The Mystery of the Church
And the corporate nature of salvation
There is a certain emptiness in trying to live the
Christian life outside the life of the Church. This is because it is impossible
to truly live as a Christian without the Church. The reading of the scriptures,
and our commitment to prayer, are important foundations in the life of a
Christian, but they are incomplete without the mystical and sacramental
life
that is found within the Church.
If we hope to grow spiritually, we will take advantage
of the Mysteries that are found only within the Church. Without the Mystery of
Penance, and the absolution of the Church, we have no hope of transformation
and holiness, for without the corporate life of the Church, our sins keep us
captive. Without the Mystery of Christ's Body and Blood, received during the
celebration of the Church's Divine Liturgy, the healing of the soul remains undone,
and salvation is next to impossible.
The center of the Church's Eucharistic liturgy is to
be found in the descent, the appearance, the divine presence of the resurrected
Christ, and is central to every moment of the liturgy. As believers, the
partaking of Communion is actually that moment when we are encountering the
living person of the Lord who enters the congregation as "King of the
universe borne invisibly over their spears by the angelic hosts." This act
is so central to the life of a Christian, as to make it the necessary component
to being a Christian.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
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