Church Etiquette
The Church is the Body of Christ on earth, the fellowship of the faithful. It is the 'Ecclesia,' the gathering of the people of God who assemble to worship together the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As a consequence of their belief in Christ, they have been baptized, chrismated, and receive His precious Body and Blood regularly. They have chosen to help and love one another as Christ Himself commanded. They repent for their shortcomings and seek God’s help and the help of their fellow Christians to do better.
If our faith needs practical expression, then we need the Church. A vague belief in God, a few occasional moments of something like devotional feeling, and a good deed once in a while, are hardly a real expression of the Orthodox Christian Faith. To do a good job in anything requires organization. Every good idea and goal must be planned well in order to be successful. The Church, a living organism, is a treasury, a storehouse of centuries of accumulated wisdom in humanity’s efforts to relate to God and all people. Truly, what we know of our Faith we have ultimately received from the Church. Those of us who have received and cherished this heritage have an obligation – a duty – to pass it on to future generations. It takes this organization we call 'Church' to give Christianity to those who will follow. This is why we need to be active and concerned members of Christ’s Body – His Church!
