Dr. Demetrios Tselengidis,
Professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Firstly,
it is necessary to clarify that as Orthodox Christians we believe, in
agreement with the Symbol of Faith (the Creed) of Nicene-Constantinople
(381 AD), “in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”. According to
the unbroken dogmatic consciousness of the Orthodox Church throughout
the ages, i.e., according to her self-consciousness, this One Church is
the Orthodox Church.
The
confession of the Symbol that the Church is “One” means that this is
the basic attribute of her self-identity. In practical terms this means
that the Church is not able to be divided – to be split apart – because
this is the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ as the Head of the Body of
the Church is neither able to have many bodies, nor to possess a divided
one. In the Body of Christ even death itself is defeated.
