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

Opening Sermon

meetings of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches

(Berlin, August 1974)

In one of the ancient liturgies of the early, as yet undivided Church, the Lord's Supper is preceded by the following words:

"Holy art Thou and the Most Holy, and glorious is Thy glory; Thou Who so loved Thy peace that He gave Thy only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life; Who came, and fulfilled all that was written, and on the night when He was betrayed, or rather gave Himself for the life of the world, He took bread into His holy and most pure and blameless hands, gave thanks and blessing, sanctified, broken, and gave to His holy disciples, saying: Take, eat, this is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins. And also the cup, after the supper, saying: "Drink of it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is poured out for you and for many for the remission of sins." Do this in remembrance of me, for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim my death, you confess my resurrection."