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Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith
Hebrews 12:2
“Stay in the Church at all costs!” This is not advice, but I believe it is an eternal judgment. For the Church is not a human association but the living Body of Christ, born from His pierced side on the Cross. To step out of the Orthodox Church is to fall out of that very vessel of salvation, to fall into the abyss where there is no Eucharist, no Spirit, no life.
Remember the story of Noah, when the flood covered everything and those who stood outside the ark all drowned, for outside the ark there was no salvation. The Church today is that very ark, the door of the ark has been opened, the Blood of the Lamb has been marked on the doorframe but whoever mocks and leaves will see the fire of destruction.
From the Old Testament itself, God had revealed the Church through the image of the people of Israel. They were the pilgrims in the desert walking under the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21). This was not only a historical journey but also a prefiguration of the Church as the new people, guided by the Holy Spirit and never abandoned. If Israel once lived on manna falling from heaven, then the Church today is nourished by the Eucharist which is the Body and Blood of Christ, the bread of eternal life.
The prophets once saw the Church from afar; St. Isaiah saw Mount Zion standing firm among the nations (Is. 2:2), and St. Ezekiel saw the water flowing from the Temple making the desert blossom (Ez. 47:1–12). That is the Church where the Spirit revives the dry bones, where the dead are called back to life, and whoever leaves then returns to the barren tomb. In the New Testament, the mystery of the Church becomes clear. Christ said to St. Peter: On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). This is not a vague promise but an eternal covenant. In the book of Revelation, St. John beheld the Church as the Bride adorned for the Bridegroom (Rev. 21:2). From beginning to end, the Bible has set up a golden axis with the people of God—the Church, the Bride, the New Jerusalem.
Do not think the Church is a crystal vessel without cracks, the Church is an earthen jar that has been struck many times yet from its cracks shines forth the light of the Spirit. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4:8–9).
The prophets once described God’s people as an unfaithful wife who went after foreign gods, yet God forgave her and took her back (Hos. 2:16–23). The Church also bears wounds from the betrayal of men, but the One who is the Bridegroom of this marriage never divorces. As in the words of Isaiah: The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains (Is. 2:2), and that is the image of the Church standing firm in the midst of human history.
The blood of martyrs has stained red the very stones of the Colosseum, the prison walls of Siberia, the deserts of Africa. Think of St. Daniel in the lions’ den, of the three youths in the fiery furnace of Babylon. Think of St. Paul beheaded, St. Peter crucified upside down, St. John exiled. The Church walks through history like a woman clothed with the sun, with a crown of twelve stars on her head, pursued by the red dragon (Rev. 12). But it could not devour her, for the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that was poured out. There is no Church without the blood of martyrs, as Tertullian once said, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians. For three centuries mighty empires sought to extinguish the Church, but they vanished, while the Church still stands. The Roman arena witnessed those small and defenseless ones singing psalms while facing lions; they did not die in vain but made the Church sink deeper into the soil from which grew the forest of faith.
If persecution from outside could not bring down the Church, then schemes from within also failed. There was a time when Arius roared: “The Son is only a creature!” and the whole world seemed to have lost Christ, there was a time when Nestorius divided the human and divine natures, there was a time when the banner of schism was raised like a blood-red flag... yet the Church still remained. The Church has many times stood before the brink of dissolution. But like the ark of Noah in the midst of the flood, the Church still rode the waves by the hand of God. And like Jerusalem under siege yet not crushed, because within it was the Ark of the Covenant. Remember the words of Christ: Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you (Jn. 6:53). Outside the Church there is no Eucharist and no Life. They may build chapels, they may sing hymns, but only empty echoes remain without the Spirit.
History shows that not a few times empires, ideologies, political movements sought to make the Church their tool. But the Church is not the product of this world, the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ born from His pierced side on the Cross (Jn. 19:34). The blood and water that flowed that day have become the sacramental river nourishing the Church until the end of the age.
