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In the middle of the second century, St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, eloquently painted this unified picture of the Church in his day:
True knowledge is that which consists in the doctrine of the apostles, and the ancient
constitution of the Church throughout the world, and the distinctive manifestation
of the body of Christ according to the succession of the bishops, by which they have
handed down that Church which exists in every place, and has come even unto us, being
guarded and preserved without any forging of Scriptures, by a very complete system
of doctrine…and above all, it consists in the pre-
The Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these points of doctrine just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possesses only one mouth. For although the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the import of the tradition is one and the same. For the Churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different, nor do those in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East, nor those in Egypt, nor those in Libya, nor those which have been established in the central regions of the world…Nor will any one of the rulers in the Churches, however highly gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); nor, on the other hand, will he who is deficient in power of expression inflict injury on the tradition. For the faith being ever one and the same, neither does one who is able at great length to discourse regarding it, make any addition to it, nor does one, who can say but little diminish it (Against Heresies, I, 10:2).
This describes a Church devoted to the perfect unity that St. Paul commanded. On
the other hand, the more than twenty thousand denominations of the Christian West
are a far cry from “no divisions” and being “perfectly joined together.” And it’s
not just their governing structures that divide them. Even when it comes to the
most essential tenets of Christian faith—the nature of God, the purpose and process
of salvation, what God expects of believers, what represents proper worship, what
the eternal Kingdom of God will be like—members of the various Western churches do
anything but “speak the same thing.” They do not have “the same mind” or “the same
judgment.” On these ultimately crucial matters, they contradict each other.
By
contrast, while Orthodox believers come from many diverse ethnic groups and nations,
they hold to one set of doctrines, one unified worship, and a single spiritual lifestyle.
Whether you attend a Liturgy in Russia, Greece, Tanzania, Chile, Japan, or the United
States, it will be exactly the same service—the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which
the Church has celebrated for about seventeen hundred years. Ask an Orthodox priest
a doctrinal question, and whether he’s Greek, or Arab, or Serbian, or born-
Thus, it is no exaggeration to say that Eastern Orthodoxy represents a different spiritual universe than its Western counterpart. Those who worship in Western Christian churches are typically unaware of just how much their varied beliefs diverge from those of the original Christians. The differences are not just in specific doctrinal definitions and concepts. East and West are separated by two distinct approaches to life with God.
In the Christian West, faith is a personal matter. An individual’s personal faith is founded upon his or her rational understanding of God—an understanding gained through the study of the Scriptures, and through theological/philosophical analysis. From this, one develops an image of God. The hope is that somehow, this theological picture of God will find its way into the heart and produce feelings toward God. As it is commonly put, “Head knowledge has to become heart knowledge.” They key point is that a Western believer’s encounter with God is mediated by these thoughts and feelings. That is, he or she experiences God through his or her ideas and emotions.
But for the Apostles and early Christians, as well as for the Orthodox Christians who preserve their spiritual heritage, life with God is radically different. First of all, it is anything but individual. It is entirely communal. Orthodox Christians understand that there can be absolutely nothing purely personal about one’s relationship with God. After all, what is His ultimate desire for us? Jesus expresses it beautifully in His prayer recorded in John 17:
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