Have we forgotten or don't we know what a Church is?
The Church is a Godly creation, a Community of believers and priesthood,
which according to God's decree have come together in one creed and one
set of customs, who make endeavours for their salvation and who aim to reach
a state of "let there be God's will in Heaven and Earth". The
Church strives to bring God's rules and directions on Earth and to help
the salvation of people.
I have been asked "How did the Church come to be?" I told them
as follows:
Jesus Christ is its founder. Through the Holy Ghost on the Pentecost he
came to the Apostles whom he had appointed to continues his work in the
establishment of the Church on Earth. Then as the Church grew, the Apostles
appointed the bishops as their co-workers and successors for the Holy Ghost
had given the Apostles empowerment though the hirotony. So the Apostles
ordained the bishops. The bishops in turn as they could not manage to satisfy
the needs of the Church, ordained the priests and the deacons.
This happened as God had ordered it and through following a set of Church
rituals which were of human making. However the Apostles direct and foremost
mission was passed only on the bishops who were empowered by God as Saint
Paul mentioned it. Of these matters Saint Ignatius, the God Carrier said
where the bishop is, the Church is."
The Church is run by the Holy Canons, the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Legends
and its Constitution. The Constitution was drawn from those three sources.
Administratively the Church is divided into dioceses, these in turn are
subdivided into bishops, which in turn are subdivided into Church communities
and monasteries. There is a hierarchy in this structure but also a self-governing
management, meaning that there are governing bodies as well as bodies which
execute their decisions.
The highest point in the Church hierarchy is the Holy Synod, whereas the
Church-and-People Assembly (Arhiepiskosko Narodno Sobranie) is the highest
executive body, In each diocese the archpriest is the spiritual leader of
this diocese, ie. of his priests and parishioners.
All this is covered by many rules in the Church Canons and the Holy Scriptures.
Reverend Mile Talevski
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