The Church is a Family

I would now like to share how the Orthodox Church understands the Church itself—not only as a building or a place of worship, but as a family and community united in Christ.

The Church is the Body of Christ. Saint Paul teaches us: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). This means that when we are joined to Christ, we are also joined to one another. We are not saved alone, but together, as part of His Body.

The Church is a household. The Bible says that in Christ, “you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). This is why we call the Church our spiritual family. We share one Father in heaven, and we become brothers and sisters to each other in Christ.

The Church is a community of worship. From the beginning, Christians gathered together: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Worship is never something private or individual in Orthodoxy—it is the whole family of God coming together, both in heaven and on earth, to glorify Him.

We bear one another’s burdens. Paul tells us: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). The Church is a place where we help each other through prayer, encouragement, and love. When one suffers, we all share that burden; when one rejoices, we all rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:26).

The Church is a communion of love. Jesus said: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). In the Orthodox Church, this love is not just words—it is lived out in service, forgiveness, and care for each other.

The Church is our spiritual home. The Church is not only where we go on Sundays, but the place where we grow, are healed, and find strength for daily life. It is the community in which we are baptized, receive Communion, confess our sins, and live out the journey of salvation together.

The Orthodox Church is not only about faith in God, but also about belonging to a family—a family that stretches across the world and even into heaven, uniting all believers in Christ.

With love in Christ,
Fr. Charles

Next Letter: Children.