The church is ... What is the church?

Mutual relations with religion now also differ, as well as the views of people in general. Not all families and communities have a tradition of spiritual education. From this comes a strange at first glance question: "The church is what? Is it a house for prayers, or does it make any other sense? "It is both difficult and simple to answer such a spiritual quest. Let's try to figure it out.

Name value

Most likely, the history of the church should influence the understanding. The term itself came from the Greek language. It means "meeting" ("ecclesia" sounds). It is very interesting that originally it was not called the building. This term denoted the believers themselves. Hence, the church is a community of believers, in our case, Christians. If we read the New Testament, then we can penetrate deeper into this meaning of our term. It says that the church is a temple. But not a structure! This is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit! And as you know, it is non-material. There is the Holy Spirit where he is worshiped. Anyone to whom he helps in life, a believer and a hopeful, has it in his heart. The New Testament calls such people brothers in Christ. The meaning of this understanding of the church is concluded in the prayer "The Symbol of Faith". She says that the church is a community of people united by the same aspirations of the soul. They are equally related to the teachings of Christ, understand and live by its laws!

Bible about the church

The already voiced idea is confirmed by the holy Book. It claims that ordinary believers are neither aliens nor strangers. On the contrary, they are called fellow citizens of the saints and their God! It is clear that this is not true of everyone. This we are now confident that the performance of rites, irregular visits to the temple give the right to the Kingdom of God. Is it so? The Bible explicitly states "having Jesus Christ Himself" as a cornerstone. It is necessary to understand this quotation. It is in it the criterion of such a concept as "The Church of God." A believing person is not one who observes traditions, knows and adheres to the rules established by religion in a purely external way. The words "Christ is the cornerstone" suggest that the Christian builds his worldview on his teachings. Commandments are the basis of his thoughts, and therefore deeds and deeds. Such people make up the Temple of God on earth . The church, according to the Bible, is one. It is called universal. It consists of communities based on denominations. The latter, in turn, are also called churches.

Major denominations

We have already said that on earth there are denominations of the universal church. We know them as Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. These are all trends of Christianity. Each of them is also called the "Church", referring to the association of local communities. It so happened that geographically these communities are now intertwined. Practically in all countries and regions there are representatives of this or that church. However, these people constitute, so to speak, a monolithic society united by spiritual bonds. They have a single God in their soul, they aspire to it, they consider it a criterion of their own thoughts and deeds. By the way, representatives of one church consider it their duty to substitute their fellow tribesmen. It's strange, is not it? And what did Christ teach to divide people into confessions? A true Christian will not deny support to anyone based on differences in views. Unfortunately, the history of the church provides us with many examples where believers waged religious wars between themselves.

Another division

We have already mentioned that not all believers are actually so. In the teaching of Christ, this "phenomenon" is given some attention. That is, it is a visible and invisible church. Meaning is also deep within a person. A visible church is what a person observes with his own eyes. He judges others by their behavior. However, not everyone who fulfills the rules and rites has in the soul of Jesus as the cornerstone. You are sure to encounter such actions. Here we should talk about the invisible church. The Lord will judge anyone not on the regularity of visiting the temple or raising prayers. He will separate the real Christians from those who only pretend, not having in the heart of Christ. This is written in the New Testament. It says that among Christians there will be many who are not. They only behave like believers. But everything will be revealed at the Supreme Court. He will reject those who do not have a temple in their soul, sinning, demonstrating true Christian behavior. But it should be understood that the church is still one. It's just that not everyone can fully understand it.

About the Temple

Surely you are already confused. If the church is a community of believers, then why do we call this word the structure? It should be remembered about the communities of people who profess one religion. Historically, they are united in communities led by a priest. And he, in turn, produces service in a special structure. Of course, this tradition did not immediately form. But over time, people realized that one temple is more convenient than, for example, serving in different buildings in turns, like Mormons. Since then, the church has also been called buildings. Then they began to be built up, beautiful, symbolic. They began to be dedicated to certain Saints, to call them by their names. For example, the Church of the Theotokos is an Orthodox church dedicated to a woman who gave the earthly life to the Son of God.

Religious traditions

Here we come with one more interesting question that can be asked by the reader who has not penetrated into the subject before. If the church is in the souls of believers, then why go to the temple? Here it is necessary to recall the teaching of Christ. He said that believers should actively work in the local church. That is, all together decide the affairs of the community, help each other, even monitor and correct in case of mistakes. In addition, we are talking about church discipline. Customs are not set on top, but are inherited from parents by children. Once it was accepted to go to the temple, so it should be done until the society changes its decision.

A little more about the church

It should be added to the above one nuance, which draws attention to the Law of God. It says that not only the believers who live today belong to the church. Those who have already left this world, but are united by love with their relatives and friends, are also included in the common temple. It turns out, the concept of "church" is much wider than what we see or can feel. Part of it is in a different world, different, spiritual sphere. All people united by the understanding of the need to have Christ in their soul, both alive and dead, make up the church and are its members. The building (cathedral, temple) was created for the convenience of the parishioners. The church is a Christian, all or part of them, united by a common priesthood. It can be said that this is a single spiritual body that has Christ at its head. It is also illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is to unite people with divine teaching and sacraments.

Candles in the church

And finally, let's talk about the attributes. You know that everyone in the temple of God is lighting candles. And where did this tradition come from? Wax candles have many meanings. It is also a symbol of the sun, nature, the beautiful breath of life. On the other hand, they remind of those members of the church that are already at the throne of the Lord. They demonstrate the light thoughts of the believer, his aspiration for a righteous life. And all this is enclosed in one small light, perceived by us as something traditional, irreplaceable. One should sometimes think about the symbols and attributes used in religious rites to remind oneself of the true church that is in the soul.