The Church and the church

Some time ago a priest mentioned to me that building churches was not the goal of Orthodox Christianity. Puzzled, I asked him to clarify. He said that building churches (the actual buildings themselves) is far different than building the Church (the Body of Christ).

He asked not to be misunderstood. Building church buildings is important. Having a specific place dedicated to the worship of God is essential. It is not, however, the building that constitutes Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is not about the pursuit of property, but the pursuit of salvation. The actions which Jesus ascribes to the Sheep in Matthew 25 are one example of things for which we should be working.

At first I did not understand, and respectfully disagreed. Churches are like a lighthouse I thought, and there is beauty both within and without. It seemed strange; because as a new convert in a newly established church, we focused a lot on bring people to Orthodoxy. However, when I examine our desires, at least some of the desire to get more people was the desire to have a fuller church, enough money to fully support the priest, and enough money for a building fund. These ideals may not be sinful, but they are not altogether pure. Which one was more important, the salvation of those we brought in or the potential to have a large church? Without a doubt the people’s salvation and sharing our faith with others was the paramount ideal, but there was some payoff in some/most people’s mind.

I have come to the understanding that Orthodoxy, as expressed in a large cross-section of America, is a lot about building churches. Again, this isn’t necessarily bad by itself. It might be, however, an indicator of losing our understanding of what it means to be Orthodox. By this I mean that maybe we are helping ourselves before helping those around us.

I write this not to offend anyone, or cast aspersions. Beauty is an essential part of Orthodox worship, and a church temple is also an essential part of worship. But what I am trying to express, if only to remind myself, is that a church building is not the “end game” of Orthodoxy.

If we concentrate on buildings and property, I believe we will be ill prepared for the time when we will not be allowed to have those building or that property. Don’t think this will ever happen? It is already happening, and has happened many times in the past. A prime example in history is that of the communist revolution in Russia. What happened to many of the churches and monasteries? Many turned into museums, some turned into stables, some destroyed, and some left to deteriorate because the Church was banned.

As for current times, we don’t currently have overt suppression of the Church, but certainly in many predominently Muslim areas is it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain or start a new church. Look at the example of Kosovo. http://www.kosovo.com/news/archive/2005/December_09/2.html

Here a monastery with a very long history and listed as a United Nations World Heritage Site. The monastery’s land is being taken away and its surroundings destroyed. The monks there and in other monasteries in Kosovo are finding life very difficult. Even with UN status in a technically UN administered region and supposedly with UN protection, the monastery is in danger of being taken away or destroyed. This is a very bad thing and should rightly get us upset. It certainly isn’t the end of Orthodoxy. It might also limit the Orthodox witness, both in the immediate area and to the wider world.

The Apostles, many Saints, and others have preached the Gospel and brought non-believers to Christ, often not in the confines of a church building. I worry that we are too content with the status quo of building churches as an indicator of our faith. A church building is an important aspect of Orthodox; a place were we can come together to worship and give thanks to God. But at what point do we save a large sum of money to build a magnificent church, rather than use that money for the support of the poor? It is a challenging question, and not one that I am able to answer. More importantly, are we confusing a building with Orthodox, and if we are, what will we do when there is no more building?