What is the Church?

When we speak of the church, are we talking about the local church, that is, a particular congregation, or the universal church, that is, all local congregations, over all time, in all places?  When we say "all", in this regard, who is included in this?  Do we include all those who call themselves Christians?  Do we only include those who meet specific doctrinal criteria?  Do we only include those who are actually in communion with a particular ecclesial body?

To what authority do we appeal to make his definition?  Much of the problem stems from the Protestant Reformation and the framework of thinking that has been constructed since then. The option to think and act independently of an ecclesial authority must be questioned. Is there any other "body" which allows for independent action?  Certainly not any organic body. If you remove your spleen, it will not survive and function on its own. This is a valid analogy, as Paul compares the body of Christ to the human body. If nothing in the human body can survive outside of its body and independent of it, why would we think any different of the body of Christ?

The question then leads to how we define church. This has been a problem since the Protestant Reformation. With Luther and Calvin's decisive break from the organized church (albeit the Roman Catholic church, who themselves are out of communion with the historic church), they set a precedent that has exploded into many thousands of denominations, each answering for itself the multitude of doctrinal, ecclesiastical and practical answers.

The Orthodox Church would argue that church would be defined in a very practical, historic sense, that is, the church is those who are in communion with the practicing apostolic faith. Of course, that faith is found in the Orthodox Church and no where else. This is not to say that, in some mysterious sense, there are no Christians outside of the Orthodox Church, in the same way that there were odd exceptions under the Old Covenant. For example, Naaman did not take on the mark of covenantal inclusion i.e., circumcision, yet he was still a follower of YHWH. But this ought to be seen as an unusual and rare situation. In today’s context, are there Christians outside of the Orthodox Church?  Absolutely!  But I have to ask, why would someone choose that position?  Why would someone prefer to stay on the practical "outside" of daily communion with God and his people?

So what is "the Church"?  It is the body of Christ, as manifested by the Eastern Orthodox Church. If you profess the name of Christ, then you ought to be there as well.