When St. Basil
the Great was asked if going to a doctor and taking medicine were in keeping
with ways of piety, he replied:
Therefore we
may have recourse to physicians and take medicine, for this science is a gift
from God. "God has given the herbs of the earth, and its drugs, for the
healing of the body, commanding that the body, which is of the earth, should be
cured by various things of the earth....When man fell from Paradise, he came
immediately under the influence of disorders and maladies of the flesh....God
therefore gave medicine to the world for comfort, for healing and care of the
body, and permitted them to be used by those who could not entrust themselves
completely to God" (St. Macarius the Great, Homily 48).
When to go to
the doctor, and how often, should be a matter of common sense. But when we go,
we should "not forget that no one can be cured without God. He who gives
himself up to the art of healing must also surrender himself to God, and God
will send help. The art of healing is not an obstacle to piety, but you must
practice it with fear of God" (Sts. Barsanuphius and John, Philokalia).
"To put
our hope in die hands of a physician is the act of an irrational animal. Yet
this is precisely what happens with those unhappy people who unhes' itatingly
call their doctors their 'saviours'....On the other hand, it is surely foolish
to entirely reject the benefits of the medical art" (St. Basil the Great, The Long Rules).
Elder Nektary
of Optina advised that we should go to doctors not to be "cured" but
just to be "treated" — recognizing that in this life we can never be
perfectly "cured" or "healthy." And writing to the friend
of a seriously ill man, Elder Macarius of Optina said:
St. Basil the
Great teaches that "we should definitely not place our hope for relief
from pain in medicine, but trust that God will not allow us to be tried beyond
that which we can bear." Here he was addressing himself to those who run
to a doctor on every pretext, and who forget this important guideline:
"Whether or not we make use of the medical art, we should hold to our
objective of pleasing God and helping the soul, fulfilling this precept: Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever
else you do, do all to the glory of God (I
Cor. 10:31)"...
This Holy
Father also explains that "sometimes, when God judges it best, He cures us
secretly, without visible means [such as a doctor and drugs].
At other times
He wants us to use medicine for our sicknesses."
Therefore,
"when we suffer the blows of illness at the hands of God, we should first
ask understanding of Him, so that we might know why He has inflicted this blow.
Secondly, we must ask Him to deliver us from our pains or, at least, give us
the patience to endure them." Having this attitude, we can in good
conscience seek medical treatment.
This way of
complete abandonment to God's Providence is very high and very difficult, and
it is not given to all men. But we need to at least know about it so that we
can avoid self-satisfaction and "contentment" with our own attitudes.
We see this way of abandonment and supreme confidence in the will of God in the
lives particularly of monastic saints. The following incident from the life of
Elder Macarius of White Shores Hermitage shows how the righteous monk disdained
earthly medicine for a heavenly medicine:
Such child-like trust in God is common among great
souls. A similar simplicity may be seen in the life of Schemamonk Mark of
Sarov: "Towards the end of his life, Elder Mark suffered very much due to
his legs: from lengthy standing at prayer and the extremely laborious walks
through the wilderness, the Elder's legs became dropsical, swollen, and covered
with wounds, so that for a certain time he was unable to walk. Certain of the
Sa-rov brethren, feeling compassion for the Elder in his ailment, advised him
to turn to the help of earthly doctors.
"The
Elder, however, did not pay attention to this advice and gave himself
completely over to the heavenly Healer of souls and bodies. With faith he took
some oil from the lamp which burned before the icon of the Most Holy Mother of
God of the Life-giving Fount, located in the cathedral of the Sarov Hermitage,
and venerated as a miraculous icon, and anointed his ailing legs with this oil.
To the general amazement of those who knew of his disease, he was soon
completely healed from it through the grace-given help of the Mother of the
Lord, who did not put his hope to shame" (Orthodox Life, no. 6, 1970).
Shortly after
he went to Sarov Monastery, St. Seraphim of Sarov fell ill. According to his
Life, "his whole body became swollen, and he lay motionless in great pain
on his hard bed. There was no doctor and the malady responded to no treatment.
Apparently it was dropsy. It lasted for three years, and half of that time the
sufferer spent in bed. But he never murmured; he had surrendered the whole of
himself, body and soul, to the Lord, and he prayed to Him unceasingly. Fearing
that the illness might prove fatal, the Superior, Elder Pachomius, firmly
proposed to send for a doctor. But the Saint, with even greater firmness,
refused medical help.
Living only for God and the life which is to come,
repenting each day, and striving constantly to acquire the Holy Spirit of God,
righteous men and women are able to use their suffering to mount still higher
on the ladder of virtue, as did Hieroschema-monk Parthenius of the Kiev Caves:
"A
suffocating cough gave him no rest, and all of his bones ached. But he
continued to lie down as before on the narrow and harsh bench and with
good-hearted patience bore his grave infirmity, giving thanks to God for his
illness. Often he used to say: 'What shall I give to the Lord in return for His
having sent me an illness, in addition to His other blessings?'" (Orthodox
Life, no. 3, 1969).
Source: http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/fathers_illness.htm
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