Is Cassie Bernall a Martyr? An Orthodox Christian Answer
Background:
This is a response to a private question about the heroic actions of
Cassie Bernall, who was one of the victims in the Columbine high school
massacre. According to an article in the Boston Globe on 04/24/99
(written by By Eileen McNamara):
"She walked into Columbine High School on Tuesday morning, a promising
student. She was carried out more than 24 hours later a Christian
martyr. ''Do you believe in God,'' one of the heavily
armed gunmen asked the shy blond girl reading her Bible in the library
while her school was under siege. ''Yes, I believe in God,'' she replied
in a voice strong enough to be heard by classmates cowering under nearby
tables and desks. The gunman in the long black trench coat laughed.
''Why?'' he asked mockingly. Then he raised his gun and shot and killed
17-year-old Cassie Bernall. "
...
April 18/29 1999
Dear .......
Christ is risen!
I am just getting back to you about your question. There is no doubt
that her story is inspiring, and should warm the heart of all Orthodox
Christians. To determine whether Cassie should be supplicated as a martyr,
we must cautiously look at church tradition. The faithful are slow to absolutely
declare such things, unless there is overwhelming evidence. God reveals
His righteous ones in His time, and we Orthodox Christians wait patiently
for His will to be done.
Cassie was not in the church when she died, after her heroic confession.
The best answer I can give to your question, therefore, is that God knows
about her. We
do not judge one way or the other, because the fate of those who die
outside the church is unknown to us. The church speaks authoritatively
about those within her bosom, who are shown by God's providence to be righteous,
and does not even comment about those outside of her.
I personally think it is a great temptation to dwell on the state of
righteous people who die outside the church. I leave the question
alone - I have found that people tend to look at things in an overly emotional
way, and make great compromises about the faith because of their emotional
state.
The demons who push ecumenism are always present when we ponder such
such questions, ready to pounce like a lion, and obliterate the very real
lines that exist
between the true faith and false religion. As a minister of the true
gospel, I must try to make sure that those I teach live rightly and believe
rightly, in all things. I try to encourage balance on issues such as this,
because there is much to be lost if a person compromises their faith because
of external evidences. Unfortunately, too many Orthodox already have
lost the ability to discern where the church is, and where it is not, and
this lack of ability imperils them greatly.
There are some who would argue that Cassie was "baptized in her blood",
which is a common expression in the church, and occurs in many of the lives
of the holy martyrs. There is a significant difference between Cassie's
courageous and sincere confession and that of a formerly pagan martyr who
confesses Christ and is immediately killed. In the latter case, these newly
Christian martyrs had observed the exploits of true Christian martyrs,
and their confession brought them from a false religion into the church.
Cassie already professed a faith in Christ, which was fervent, but
also based on numerous errors and heresies. Her confession was in
belief in God, but many people believe in a "Christian God"! The demons
also believe and tremble. Belief in God is not a sole criterion for salvation,
but belonging to the body of Christ, that is, the church is. Cassie's firm
belief, which we absolutely admire, in her religion was most likely
based on the bible only, however, the bible does not save. It only points
to Christ, and His church, which DOES save.
In the aftermath of the publication of this short essay, the author
received email from Fr David Moser which helps explain the true Orthodox
opinion about martyrdom: "In the sacred history of the Church up until
this century and the wave of the New Martyrs of Russia, the martyrs were
killed and tortured by people who themselves believed in God and were persecuting
the holy martyrs because they would not alter their belief in the true
God to conform their belief to that of their persecutors. Hence a
simple belief in God does not by itself define a martyr in the Orthodox
sense of the word. In fact a simple belief in Jesus Christ does not
either define a martyr for there are many martyrs on our calendar who
are noted as being martyred by the Papists - and so we have people who
believe in Jesus Christ being killed by others who believe in Jesus Christ
for the single reason that they would not change their belief in our Lord
Jesus Christ to conform to the ideas of another (ie. the Pope of Rome and
his followers). Going even further back in history we have many martyrs
who were similarly killed at the hands of Arians or at the hands of the
iconoclasts - all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence it becomes
obvious to me that the simple confession of a belief in God and subsequent
murder for that statement is not a definition of martyrdom, but rather
one who gives his whole life for the True Faith."
1
Cassie is a HERO, and I rejoice because of her confession. As a pastor,
I pray that my flock would make such a confession. I cannot pray to her
as a martyr, and I cannot deny that she is a martyr, and is blessed. I
simply (as an Orthodox Christian, obedient to the church), cannot answer
the question, and am content with this. God knows.
Footnotes:
1.
Email of Fr
David Moser, St Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Church, Boise, Idaho -
moserd@micron.net
