Human death, in the Orthodox Christian tradition, is the rupture of the psychosomatic unity, the untying of the bond between body and soul; it is the separation of the soul from the body. This is directly referred in Holy Scripture when St. James, the apostle of Christ, said, “The body apart from the spirit is dead” (James 2:26).
St. Gregory , an early church father, espoused that life is the tie between body and soul, while death is their separation. In the Christian sense, life is sacred, it is a gift by God. From the moment of human conception to human death.
It is natural to sympathize with a dying person and the effort to delay the moment of his death expresses the struggle of human nature against death. This is expressed in the field of medicine, which, holds on to the sacred obligation to prolong human life and stay the hand of death.
In this regard, through the lens of Christian Orthodoxy, is the theme of the transcendence of life and the transcendence of death. The respect for the human person is shown through love and understanding of the struggle of those whom death is certain , for those whom are afflicted with terminal illness. This love and compassion, is shown not only by allowing him to die or “facilitating” in death. But should be pray for the repose of their soul, for the prolongation of their lives , if it be the Will of God in Heaven. Rather there should be preference to seeing a brother and sister in Christ “being made perfect” than watch him suffer. This is why hospice care and provision of prayers for those whom are suffering helps in this process.
I want to go into detail of Death and its relegation in Orthodox Christian Tradition. Death is seen and viewed within the light and experience of the resurrection. Death is nothing more than the passing to eternal life “where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sigh, but life everlasting” . This goes back to Romans 13:8 which states, ‘If we live, we live to the Lord, if we die, we die to the Lord”.
In understanding this in context to Christian Orthodoxy we can now try to understand how euthanasia’s position. Euthanasia appears as a serious problem for various reasons. First, our society tends to become hedonistic; as a result , people’s resistance to pain is getting weaker. They cannot stand hardships and pain for they lack patience and endurance. Similarly, modern societies are reluctant to support citizens who are not considered “productive”. Second, prolongation of the average life span, on the one hand , and the reduction of births on the other, which are both achievements and consequences of modern civilization, respectively , lead to the aging of our societies; therefore there is a relative increase of chronic and painful or degenerative disease. Third, the intrusion of technology in medicine and, generally, in health, very often results in the unprecedented prolongation of the dying process; hope for survival often turns into agony. Such “therapeutic” interventions may lead to pathological states which medicine is incapable of overcoming and to ethical dilemmas that our society cannot resolve. Consequently, medical and nursing support is in danger of no longer being determined by love and respect for the patient but predominantly by financial considerations.
Sometimes, terminally ill patients ask for help in speeding up their own dying, and very often doctors feel obliged to intervene and assist them in the process. Thus, there is a developing logic , an ethics and perception that renders legal support of euthanasia almost imperative.
Our love towards a terminally ill patient is expressed either as a desire to deliver him from pain, or as a wish to prolong his life so as to be together. The suffering of our fellow man and our compassion for him create an inner conflict of love with our desire for togetherness. In a Christian perspective, this conflict presents an inner crisis, which provides an opportunity for strengthened trust in God’s will, His consolation, the revelation of a “sign”, and His enlightenment of our soul.
Although it is humanly understandable that we wish to postpone death, the broad use of medical technology may go beyond the limits of spiritual ethics. This gives rise to certain questions, which should be answered before legalizing euthanasia. Since we believe that the moment of death belongs entirely to God, are we competent to determine it ? Do we have the right to hinder the departure of the soul, while confessing that the end of our life is in the hands of God , and especially when its prolongation becomes distressful? In case a patient asks for euthanasia, where is the balance between our respect or his will and our respect for the gift of life? Where is the borderline between keeping a patient uninformed of his condition so as not to cause him panic and dilemmas and informing him fully of his illness so as to give him a chance to repent?
Reference:
Hatzinikolaou, F. (2003). Prolonging Life or Hindering Death? An Orthodox Perspective on Death, Dying and Euthanasia. Christian Bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies In Medical Morality, 9(2/3), 187-201.