Church
The
Church is the mystical body of Christ. In other words, Christ is the head and
the members of the body are those who have been baptized in accordance with the
Orthodox faith in the name of the Holy Trinity; or those who, having been
already baptized in another Christian confession and who live the Orthodox
faith, have been accepted into the Orthodox faith through the sacrament of
Chrismation. A hierarchy exists in the Church: Christ; the Bishop, who is the
representative of Christ on earth; the Priest; the Deacon, and the people. All
together they comprise the Church, the mystical body of Christ. "Christ is
the head of the Church, His body, and is Himself its saviour" (Ephesians,
5:23), says St. Paul. He also says that "you are the body of Christ, and
individually members of it, (I Corinthians, 12:27) and that "we, though
many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another"
(Romans, 12:5).
However,
let no one believe that the Church is comprised solely of Christ and those who
live on earth. No. The Church includes those who now live on earth and who have
been baptized in an orthodox way, and is called the militant church; but the
Church also includes all of those who lived in an orthodox way and who are now
in Heaven, known as the triumphant church.
This
Church is the treasury of truth and divine grace. It is the ark of the
salvation of man. It is the kingdom of God on earth. Christ Himself told us
this: "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew, 4:17),
meaning the Church. Did you ever think that by our Baptism in the Orthodox
faith we enter the kingdom of God and become members of the mystical body of
Christ? The Church Fathers say that outside the Church there is no salvation,
and rightly so, since whoever is not a member of the mystical body of Christ
cannot have a spiritual life. Christ said this: "I am the vine; you are
the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much
fruit. . . ." (John, 15:5). When the branch of the vine is cut off at the
trunk it withers. So it is when someone leaves the Church, cut off from the
mystical body of Christ--he dries up spiritually.
Christ
Himself established the Church. When? With His Incarnation and the calling of His
disciples. To be sure, Pentecost is considered to be the founding day of the
Church, because on that day the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of fire and
taught the disciples all of the Truth, as Christ had promised. "The
Comforter, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth,
Who proceeds from the Father. . ." (John, 15:26). "He will guide you
into all the truth" (John, 16:13). The Church has Christ as its
foundation. St. Paul says that it is "built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone" (Ephesians,
2:20). It is illumined and guided by the Holy Spirit, Who "grants all
things . . . causes prophecies to abound, perfects the priests, sustains the
whole institution of the Church."This Church "the powers of death
shall not prevail against" (Matthew, 16:18); It will be always invincible.
As
we confess in the Creed, the Church has its characteristic marks. It is
"One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic."
The
Church is One because one is her head--Christ. There are not many heads. Just
one. Consequently, the true Church is only one. Everyone must become a member
of this Church to be saved. Everyone, without exception. Whites, blacks,
yellow-skinned and red-skinned, all are equal children of God and all have to
be members of the One Church--the mystical body of Christ. Everyone must have
the true faith. Whoever does not follow the true faith is a heretic and is cut
off from the Church.
The
Church is Holy because Christ, the head, is holy and without sin. Christ
Himself sanctifies her. Here is what St. Paul says: "Christ loved the
Church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed
her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the Church to
Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might
be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians, 5:25-27). Although those who
become members of the Church are sinners, within the Church, through divine grace,
they are purified and sanctified--that is the purpose of the Church.
The
Church is Catholic. This means two things: First, that it accepts all people
(as many, of course, as want to become members) from all over the world without
discrimination. The commandment of God to His Disciples was: "Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you. . . ." (Matthew 28:19-20). Second,
"catholic" means that the Church has the "Catholic" faith,
that is, the fullness of faith in Christ and in the Triune God, the true faith,
the Orthodox faith.
The
Church is Apostolic because the first representatives of Christ on earth were
the Apostles. Their successors, that is, the Bishops, must have apostolic
succession, but also apostolic faith and teachings, and they must govern the
Church as did the Apostles. In the true Orthodox Church there exists canonical
and uninterrupted apostolic succession. It is only by means of apostolic
succession, which is given through the sacrament of ordination, that the Church
is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, the true body of Christ, the treasury of
divine grace and truth, the ark of man's salvation.
Christ, You Who are the founder of the Church, the head of the body, and the
vine of truth, we thank You because You accept us as members of Your mystical
body. We glorify You because with Your great love You are willing to justify
and glorify us as well. We ask that You make us, who were baptized as Orthodox
Christians and who have become members of Your mystical body, never to go away
from You; that our sin never become a cause of our separation from You. We also
ask that You enlighten the heretics to return to Your Orthodox Church, the One,
Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Lord, help everyone--all the people of
the world--to hear Your Gospel and to become members of Your Church, Your
mystical body. Lord, we thank You.