Relationships with religion are now as different as people's views in general. Far from all families and communities have retained the tradition of spiritual education. From this follows a strange at first glance question: “What is the Church? A house for offering prayers, or does it have a different meaning? To answer such a spiritual quest is both difficult and simple. Let's try to figure it out.
Meaning of the name
Most likely, the history of the church should influence understanding.
The term itself comes from the Greek language. It means "assembly" (it sounds "ekklesia"). It is very interesting that the original name was not the building. This term referred to the believers themselves. Therefore, the church is a community of believers, in our case, Christians. If you read the New Testament, you can penetrate deeper into this meaning of our term. It says that the church is a temple. But not a building! This is the home of the Holy Spirit! And he, as you know, is intangible. The Holy Spirit is located where he is worshipped. Anyone he helps in lifehe who believes and hopes has it in his heart. The New Testament calls such people brothers in Christ. The meaning of such an understanding of the church is contained in the prayer "Creed". She says that the church is a community of people united by the common aspirations of the soul. They have the same attitude to the teachings of Christ, understand and live according to his laws!
Church Bible
The thought already voiced is confirmed by the holy Book. It states that ordinary believers are neither strangers nor outsiders. On the contrary, they are called fellow citizens, saints and friends of God! It is clear that this statement does not apply to everyone. It is we who are now convinced that the performance of rites, irregular visits to the temple give the right to the Kingdom of God. Is it so? The Bible explicitly says "having Jesus Christ Himself" as the cornerstone.
It is necessary to understand this quote with the soul. It is in it that the criterion for such a thing as the "Church of God." A believer is not one who observes traditions, knows a lot and follows the rules established by religion purely outwardly. The words “Christ is the cornerstone” suggest that a Christian builds his worldview on his teaching. The commandments underlie his thoughts, and hence his actions and deeds. Such people make up the Temple of God on earth. The Church, according to the Bible, is one. It is called universal. It consists of denominations based on congregations. The latter, in turn, are also called churches.
Main denominations
We have already said that there are denominations of the universal church on earth. We know them as Catholicism, Orthodoxyand Protestantism. These are all branches of Christianity. Each of them is also called "Church", referring to the associations of local communities. It so happened that these communities are now geographically intertwined. Practically in all countries and regions there are representatives of this or that church. However, these people constitute, so to speak, a monolithic society, united by spiritual bonds. They have a single God in their souls, strive for it, consider it the criterion of their own thoughts and deeds. By the way, representatives of one church consider it their duty to lend a shoulder to fellow tribesmen. Strange, right? And what did Christ teach to divide people into confessions? A true Christian will not deny support to anyone on the basis of differences of opinion. Unfortunately, church history provides us with many examples of religious wars among believers.
One more division
We have already mentioned that not all believers are true believers. In the teachings of Christ, this "phenomenon" is given some attention. That is, we are talking about the visible and invisible church. Meaning also lies deep within a person. The visible church is what a person observes with his own eyes. He judges others by their behavior. However, not everyone who follows the rules and rites has Jesus in their soul as a cornerstone. You must have come across such behavior. Here we should talk about the invisible church. The Lord will judge anyone by the irregularity of visiting the temple or offering prayers. It will separate real Christians from those who only pretend to have noChrist. This is written in the New Testament.
It says that among Christians there will be many who are not Christians. They only act like believers. But everything will be revealed at the Supreme Court. He will reject those who do not have a temple in their souls, who sin, demonstrating true Christian behavior. But it should be understood that the church is still one. It's just that not everyone can fully perceive it.
About the temple
You must be confused already. If a church is a community of believers, then why do we use this word for a building? It should be remembered about the communities of people professing one religion. Historically, they united in communities led by a priest. And he, in turn, performs service in a special structure. Of course, such a tradition did not immediately form. But over time, people realized that one temple is more convenient than, for example, serving in different buildings in turn, like the Mormons. Since then, buildings have also been called churches. Then they began to build eye-catching, beautiful, symbolic. They began to be dedicated to certain Saints, called by their names. For example, the Church of the Virgin is an Orthodox church dedicated to the woman who gave earthly life to the Son of God.
Religious traditions
Here we come to another interesting question that a reader who has not delved into the topic before can ask. If the church is in the souls of believers, then why go to the temple? Here it is necessary to remember the teaching of Christ. He said that believers should activelywork in the local church. That is, all together decide the affairs of the community, help each other, even control and correct in case of mistakes. In addition, we are talking about church discipline. Customs are not established from above, but are inherited from parents to children. Since it was customary to go to the temple, this is how it should be done until the society changes its mind.
A little more about the church
One nuance should be added to the above, to which the Law of God draws attention. It says that the church does not only include living believers. Those who have already left this world, but united by love with their relatives and friends, are also included in the common temple. It turns out that the concept of "church" is much broader than what we see or can feel. Part of it is in another world, another spiritual realm. All people, united by the understanding of the need to have Christ in their souls, both living and dead, make up the church and are its members. The building (cathedral, temple) was created for the convenience of parishioners. The Church is Christians, all or part of them, united by a common hierarchy. We can say that this is a single spiritual body, having Christ at its head. It is also illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is to unite people with Divine teaching and sacraments.
Candles in the church
And finally, let's talk about paraphernalia. You know that everyone in the temple of God lights candles. Where did this tradition come from? The flames of wax candles have many meanings. It is also a symbol of the sun, nature, the beautiful breath of life. With anotherOn the other hand, they remind of those members of the church who are already at the throne of the Lord. They demonstrate the bright thoughts of the believer, his striving for a righteous life. And all this is contained in one small spark, perceived by us as something traditional, irreplaceable. You should sometimes think about the symbols and attributes used in religious ceremonies to remind yourself of the true church that is in the soul.
