers to worship God? To teach the faith? To evangelize the world? To provide a community of support? To build a beautiful building? All these are good things and contribute to the Church's purpose. But what is the true purpose?
On the Sunday of All Saints, the Church celebrates the many men, women, and children transformed by the grace of God over the centuries since our Lord walked this earth. Some are famous; most are unknown. Yet all of them have reached the same goal: holiness. The feast of All Saints reminds us of a great truth: the purpose of the Orthodox Church has always been and always will be to produce holy saints.
The Church is not merely an institution, a cultural organization, or a social club. It is the body of Christ—the spiritual hospital in which human beings are healed, made holy, and prepared for eternal life.
I have three points for you today: a call to holiness, a challenge to commitment, and a creation of citizens.
**A Call to Holiness**
The Church calls us to holiness. Our reading from Hebrews presents a wonderful list of men and women who trusted God through trials, suffering, persecution, and hardship. Hebrews 12:1-2 says: "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."
The saints were not born holy. They became holy through running the race—through repentance, faith, perseverance, prayer, struggle, and the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is important for us to remember. We often look at the saints and think they are extraordinary people. "I could never be like them." Yet saints were ordinary people: farmers, mothers, fathers, workers, soldiers, traders, monks, and children. What makes them stand out is not perfection, but faithfulness.
It is easy to look at the icons around us and forget that the face and body painted in gold and brilliant colors was once a living human being just like us. Mary Magdalene, Saint Catherine, Moses, Elizabeth the New Martyr, Saint Tikhon, Saint Patrick, Saint Ignatius—none of them were born holy. They were born the same way we were: gasping for air, uncertain, vulnerable. They were hungry. They doubted. They failed. Some failed spectacularly.
Some of the great heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11—Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Gideon—conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the power of fire. We think, "I could never do that." But the same passage reminds us that some among the faithful were tortured, refusing to accept release. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.
Here is what is crucial: holiness did not free these people from hardship. It often walked them straight into hardship. This is important for us in Australia in 2026 to understand. We have been trained to believe that the good life is the comfortable life—that faith, if it has any value at all, ought to make things easier or make us feel better. When faith does not do this, many walk away from the Church.
But All Saints Sunday confronts us with a different story. The saints say to us: "We were real people. We suffered real pain. We lived in real times, uncertain times like yours. But we held on to the end of our lives."
The journey to sainthood is a lifelong struggle. We are all born in the image of God, but through grace and struggle, we are called to grow into his likeness. Genesis 1:27 says, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness"—not "in our likeness," but "according to our likeness." This shows that likeness is something to be reached through free choice, love, and the cooperation of our wills with God's will and his grace.
The saints became holy not because they were superhuman, but because they fixed their eyes on something more real than their circumstances. We must retrain ourselves. Where the world has trained us to focus on this world, we must refocus on Christ. "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"—not unto success in this life, but unto Jesus.
We must not become discouraged or fearful. The Church has been here before and has survived. G.K. Chesterton wrote, "There have been many times during history when it looked like the Church was going to go to the dogs, but in the end, it was always the dogs that went." The Church is still here after two thousand years because people became holy despite their circumstances.
What does this mean for us? Read the lives of the saints—not the sanitized stained-glass versions, but the actual accounts of their lives. You will find a person who wrestled with the very things we wrestle with today. Let their reality comfort and challenge ours.
I want to recommend a particular book I have just finished reading: *Confessors of Faith*. The author was here last week, and she may even sign copies. This is one of the best books I have read on the saints. Nicole has traced the persecutions from the first centuries to the current day and offers reflections on what may come, drawing on Saint Paisios. Young men especially, you must read this book. The stories are not airbrushed; this is real history. The book covers persecutions under Rome, under Islam, under communism, and even the COVID persecution when churches were locked down—something that did not happen even under communism. We have many copies available, and they will be on sale next Sunday.
