My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
"IN ONE HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH" [Orthodox Creed]
Jesus said: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation, and every city or house DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF
WILL NOT STAND" [Matthew 12:25].
"ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD and
Father of all Who is above all, and through all, and in
you all" [Ephesians 4:5-6].
"For the husband is head of the wife, AS ALSO CHRIST
IS HEAD OF THE CHURCH; AND HE IS THE SAVIOR OF
THE BODY.
Therefore, just as THE CHURCH is subject to Christ…Husbands,
love your wives, JUST AS CHRIST ALSO LOVED THE CHURCH
AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR HER, THAT HE MIGHT SANCTIFY AND
CLEANSE HER WITH THE WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD,
THAT HE MIGHT PRESENT HER TO HIMSELF A GLORIOUS
CHURCH, NOT HAVING SPOT OR WRINKLE OR ANY SUCH
THING, BUT THAT SHE SHOULD BE HOLY AND WITHOUT
BLEMISH…For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes
and cherishes it, JUST AS THE LORD DOES THE CHURCH.
FOR WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, OF HIS FLESH AND OF
HIS BONES…THIS IS A GREAT MYSTERY, BUT I SPEAK
CONCERNING CHRIST AND THE CHURCH" [Ephesians 5:23-32].
One of the greatest fallacies heard repeatedly today, is for one to speak out of ignorance of Christian Churches, instead of "The Church" as mentioned in Holy Scripture, and of the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. How can Orthodox theologians and Church leaders make references to so-called "Churches" when in the Church Creed we constantly confess OUR BELIEF: "And IN ONE HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH"?
The Ninth Article of the Creed or the Symbol of Faith indicates the FOUR BASIC SIGNS OF THE CHURCH: "We believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." These attributes are called ESSENTIAL, that is, THOSE WITHOUT WHICH THE Church would NOT be the Church.
The Unity of the Church
In the Greek text the word "in One," is expressed as a numeral (en mian). Thus the Symbol of Faith confesses THAT THE CHURCH IS ONE: (a) it is one as viewed from within itself, NOT DIVIDED; (b) IT IS ONE AS VIEWED FROM WITHOUT, THAT IS, NOT HAVING ANY OTHER BESIDE ITSELF. ITS UNITY CONSISTS NOT IN THE JOINING TOGETHER OF WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN NATURE, BUT IN INWARD AGREEMENT AND UNANIMITY. "There IS ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, Who is above all and through all, and in you" [Ephesians 4:4-6).
Depicting the Church in Parables, the Savior spoke OF ONE FLOCK, OF ONE SHEEPFOLD, OF ONE GRAPEVINE, OF ONE FOUNDATION-STONE OF THE CHURCH. He gave A SINGLE TEACHING, A SINGLE BAPTISM, AND A SINGLE COMMUNION. The UNITY of the faithful in Christ comprised the subject of His High-Priestly Prayer before His suffering on the Cross; the Lord prayed "THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE" [John 17:21]
The Church IS ONE not only inwardly, but also outwardly. Outwardly ITS UNITY IS MANIFESTED IN THE HARMONIOUS CONFESSION OF FAITH, IN THE ONENESS OF Divine services and Mysteries (Sacraments), IN ONENESS OF THE GRACE-GIVING HIERARCHY, which comes in succession from the Apostles, IN THE ONENESS OF CANONICAL ORDER.
The Church on earth has a visible side and an invisible side. The invisible side is: that its Head is Christ; that it is animated by the Holy Spirit; that in it is performed the inward mystical life in sanctity of the more perfect of its members.
However, the Church by the nature of its members, is VISIBLE, since it is composed of men in the body; it has a visible hierarchy; it performs prayers and sacred actions visibly; it confesses openly, by means of words, the faith of Christ.
The Church DOES NOT LOSE ITS UNITY because side by side with the Church there exist Christian societies which do not belong to it. These societies are not in the Church, they are outside of it.
The UNITY of the Church IS NOT VIOLATED BECAUSE OF TEMPORARY DIVISIONS OF A NONDOGMATIC NATURE. Differences between Churches arise frequently out of insufficient or incorrect information. Also, sometimes a temporary breaking of communion is caused by the personal errors of individual hierarchs who stand at the head of one or another local Church, or by the violation of the Canons of the Church, or by the violation of the submission of one territorial ecclesiastical group in another in accordance with anciently established tradition. Moreover, life shows us the possibility of disturbances within a local Church, which hinder the normal communion of other Churches with the given local Church until the outward manifestation and triumph of hte defenders of authentic Orthodox truth. Finally, the bond between Churches can sometimes be violated for a long time by political conditions, as has often happened in history. In such cases, the division touches only outward relations, but does not touch or violate inward spiritual unity.
In the prayers of the Church are contained petitions for the ceasing of possible disagreements among the Churches: "Cause discords to cease in the Church; quickly destroy by the might of Thy Holy Spirit all uprisings of heresies" (Eucharistic Prayer at the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great). "We glorify Thee…Thou one rule in Trinity, and beg for forgiveness of sins, peace for the world, and concord for the Church…Grant peace and unity to Thy Church, O Thou Who lovest mankind" (Canon of the Sunday Midnight Office, Tone 8, Canticle 9). [Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology)
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 