ON THE UNITY OF CHRISTIANS

"... and let us pray to the Lord for the union of all"

At every service we pray "for the union of all" in the Church of the Living God. What kind of unity do we pray for, and why do we need to pray for it? We pray because the unity that man has destroyed can only be restored by God: his criteria are too high, his standards are not human, but God's. Such unity is a mystery in nature, a miracle in essence. Christian unity cannot be defined in the categories of commonwealth, community. This is not "togetherness," it is "unity": "May they be one, even as we are one," the Lord said in His last prayer to the Father (cf. John 17:22). This is a glorious and trembling call and model, because it contains a sovereign command for the entire human race: to attain the likeness of the Holy Trinity, to be Her image and Her revelation; And this is a promise, but also a responsibility. And we easily forget both. The experience of this glorious and terribly trembling unity is the very being, the essence of the Church, her nature: the Church is this unity itself; The Church is one and indivisible, although the Christian world is broken into parts by our sins. Ask for peace for Jerusalem, a city merged into one... (see Psalm 121).

Too often the Church is thought of as the most sacred community of people united and united by a common faith and a common hope in one and the same God, by their love for one and the same Lord; it seems to many that the unity of God Himself, to whom divided and opposing Christians have recourse, is an exceptional, but sufficient anchor of their unity. Such a criterion is too small; and the underlying experience of the nature and life of the Church is also too shallow. The Church is not simply a human association. It is not an association, but an organism, and its members are not "constituent parts" of a collective whole, but genuine, living members of a complex but unified body (1 Corinthians 12:27): there is no such thing as a Christian individual. And this body is both human and divine. Human, because we are its members; and not only we, but also all the believers who have fallen asleep, because "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:32), and all are alive to Him. But the Church is also Divine: the Lord Himself, true Man and true God, is its Head, the Firstborn among the departed, one of its members; on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit dwelt in it and dwells in each of its convinced members; and our lives are hidden with Christ in God the Father; We are sons and daughters by communion.

The Church is a place and a means, a way of uniting God with His creatures. This is a new creation; A kingdom already come in power; unity re-created with God and in God – in love and freedom. The words that seem so harsh: "There is no salvation outside the Church" are profoundly true, because the Church is salvation: the place where God meets man, but also, in essence, the very mystery of their union. In the Church, God endows His creation with His Divine life, gives Himself freely, in love; man becomes a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and in love, freely accepts God, becomes God by communion, when his human nature is permeated with grace, divine and uncreated, as iron can be pierced by fire. God, accepted by love, is no longer a stranger to His creature, just as man is no longer a stranger in the Kingdom of God. And this new relationship grows into a genuine prayer of unity, which is worshiping love and devotional service.

The Church does not seek unity and fullness; it is the fullness and unity already given and accepted. And this unity is an image of the Holy Trinity, a likeness of the Divine life, a glorious and terrible and life-giving experience, an experience for the Church herself – and also a revelation to all creation: "That they may all be one, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (John 17:21), and that they may have eternal life, because this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent (John 17:3).

To know God is the deep and inexplicable experience of the Church, known only to the Church itself. To be a revelation of God is her task and responsibility; being His revelation, it is thereby a witness of its God, because the godless world sees God only in its Church and through it, judges Christ according to His Church; and sees the Trinitarian mystery and the mystery of the Divine life, knowing the true calling of humanity in the image and manifestation of this new life – which is the Church in the unity of her knowledge, her worship and her love. And this manifestation must be a revelation of the mystery of life, not only in words, but a glorious life of unity with God and in God. And we believe that there still exists, in spite of the divisions and among them, a one, indivisible Church – because otherwise there is no Church at all, no new creation, no Kingdom coming in power, and our Lord and God has failed in His work to create all things new and one: Behold, I make all things new...

We cannot ignore Christian divisions; we must realize that schisms are the germ of hidden apostasy – the renunciation of the will of God, the destruction of His work. If we truly understand what unity means and what is, we cannot tolerate our divisions, our disguised apostasy in action and life. We must make this rejected will of God our concern and set to work with all our hearts. Two wills govern history: the will of God, omnipotent, which can create everything out of nothing and renew what is dilapidated, and the will of man, weak, incapable of creating and renewing, but possessing the terrible power to resist the will of God. It can destroy, but it cannot recreate. And a person can only break himself and pray. And we will do it: let us pray to God that His will will restore our universal unity. But, as St. Ephraim the Syrian says: Do not enclose your prayer in words, but turn your whole life into prayer...

Let us pray for unity in the recesses of our hearts, in the close circle of our families, in the fellowship of our communities, but let us also unite together in prayer, sharing in our common longing for unity. Let us taste the bitterness of our separation – with pain, not trying to avoid this bitterness, bearing the cross of our shame. Let us recognize our need and our responsibility – and open our hearts to love and humility, coming to our divided brothers not as masters, but as ministers, truly – as slaves. We must open our minds wide, broaden our knowledge, deepen our understanding—learn to distinguish between the sinner and his sin, the erring from the deluded, and become increasingly aware of the existence of authentic spiritual life in the various Christian societies (see John 14:2).

We must meet, learn and pray together... But let us do something more: "unity" is identical with union with God, and sooner than anywhere else, unity begins in the depths of our hearts: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. The path that leads to universal unity is our personal holiness; this path is very simple: Son, – says the Lord, – give Me your heart, and I will do all things – an all-hearted, active self-giving, which allows us to call out to God, calling God the Heavenly Father. And He will hear our call, as He heard the prayer of His Only-begotten Son, and He will grant us this unity, pleasing to His will, for it is said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

Address by Hieromonk Anthony, Russian Orthodox Spiritual Director of the Fellowship of the Holy Martyr Albania and St. Sergius, at a meeting on Christian unity, January 19, 1950, at Caxton Hall, Westminster.

Lane. from English