The Problem of Suffering
by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
In today’s
turbulent society there is no one who does not face suffering in
his life and taste the bitter cup of afflictions. We see people in
distress, miserable, tormented, prostrate under the heavy burden of
suffering. Their faces are downcast, but their hearts even more so. They
are tormented and afflicted. Because of this suffering, or rather,
because they handle suffering in the wrong way, they suffer various
illnesses of body and soul. We shall therefore look at some aspects of
this vast subject of suffering and pain in our lives.
1. Suffering is Part of Our Life
It is well
known that suffering is closely linked with human life. Christ declared
to His Disciples that they would have much suffering in their lives. “In
the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). We encounter this
truth throughout Holy Scripture and the teaching of the holy Fathers,
who are successors to the holy Apostles. The Apostles Paul and Barnabas
visited Lystra, Iconium and Antioch together, “confirming the souls of
the Disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we
must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of
God” (Acts 14:22). St Paul testified to the Christians of Corinth, “We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed” (2 Cor. 4:8). The
necessary comments on the phrase “yet not distressed” will be made later
in the chapter. Here we insist on the fact that the Christian life is
closely linked with suffering and pain.