One issue I want to emphasize in this writing is that politics no longer stands outside the Church but have become one of the dangerous elements that the global Orthodox Church must face today. From Ukraine, to the Middle East, to even Southeast Asia we have seen the same pattern: The worldly political powers want to turn the Church into an instrument and to condition apostolic communion by nation and by power. This is no longer a local trial but a global crisis of Orthodoxy in the twenty-first century.
In several writings I have previously analyzed and published on the political motives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate concerning the issues of the schismatic Ukrainian church (OCU) and the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), I have spoken quite clearly about this and how the Patriarchate of Constantinople is gradually becoming a political-diplomatic tool. And it is all too clear that Constantinople’s unilateral interference and granting of the Tomos in the tense political context of Ukraine was not only a “pastoral mistake” but a mortal wound to the Body of the Church. That decision did not arise from faith and did not stand on theological ground, but was conceived from diplomatic calculation and compromise with worldly powers. This is not only the tragedy of Ukraine but also a warning to the entire global Church that we are entering a new era with political pressures seeking to determine the very nature and boundaries of the Church.
The issue isn’t simply, “who has the authority to confer titles or to establish a new church,” but the breaking of apostolic communion. History shows us that whenever the Church is drawn into the orbit of politics, the blood of martyrs is shed again to purify it. But the blood of martyrs cannot forever be the answer to systematic error; the Holy Martyrs did not die to serve a “national church” erected by decrees and treaties; they died to preserve the unity of the Body of Christ. Yet today it is precisely that unity which is being torn apart by blind decisions in the name of diplomacy, shaking the faith of the faithful, turning the united Church into a victim of division. And if one must choose between a splendid church erected by politics and a persecuted Church faithful to apostolic tradition, the faithful can only choose fidelity, for only such fidelity can bear witness that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ and not the tool of any empire.
We live in a time when satan produces countless schemes, persuading people that the Church is merely an organization, merely politics, merely laws. It sows discouragement, betrayal, indifference... But remember that the Church is not the palace of the powerful, the Church is the Crucified Body, and whoever remains in it is crucified with it, while whoever departs chooses the easy path but will lose his soul. When you see the Church full of wounds, do not panic, but remember that the Body of the Lord on the Cross was also full of wounds. Outside the Church there is no life. Just as the branch cut off from the vine will wither, so the soul cut off from the Church will fade away (Jn. 15:6). To separate from the Church is to separate from the Lord Himself.
When trials come, and surely they will come, we are called to be patient like Job, who sat on ashes, lost everything but still said: Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him (Job 13:15). Remaining in the Church is also such a trial. Sometimes we see scandals, wounds, imperfections. Noah’s Ark also contained animal waste, but those who stayed were saved, while those who jumped out drowned and perished!
The world has gone through so many upheavals from the Roman Empire, the Mongols, the Ottomans, atheistic regimes... but all have passed away. The Church still remains. Remember the words Christ has spoken: I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). That is not an empty promise but a living presence in the Eucharist, in the Liturgy, in the sacramental life. The gates of hell have opened many times through wars, through heresies, or through hatred, but they have never prevailed even once. For the Church is not built on human strength but on the Rock who is Christ Himself, Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain (Ps 126:1). But the Lord has built and He still builds until the day of completion. He has built with His blood, with His Spirit, with countless generations of saints and martyrs. The gates of Hell have never prevailed and will never prevail!
We may lose possessions, lose friends, lose even life... But if the Church of God remains, then we still have everything. Stay at all costs, do not fear being called conservative, do not fear being scorned, do not fear being alone. For standing in the Church we stand in the procession of pilgrims who have walked for two thousand years, from the apostles, the martyrs, to our fathers and mothers, our grandparents. Be patient in every trial, hold fast to the Church as a child holds the hand of his mother. For this is the only place satan cannot overcome, this is Noah’s Ark, this is the Bride of the Lamb, this is the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. If we stand firm then we need not worry, for the Church has gone through century after century, through persecutions, wars, lies, divisions, heresies—and still stands, before all the powers of hell.
I will not leave you orphans (Jn. 14:18). That is the word of Christ to the Church. Believe, stand, remain to the end.
