東正教會：獨一無二、至聖、至公、宗徒所傳承之教會, 簡明介紹 (The Orthodox Church: A Concise Introduction)

歡迎來到神的家中！這個神聖的家園擁抱所有的人（無論是生者還是亡者）、天使及整個宇宙。基督已經復活，戰勝了死亡，並永遠活著。在這裡，你將體驗到基督復活所帶來的無盡喜樂。神聖的聖禮儀為我們已逝的祖先帶來永恆的安慰與喜樂。我們也在此，得以從過去的枷鎖中解脫，不再畏懼懲罰、占卜、死亡或業力的束縛，也不再受制於時間、空間或地方性的靈性力量。從此，我們的生命有了全新的意義與方向。

2. 教會是最完美的家庭。基督（完全的神和人）是教會的頭，我們是祂的肢體。在聖禮儀中，我們體驗到基督榮耀國度的彰顯。我們因著愛來到這裡，將整個受造物奉獻給天主，(因為受苦的受造物無法自行完成這奉獻)。攜帶著我們所愛之人的名字——親人、朋友，以及所有已逝者，及我們的希望與悲傷。我們藉著祭司的手將一切獻給天主，唯有基督是唯一的祭司；祂既是奉獻者，也是被奉獻者。3. 基督將這個世界獻給誰呢？祂獻給了天父。天父接受我們的祭禮，並回賜給我們祂最珍愛獨生愛子。祂成為人，為了與我們相同，使我們與祂結合。天父差遣聖靈（祂同樣是神）：a) 將我們的祭禮——麵包和酒，轉化為基督的真實身體和寶血。

b) 使我們合而為一，成為基督身體中的一員。藉著領受祂的身體和寶血，我們與基督聯合，祂透過我們的全人，甚至每一個身體細胞與我們同在。此外，聖靈將我們與基督的歷史緊密聯繫，就是祂如何成為人、教導世人、被釘十字架、復1 活、升天，並將在祂榮耀國度中再臨。

4. 我們有三位不同的神嗎？不，神是合一的。我們並不是在算數（如數學中的三個物件），而是在合一中能區分。神是一位，但不是獨自存在的，祂永遠以聖父、聖子和聖靈的身分共存。祂們永遠在一起，有區別而不混淆，永遠合一，凡事有共通點、且不可分割、互滲互存、同等。神是聖父、神是聖子、神是聖靈。我們如何知道這些呢？我們不可能完全理解神的本質，儘管我們有祂存在的證據。神的兒子基督向我們顯明了神的如何: ——神是祂獨一的父，聖靈降臨在聖子身上，並完全顯明自己，由父而出

5. 認識以上的內容是必要的，因為神呼召我們以祂存在的方式存在，也就是共存。神不是孤獨的獨裁者，而是愛的共融。6. 我們對神的認識不是基於物理或生物的概念，而是透過關係來理解祂：我們認識神為耶穌的父親。同樣，我們認識他人時，也是通過關係來識別，比如父親、妻子、子女，不是僅將他們視為抽象的個體。7. 神從虛無中引出萬有（時間、空間、植物、動物），是出於愛，而非出於必然。

神說：「要有光」，就有了光…..等等。神以獨特的創造力創造了人（創世記 2:7「神就用地上的塵土造人，將生命的氣吹在他鼻孔裡，人就成了活物」）。「照著我們的形像，按著我們的樣式」，也就是說，作為一個存在，人應當以神的方式存在，可以自由地在愛的關係中交往，就像神子對父神的愛一樣。基督是神完美的形像。人是受造物的祭司，必須將受造萬有交給天主。8. 此外，天主的恩典扶持著萬有，祝福並滲透一切，賦予生命。天主並不像製造鐘錶後就離去的匠人，如此遺棄這個世界。9.天主因無限的愛而成為人。祂為我們設計了一個計劃，就是讓人作為受造界的司祭，按著各自的秩序與層次，藉著聖靈的恩典，將萬物合一於基督的身體中。10. 人類誤用了他的自由，將天主視為權力，而非愛。因此，人試圖奴役自然，並反叛天主，從而打破了原有的和諧。整個受造界因此陷入混亂與破碎。罪如同疾病進入了我們的存在。死亡隨著罪的到來而進入，為了阻止無處不在的邪惡變得永恆。生命變成了無盡且無法治癒的痛苦。

