Not Like Those Who Have No Faith, Hope, or Love: Sister Macrina and John Owen on Christian Dying

This paper places the Reformed theologian John Owen and the fourth Capadocian, Sister Macrina, in conversation to sketch a Reformed account of dying well. Specifically, through resourcing the thought of these two theologians, we present the virtues of faith, hope, and love in the process of dying as a "testimony" to the value of Jesus. The paper begins by examining the theme of "hope" in the thought of Macrina, focusing on its role in her account of the nature of death and in her own death. The second section looks at John Owen's understanding of "faith" through an examining of three sermons that he preaches toward the end of his life on dying well. Finally, we draw on the thinking of Macrina and Owen to briefly construct an account of "love" in the face of death and the validity of grief in the process of dying.