“Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed… I… pray… for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them… Keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are one… that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves… As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world… I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, – that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory that You gave Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one; I in them and You in Me; that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me. Father! I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O Righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You, and these know that You have sent Me. And I have made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17. Emphasized by me – V.A.).
“I (Jesus Christ – V.A.) command you, as My Father has commanded Me, the Kingdom, that you eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom” (Luke 22).
“Take, eat; this is My Body which is broken for you for the remission of sins… Drink of it, all of you; this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins… Do this in remembrance of Me, for as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup – you proclaim My death, acknowledge My resurrection… Therefore, we, O Master, remembering (this saving command and all that has happened for us) His saving suffering, the Life-creating Cross, the three-day burial, the resurrection from the dead, the ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand of You, God and Father, and His glorious and awesome Second Coming, we offer You from Yours for all and for everything…” (see Mt., Mk., Lk., Jn., 1 Cor., John Chrysostom, Basil the Great).
In previous chapters, we have had the opportunity (of course, provided an unbiased approach to what is written!) to hear about what the Church testifies and preaches, namely, that Happiness has arrived and has been given to us, and from now on all who wish to Live, to Be Blessed, – can be “here and now” Happy! Naturally, the question arises: Where can one know (to know, to experience) and partake of Happiness, to even momentarily experience it?! What to do to always be Happy?! The Church testifies that to know Happiness and to be (endlessly – for ages of ages) Happy is possible only by being in the Church (in the Eucharist – the Kingdom of God is perceived, and in the Eucharistic (= Church) life – the continual actualization of participation in Happiness, the Kingdom of God – see below)! The Church is Happiness, so one can only be Happy in Happiness, in the Church! We will try to point to the shadow of reality, which Christians call (to which they point) the word “Church” (we speak about the shadow of reality, and not the reality itself, in order to stay within the bounds of Orthodox theology, which is always apophatic, that is, such that does not allow the mind to rationalize, objectify, substantiate (through which an illusion of possession, knowledge) dynamic hypostases of energy, through which we receive a call to communication and relationships in personal uniqueness with Other Hypostases; in other words, the word is spoken not to “know,” but to invite to communication, to knowing the reality to which the word points, to experiencing the reality to which the word of beauty calls (in Greek, “beauty” and “to call, to invite” (and the Church “ecclesia” – from the word “kalo” – to call, to summon) – these are cognate words; logos (word) of beauty – this is a call to communication, not to object possession of beauty; the goal is not beauty, but the Beautiful(-ful), that is, the Other, who calls to communication-knowing by beauty): verbal word, music, colors, gestures, etc.).
In the first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul uses the term Church (see 1 Cor. 11, 16, and 18), but he interestingly combines the term Church with the gathering of the faithful for the performance of the Divine Eucharist. He says, “When you come together as a church” (1 Cor. 11, 18), implying the continuation of the phrase: “for the performance of the Divine Eucharist.” Obviously, there is a certain connection between what the Apostle calls a church and “the gathering for the performance of the Divine Eucharist.” Therefore, the term “church” is used mainly for the Local Church (the parish of a village, city – V.A.), although, of course, it also applies to the “catholic” (in the sense of the union of all local churches (local Eucharistic gatherings) – V.A.) Church.