The same Holy Spirit who made all these saints holy was given to us at our baptism and chrismation. We should never say the age of saints is over. The Church needs saints in Australia today: saintly fathers and mothers, saintly young people, saintly workers, saintly retirees, saintly clergy, and saintly parishioners.
Australian society often measures success by wealth, popularity, influence, or personal achievement. God measures success differently. He does not ask, "How famous were you? How much did you earn? What did you achieve?" He asks, "Did you become holy?"
The Church's mission is not simply to inform Christians. The Church is here to transform you, to change you, to make you holy, to make you Christlike. Ask yourself: Am I becoming more Christlike through coming to Church? Is prayer changing me? Is repentance softening my heart? Am I growing in selfless love, humility, and faith? The goal of our Christian life is to become holy—nothing less.
**A Challenge to Commitment**
The Church challenges us to commitment. In today's Gospel, our Lord speaks challenging words: "He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me."
Becoming holy is about love—love of God. Our Lord is not teaching us to love our families less. He is saying that our love of God must be higher than our love for them. In fact, as our love of God increases, our love for our families should increase as well. So he is not saying you should love your mother and father less. You simply need to make sure you love God more.
The saints placed Christ above their mothers and fathers, above comfort, above convenience, above popularity, and sometimes even above their own safety. Many endured ridicule, rejection, imprisonment, and martyrdom because they would not deny him. You can read about this in *Confessors of Faith*.
The same challenge confronts us today, though often in more subtle ways. Christians in Australia do not yet face imprisonment for our faith—though we did have one pastor imprisoned during the COVID outbreak for not closing his church. We do, however, experience pressure to keep our faith private, to compromise our convictions.
The challenge for us is to live as though God is not merely one interest or hobby among many. The Church needs our commitment. We need to examine our priorities. What comes first in our lives: work, recreation, financial security, family expectations, or Jesus Christ? Every day provides opportunities to confess Christ—not only in our words, but in our choices, our values, and our actions.
**A Creation of Citizens**
The Church creates eternal citizens. In today's Gospel, Saint Peter asks our Lord, "What reward awaits those who have sacrificed for his sake?" The Lord promises that those who leave earthly things for him will receive far more and inherit eternal life.
Saints lived with their eyes fixed on eternity, fixed on Jesus. They understood that this world, important as it is, is not the final destination. Our modern society encourages us to focus exclusively on the present moment: our careers, possessions, entertainment, and personal fulfillment. Yet the saints remind us that human life only finds true meaning when viewed in the light of eternity.
The Church exists to prepare people for the eternal kingdom of God. Every Divine Liturgy, every sacrament, every prayer, every act of repentance is directed toward this goal. The saints are living proof that the Gospel works. They are not merely historical figures; they are our elder brothers and sisters who have completed the race and now pray for us before the throne of God.
The word *saint* in Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew literally means "not of this earth." A saint is one who, even while living in this world, becomes a citizen of heaven.
When difficulties come—and they will come—remember that our struggles are preparing us for eternal glory. Live each day with the kingdom in mind, asking not merely what do I want, but what will help me grow closer to Christ and help me inherit eternal life.
A word of caution: there is a danger of becoming so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. Saint Paul wrote to Timothy, "He who does not provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever." Husbands, if you feel called to be a monk but have a family and children, that calling must wait. You have earthly responsibilities. Do not become so heavenly minded that you abandon your duties.
**Conclusion**
On this Sunday of All Saints, the Church places before us a great cloud of witnesses. Their lives proclaim a simple message: The Church calls us to holiness. The Church challenges us to commitment. The Church creates eternal citizens.
The saints were not a different kind of humanity. They were people just like us who allowed Christ to transform them. God is still calling ordinary people like you and me to do extraordinary things.
The purpose of the Orthodox Church has always been, is, and always will be to produce holy saints. May the prayers of the saints strengthen us to run the race set before us, to confess Christ boldly, and to persevere until we join him in the kingdom of heaven, where together we may glorify the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
