Why can there be only one true Church? #

We believe in “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church,” as stated in the Symbol of Faith. This dogmatic teaching should, in principle, suffice for any Christian. After all, we do not doubt other dogmas, just as a mathematician does not question the axioms of the geometric system in which they work.

However, human reason naturally seeks not blind faith in dogmas but understanding of them. Therefore, let us attempt, within the limits of our knowledge and ability, to answer this question.

The word “Church” (ecclesia in Greek) literally means “assembly.” Some imagine the Church of Christ as a collective of people currently living on earth, believing in Christ, and united by a common hierarchy and sacraments. This definition was adopted by certain Synodal Church hierarchs in the 19th century. If this definition were considered exhaustive, it would indeed be unclear why the true Church must be only one. After all, there are many human communities that meet this definition, each claiming its own truth.

However, the Tradition of the Church teaches us differently. The Church is the assembly not only of those currently living on earth who truly believe in and love Christ (the earthly part of the Church, the “Church Militant,” or “Fighting Church,” struggling against the devil) but also of God’s Angels and the righteous who lived before, pleasing God through faith and acts of piety (the Heavenly Church, the “Church Triumphant”), with Christ Himself at its head. The Church in Christ also includes those righteous ones who are yet to be born and will live in future generations, for Christ, as God, exists outside of time, and for Him, the past, present, and future of our world coexist equally.

By its very nature, the Church is one and indivisible. It is united by the true faith of Christians and by the sanctifying and saving grace of the Holy Spirit. In the Heavenly Church, faith is always unified and immutable, as there is no place for the devil’s confusion and temptations that cause earthly changes in faith among some people. Those on earth who alter the faith thereby break the unity of faith not only with other people on earth but also with the Heavenly Church and with Christ Himself, the Head of the Church. About such individuals, Saint Jude the Apostle, the brother of the Lord, speaks with sorrow and indignation:

“These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.”
(Jude, verse 19)

Thus, all “church reformers” and heretics who introduce novelties into Church life and doctrine, rejecting the ancient Traditions of the Church, separate themselves from the Church and create their own earthly communities, cut off from the Heavenly Church. However, the saving grace of the Holy Spirit is given on earth only to those who remain in spiritual unity with the Heavenly Church.

Christ established one “One Holy and Apostolic Church,” being its Head, and the Church is His Body. Just as a person cannot have two or more bodies with one head—this would be a monstrosity—so too does Christ have only one spiritual Body: His true Church.

For those who wish to delve deeper into this topic, I recommend reading the works of the Holy Fathers: Saint Cyprian of Carthage’s On the Unity of the Church, Saint Vincent of Lerins’ Commonitory, and Saint Arseny of the Urals’ Justification of the Old Believer Church.

— Archpriest Vadim Korovin