The Importance of Fortitude in Modern Life
I love old movies for a number of reasons. One of them is that the structure for how society runs in them is so clear. There was a proper and improper way to live, and most of these ways promoted family values, the sanctity of marriage, and living a life of integrity. Parents taught their children from a young age to be wise in the way you live each day and to live with a sense of responsibility, courage, forgiveness, and sacrifice for others.
In contrast, I hardly hear these concepts being taught to our youth. Nowadays, “wise” means YOLO or living it up so that if you die, at least you were doing something cool. “Responsibility” means that “I try not to litter, but if it drops then someone else will clean it up for me.” “Courage” means that I openly share my opinions about hot topics without caring about what others think of me (and if they don’t like it, I’ll “cancel” them). “Forgiveness” means “I forgive you in my heart but never want to see you again.” “Sacrifice for others” means that I’ll occasionally give a water bottle or $1 to a homeless person if it doesn’t inconvenience me. Now I understand that past generations didn’t get it all right, but I’d like to suggest there are good things to be learned here. What our generation needs again is fortitude.
What is Fortitude?
A virtue like fortitude is a word that has become largely obsolete in mainstream society, yet I believe it is the key that unlocks peace in the midst of the trials of life. It’s what all children were taught to develop in times past, and I believe there needs to be a resurgence of instilling fortitude to our children as well as developing it within ourselves.
In Orthodox Christian teaching, fortitude—often expressed as steadfastness, endurance, patience, and courage—is not merely toughness of character or emotional resilience. Rather, its fullest definition is Grace-filled strength rooted in humility, faith, and love. The Holy Fathers consistently present fortitude not as conquering hardship by sheer willpower, but as remaining faithful to Christ in the midst of trial.
This vision of courage-in-action is quiet, inward, and deeply transformative. I’ve collected a series of themes from the Orthodox tradition that illuminate what true fortitude looks like.
Suffering as Reality
Suffering is undeniable. Both external circumstances—financial hardship, poor health, loss—and our internal responses to them—pain, grief, feelings of betrayal—are legitimate causes of suffering. Even in seasons of ease and comfort, there remains the persistent struggle against our own self-will.
In a previous post on beauty and wholeness in suffering, I wrote that pain itself is not always the problem. The deeper struggle is inconvenience. Suffering removes control, creates uncertainty, and disrupts our expectations. At its core, suffering confronts our will. We want happiness, health, and strength. Life often contradicts those desires.
Fortitude in Suffering is Formative and Purposeful
The Church teaches that life is designed to build fortitude—by which we learn to overcome our disordered desires, temptations, and suffering. In more modern terms: if there is no pain, there is no gain.
St. Isaac the Syrian teaches that suffering is not an interruption of the spiritual life, but the very means by which we are drawn closer to God:
“Without temptations no one can draw near to God.
Remove temptations and no one will be saved.”
For St. Isaac, fortitude is patient endurance—remaining faithful when comfort, clarity, or consolation are withdrawn. Trials are not signs of abandonment; they are the refining fire through which the soul is purified.
He also writes:
“Endurance in silence purifies the heart.”
Here, fortitude is deeply interior. It is the strength to remain rooted in God without complaint, self-pity, or resentment. It is the daily fight to keep a soft heart. Today, it is often easier to turn to social media and publicly air our pain. It is harder to endure suffering faithfully and quietly. Yet Scripture gives us other models. King David and the Theotokos—Mary, the Mother of Jesus—show us that lives marked by suffering require endurance and silence. These carry the soul through its hardest moments.
Fortitude Isn’t About Me. Its Source is Hope in God
St. Basil the Great reminds us that Christian endurance does not come from personal strength alone:
“Do not measure your trials by your strength, but measure your strength by the power of God who helps you.”
Orthodox fortitude grows from trust in divine grace, especially when human strength fails. We live this fortitude as an act of faith, trusting God to work powerfully through our weakness. In Genesis, Scripture calls Righteous Joseph the Patriarch successful because “the Lord was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). Joseph understood that every circumstance in his life (and the strength to bear it) came from God. This allowed him to freely say to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Saint John Chrysostom comments on this verse:
“Don’t be apprehensive or anxious,” Jacob says. “I belong to God,” and in imitation of my Lord I strive to reward with kindness those who are maliciously disposed to me—“I belong to God,” after all. Then to show how great is the favor he enjoys from God Joseph says, You acted against me with evil intent, but God turned everything to good for me. Hence Paul also said, “For those who love God all things work together for good.” “All things,” he says. What is meant by “all things”? Opposition and apparent disappointment—even these things are turned into good, which is exactly what happened with this remarkable man. In fact, what was done by his brothers had the particular effect of bringing him the kingship, thanks to the creative God’s wisdom transforming all their wickedness into good.
Fortitude Expressed Through Love
For St. Maximus the Confessor, fortitude is inseparable from love:
“He who endures evils with thanksgiving has found the path of life.”
To endure suffering without resentment is to participate in Christ’s own self-emptying love. Fortitude purified by love no longer seeks self-protection or vindication—it seeks communion with God. This is how the saints and martyrs have been able to withstand ridicule, torture and even death. Elder Roman Braga, an Orthodox priest who suffered in multiple camps under Romanian communism. He said: “Imprisonment has brought some people closer to God, made them have a better heart. There, if you had God in your heart and within you, you did not suffer, you were not affected or compromised.” This profound understanding of the universe within being one of love and trust in Christ allowed people like Elder Roman Braga to suffer and yet remain full of love and peace.
Participation in the Cross
As it naturally follows then that fortitude is one of trust in God and the development of love in one’s heart regardless of external circumstance, it is true that this type of love and fortitude is the way of the cross. St. Sophrony of Essex writes:
“The way of Christ is the way of the Cross, and this path requires great courage.”
Christian fortitude is not abstract endurance. It is daily participation in the Cross, accepts weakness and uncertainty, and embraces suffering with obedience to God. The world calls this madness. For those united with Christ, it is the only way.The consolation that we receive is:
“Endure everything with peace, and you will see that God arranges all things for your good.”
– Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
Fortitude is the Backbone that Upholds Life
In conclusion, fortitude encompasses much more than simply having courage. St. Anthony the Great said, “the greatest struggle is to struggle with your own heart.” Fortitude is largely an inner battle, marked by vigilance and humility rather than outward conquest. It accepts suffering as a reality, finds its source in God and lives out of love for God and others. Ultimately, fortitude is participation in the cross, with the promise that we will also be participants of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10). One of the most practical ways to start small with fortitude is to endure suffering with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in suffering is not denial—it is trust that God is present and at work even when circumstances feel unjust or painful. Easier said than done, of course, but each day presents countless opportunities to choose fortitude.
