👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾(#Holy #Liturgy )Why Do We Consecrate?
(Part 7)
Dear followers of the Orthodox teachings on John's Repentance website .we greet you with the peace of the Lord.Today,based on the topic mentioned above, we present to you the following important lesson.We encourage everyone to read it carefully and learn from it.
1. The Secret of Our Gathering
The secret of our gathering in the Holy Liturgy is unity. The unity of the faithful forms the Holy Church, which is the Body of Christ. As Saint Paul teaches:
“You are the body of Christ, and individually you are body part of him.”(1 Corinthians 12:27)
✍🏾When the faithful gather, the Church is revealed not as an earthly institution or administrative body, but as a heavenly reality. This gathering is the fulfillment of the Church’s unity and holiness.
✍🏾The Church is not simply a crowd of people assembled in one place. It is the manifestation of the heavenly Body of Christ, the communion of believers who become its members through faith in His Name.
2. The Perfection and Holiness of the Church
✍🏾We must be attentive in our time, because new theological doctrines have appeared that reject many of the ancient traditions of the Church. These earthly doctrines show little concern for the Holy Liturgy, and even when they speak about it, they divide it into parts, emphasizing one while diminishing another, as if the mystery of God can be measured and ranked.
✍🏾When questioned about the Holy Liturgy, they focus almost entirely on the moment when the bread and wine are changed, while neglecting the rest of the sacred service. They attempt to explain and analyze this mystery not in the Orthodox and heavenly manner handed down by the Fathers, but through scientific, rational, and earthly reasoning.
✍🏾Such teachings are not in harmony with the Holy Scriptures nor with the Apostolic Tradition of the Church. The Holy Liturgy is not a subject for experimentation or proof, but a divine and heavenly mystery revealed through faith.
✍🏾The ancient Church, our holy Fathers, understood this deeply. Knowing that the Holy Liturgy is a participation in heaven itself, they were greatly concerned when even one believer was absent from the gathering of the faithful.
3. The Holiness of the Church Comes from Christ
The holiness of the Church does not come from the personal righteousness of its members. Each of us may be weak and sinful, yet the Church remains holy because Christ Himself is present in her.
✍🏾The unity of the faithful is the purity of the Church. This holiness is not our achievement. It is the gift of Christ, who dwells among us.
✍🏾The Church is pure not because we are without sin, but because Christ is in her midst. He is the medicine for our sickness, the source of her holiness, and the life of her body.
Thus, the Church truly deserves to be called:
👉🏾a holy nation
👉🏾a royal priesthood
👉🏾a chosen generation
As Scripture says:
👉🏾“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation… that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”(1 Peter 2:9)
For this reason, believers in the Apostolic age were called “saints.” They lived in constant fellowship and prayer, and as Saint Paul writes:
“I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.”(Philemon 1:7)
4. The Gathering as a Heavenly Joy
The gathering of the faithful was a fragrance of holiness and a source of heavenly joy. This joy enabled the early Christians to endure suffering with gladness and to preach the Gospel with courage in a hostile world.
Their unity was born from the love of God, and through it, the Church shone as a living witness to Christ.
Continues 👇🏾