How to Distinguish the Canonical Church from the Non-Canonical

UOJ-Serbia posed a fundamental question to Fr. Slobodan: What is the canonical Church? In what ways, and by what marks, can canonical and non-canonical churches be distinguished? Fr. Slobodan spoke about why it is important to be part of the canonical Church, as well as about the difference between canonical and non-canonical churches.

UOJ-Serbia: Recently, in a sermon, you spoke about the significance of canonical Orthodox Churches and how the faithful of other churches cannot approach the Holy Mysteries. Could you explain to our lay readers why it is important to be part of the canonical Orthodox Church, and why it is not “all the same,” as, unfortunately, some comments suggest?

Fr. Slobodan: The Church, as we confess in the Symbol of Faith, is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. The Church is the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head, and we, the baptized Orthodox Christians, are members of that Body.

After the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Holy Apostles went into all the world, as commanded by the Lord, to preach the Gospel to all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The grace given to them by God they transmitted by the laying-on of hands to their disciples and successors — bishops, presbyters, and deacons. Thus arose the church hierarchy, that is, the priesthood. This unbroken chain of transmitting grace through the laying-on of hands from the Holy Apostles until today is called Apostolic Succession.

The Apostles founded the first Christian communities, appointing bishops for them, and these in turn ordained presbyters and deacons. Over time, as church organization developed, the first Patriarchates were formed around the great Christian centers: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

In the early centuries of Christianity, through the labor of the great Fathers and Teachers of the Church, the dogmas of the faith and the sacred canons regulating the internal order of the Church were established. These dogmas and canons were confirmed at Ecumenical and Local Councils. There were also many false teachings, which we call heresies, that were condemned and rejected at these Councils. Those who persisted in heretical teachings caused schisms in the Church and gradually fell away from her. Thus, after the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the Monophysites fell away from the Church, whose successors today are the Monophysite communities of Armenians, Copts, some Syrians, Ethiopians, and others. In the 11th century, the great schism with Rome occurred, by which Rome also fell away from the Church.

As the Church spread throughout the world, many local churches were established for more effective mission and organization. Some of these today are fully independent in their internal order — autocephalous — while others function as autonomous within the framework of an autocephalous church. Despite this organizational “division,” they all together constitute the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Orthodox Church. This unity is manifested in the common celebration of the Divine Liturgy, in preserving the purity of the faith defined by the dogmas of the Ecumenical and Local Councils, and in upholding the canonical order and structure of the Church.

The unity of the Church has often been subjected to great trials in her history, but by the grace of God it has always been preserved, and so it shall be in the future, for the Lord has founded the Church upon the firm rock of faith, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Therefore, there is one Lord, and His Orthodox Church is one. This is why it is essential to preserve the unity of the Church and her canonical order, and to remain under her protection. For outside the Church there is no salvation.

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