On Church

The Church is one yet it is simultaneously diverse being comprised of different parts and present in various locations. Unity in diversity and diversity in unity form an interdependency by which the one and the many are joined in a symbiotic and therefore inseparable bond.

The Church as a local phenomenon is an epiphany of Christ in the world. He is the head while we the faithful are being forged by the Holy Spirit into Christ’s living body. From within this symbiotic relationship neither head nor body can exist apart from the other. Through the Church Christ continues His sojourn in the world. By His birth, death and resurrection He has put an end to death’s dividing powers. Christ is indeed given to the world by His Father to triumph over the destructive forces of disunity. Christ is the good shepherd who brings to Himself all who are scattered and divided. He is the one shepherd forming one new flock (cf. John 10:7 ff).

We who make up Holy Trinity Cathedral have been called by Christ Himself to a life of unity – to a life where there are no walls of division. In Christ we draw near to each other. In Christ heaven and earth are no longer opposite poles of reality. Already we have been “endowed with the kingdom which is to come”.

Being the one body of Christ, the Church has one Spirit who eternally proceeds from the Father. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is upon all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). It is the Spirit who nurtures and guides the body. And we who comprise the body are to maintain its unity in the “bond of peace” fostered by the Spirit (4:3). Consequently, we are to ensure that the unity of the Church is always one with the Spirit of Truth. Our fidelity to this enterprise is to be expressed by the manner in which we live and proclaim the Gospel.

The Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of Christ who is the Truth (John 14:6). Christ who is the Truth is eternally one with the Church. Within this relation begins our mission. United in Christ we are sent as the Church to expose every one and every thing to new and transfigured life.