The division of the Churches occurred as a result of human sin; the Lord Jesus Christ Himself created one Church and specifically prayed for its unity. At first, differences (dissensions, as the Bible calls this phenomenon) were perceived as the richness of the Church...
The division of the Churches occurred as a result of human sin; the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
created one Church and specifically prayed for its unity.
At first, differences (dissensions, as the Bible calls this phenomenon) were perceived as the
richness of the Church. But at the end of the first millennium, the mutual alienation of the Churches of the West and the East
led to the fact that Christians of the two parts of the Roman Empire ceased to understand each other and, what is
most terrible, lost the sense of the importance of unity.
Over the course of several centuries (from the 6th to the mid-11th) differences in the way of thinking and acting of the
West and the East did not prevent unity; however, several times during this period, a schism between the
Churches occurred due to the political pressure of the state authorities of the West and the East.
Finally, by the 11th century, against the background of mutual misunderstanding, this political schism in 1054 became
final. It lasted 910 years and was overcome in 1964 at a meeting between Pope Paul VI
and the Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras I, although reasons for mutual reproaches
and dissatisfaction continue to arise to this day.
In addition, in the depths of the Western Church by the 16th century, dissatisfaction with its own
shortcomings had matured, which led to the emergence of Protestantism, which subsequently divided into
countless branches.
All this was, we repeat, caused by purely human reasons, or rather —
sins. In essence, the matter lies in our inability to love and accept those who differ from us.
Gradually, the main motive for mutual reproaches between the Churches became a lack of faith and
a desire to justify one's own spiritual tradition not by the fact that people find Christ in it, but
by its advantages over others.
Division and its consequences are the foremost sin of Christians. How did it become possible? Like
any sin — because God respects our freedom. In the Church, in accordance with its
nature, two principles operate — God's will, good and perfect, leading the Church to
holiness and unity, and human nature, fluctuating between obedience to God and
its own sins. If the second principle did not exist, there would be no division, but then it
would not be a Church, but a concentration camp, and there would be no place for us all in it. After all, the fact that God
accepts us while we are still sinners is our only hope for salvation.
To whom, to which Church a Christian (a person who has come to believe in Christ) should turn so as not to
make a wrong step, is determined by each person in prayer. In principle, there is a cultural
community of people, which is largely formed under the influence of certain
confessions. That is why in every country one can distinguish a Church close to the majority. In
Russia, this is undoubtedly the Russian Orthodox Church. However, each person's path to God is
unique, and the Lord calls different people into different parts of the Church. The point, actually, is not in a
right or wrong step, but in where Christ wants to grant an encounter with Himself specifically to this
person.
At the same time, it is important to distinguish parts of the Church from countless sects and so-called "new
religious movements." The simplest criterion is the origin of the Church from the
apostles and its connection with global Christianity. In church language, this is called apostolic
succession. On the territory of our country, apostolic succession, besides the ROC, is also possessed by the
Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches.
Understanding the versions of Protestantism is not so simple; here there are no clear criteria of ecclesiality.
In addition, it is important to keep this in mind: if a person was baptized in childhood (in Russia this almost
always means Orthodoxy), then there is no point in changing confession without very serious reasons, unless
they were baptized in some dubious sect... It is much more important to find a specific
community for oneself within one's own confession; after all, within every "normal" Church there is
a fairly wide diversity.
The main thing is very simple: you need to seek Christ Himself, and He will show you the Church...
