What duty does the unity of the Church lay upon every Christian?
Because the Church is the Body of Christ, we who are baptized into Christ are members of him and of one another, accountable for the health and unity of the Body, in submission to those duly appointed as pastors and teachers: “God has so composed the body… that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it” (1Co 12:12–27; see Q258).
The unity and oneness of each local Church, and of the common union of all the Churches, is therefore the object of our constant public prayer: “For the peace of the whole world, for the good estate of the holy Churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord” (Litany of Peace); “Prevent schism in the Church… Quickly put down the uprisings of heresies by the power of Your Holy Spirit” (Anaphora of the Liturgy of St Basil; see Q017, Q024).
It is the devil’s intention to exploit human fallenness, pride, rebelliousness, false doctrine, to bring about heresies (false teachings) and schisms (divisions) in Christ’s holy Church; the epistles of St Jude and St Peter warn against those who “reject authority” (Jud 8) and “secretly bring in destructive heresies” (2Pe 2:1; see Q305, Q508). The devil who divides attacks above all the Church’s unity.
To maintain the unity of the Church, we must cling to and obey the rightful bishop, standing in the apostolic succession and holding the Orthodox faith, as St Ignatius admonishes:
Let no one do anything pertaining to the Church apart from the bishop. Let that Eucharist be considered valid which is celebrated under the bishop, or one to whom he has committed it. Where the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church. (St Ignatius of Antioch, To the Smyrnaeans, 8)
Likewise, St Cyprian of Carthage writes:
They alone are ‘the Church‘ who are united to the priest, and they alone ‘the flock’ who cling to their pastor. Know, therefore, that the bishop is in the church and the church in the bishop, and that whoever is not with the bishop is not in the church. (St Cyprian of Carthage, Letter 66 [68] to Florentius, 8)
With great seriousness, St John Chrysostom warns:
Nothing provokes God’s anger so much as the division of the Church. Even if we have done ten thousand glorious deeds, we who tear apart the fullness of the Church shall suffer punishment no less than they who mangled his body. (St John Chrysostom, Homily 11 on Ephesians)
As Orthodox Christians, our duty is therefore to keep “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3; see Q243).
