Irenaeus said, “For where the church is there is also the Spirit of God. And where the Spirit of God is, there is also the Church and all grace; for the Spirit is the truth.” I’ve seen the Spirit of God operate in the church I attend in Colorado, but also in the midst of a small chapel at an orphanage in Ethiopia. The church is alive wherever Christians gather together in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Which highlights one of the most important aspects of the church. In the west our faith has fallen in step with the American spirit of rugged individuality. If we don’t like something happening in our church, we go find another one. If someone in a position of leadership doesn’t agree with the direction the church is going, they leave and start their own church. The Barna Research Group has released a study about the incredible numbers of people leaving the traditional church and starting or joining house church movements.

Historically, and Biblically, the church has always been about unity and community. Unity of God’s people was the heart of Jesus’ prayer to his Father in John 17. In I Corinthians 1:10 we are instructed that there be, “no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together.” This is one of the reasons The Orthodox Church and The Roman Catholic Church are committed to unity and do not believe in starting new denominations. 

Unity is also found in community and one of the the most beautiful expressions of this is found in Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity. The meaning of this icon is ‘unity in diversity’ and means that just as each person is autonomous, so the church is made up of a number of independent yet related autocephalous churches (the status of a church within the Orthodox Church whose primatial bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop churches. p. 20 – Karkkainen). 

When I look at this icon that sits in my office, I am reminded of the tenets of my Christian faith: One God and Father, creator of all that we are and see. Jesus, the only begotten Son who came to this earth to redeem mankind. And the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter, Counselor, and Helper who bears witness of the testimony of Jesus. But also manifests a perfect relationship of community and unity. We need each other and we need the presence of God in our lives. That’s what it means to be the church. In turn, we embrace the needs of the world and care for the poor and oppressed as God cared for us. 

It is a reminder of what Martin Luther believed about the role of the people of God as, “Christians are bread to feed the hungry neighbor and drink to quench their thirst. Consequently we are totally free but totally bound to others. To ‘be the church’ all our human efforts are meant for the service of love. Preaching the Gospel, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are sharing good as much as the rest of life in family, society and church. (p. 48.)