11. 天主未曾遺棄我們。正如《使徒行傳》14:17記載：「然而祂不斷施行慈愛，從天賜下好東西給你們，賜豐收，給你們食物，讓你們的心喜樂。」祂在眾人心中銘刻了第一條不完全且簡單的律法，教育我們不要忘記我們所忽略的使命；祂在我們心中種下了釋放一切並與天主合一的渴望（眾生無邊誓願度，煩惱無盡誓願斷）。我們的祖先通過古老的宗教、祭祀和道德修養，做出了觸動人心的嘗試。然而，人無法完成這一點，唯有依靠天主的恩賜。

12. 神的兒子從聖靈和童貞女馬利亞誕生，成為真正完美的人（祂未曾停止是神）。耶穌謙卑地生活、教導人、醫治人、使人復活，並啟示了正確的道路，而這條道路的本質就是祂自己。最後，在逮捕的前一晚，耶穌無償地將自己作為酒和麵包分享給我們，讓我們能與祂——生命之糧——結合。

13. 惡人不能容忍完美的主在他們中間，所以將祂殘酷地釘在十字架上痛苦死亡。他們以為邪惡已經勝過天主，然而基督卻將所有的疾病、所有的邪惡、所有的罪、及宇宙所有的痛苦，還有未來所有的罪——我的、你的和每個人的，直到世界的末了——都承攬在祂自己身上，並藉著祂在十字架上死亡的身體消滅了它們。因此，過去的罪、占卜、時間和業障都再也無法控制我們；我們得以自由。14. 基督藉著祂的死，降至陰間，遇見並釋放了所有靈魂，當然包括那些受死亡權勢束縛祖靈。而祂已復活，戰勝了死亡，賜給我們勝利，使我們不再懼怕死亡。凡信仰基督並在聖餐中與祂共融的人，正如《約翰福音》5:24記載：「已經出死入生了」；又如《約翰福音》8:51記載：「就永遠不見死亡」。我們等待祂的再臨，祂將使我們復活，並使我們的身體如同基督復活的身體光明燦爛，充滿力量與愛，無腐敗、無病痛，且不受物理法則的束縛。15. 耶穌基督雖然向許多人顯現，卻沒有留在世上，而是升天到父神那裡。故此，在神裡面，基督的人性肉身總是存在，且與神不可分割，讓我們能夠真實地與神聯合。善行不能買到基督的恩賜，但我們藉著無私的愛與行善，來回應神的愛。16. 聖靈在五旬節降臨，賜下新生命。祂，聖靈，扶持、引導、安慰、啟示、使我們與基督結合。聖靈使我們的愛變得完美和深刻，使我們能克服對死亡和地獄的恐懼。祂引導我們進入真理，真理不是意念，而是基督。聖靈構成基督的身體，也就是教會。17. 那麼，作為一個熱愛世界、熱愛家庭、熱愛祖先的人，我該如何成為基督榮耀身體的一部分，來幫助我所愛的人呢？透過教會的聖禮儀。

18. 耶穌賜予我們從神而生的自由，超越了從父母而來的生命方式。聖靈在洗禮聖事的水中抹去我們所有的罪，賜予我們參與耶穌的死亡與復活的恩典，並使我們成為祂身體的一部分——教會，我們的新家庭。

a)膏抹聖事：聖靈進入我們，賦予我們全新燦爛的人格。我們獲得適當的栽培與自由，從過去所有的負擔中釋放出來，並能察覺到受造物的呻吟。我們得到指引，去實現內心深處釋放萬物的渴望──將整個宇宙奉獻給神。b)告解聖事：不幸的是，在這個世界上，我們都會犯錯、傷害和冤枉他人，讓我們無法坦然站在神的面前。這種情況被稱為罪。因為錯誤的態度和行為，我們成為基督身體中生病的肢體。任何對神、對自己、對他人、對受造物破壞愛的行為都是罪。在告解聖事中，聖靈醫治我們的罪，賜予我們寬恕，使我們再次成為基督身體中健康的一員。我們的罪影響整個宇宙，但當我告解時，聖靈的寬恕恩典會發散出治癒的力量，特別是對我們曾經傷害的人。

c) 婚禮聖事：男女之愛是人類的主要特質（創世記 2:18：「……人獨居不好」）。天主創造人類，使男人和女人成為一體，兩個肉體合而為一，在婚姻聖事中得以實現。夫妻的愛呈獻於教會，由聖靈強化並成全，並藉著生育子女而得以豐富，這也促進教會的成長。d) 傅油聖事：當我們生病時，教會透過傅油，幫助我們身心靈全方面應對疾病。聖靈使聖油成聖，神父為我們傅油，讓天主的恩典幫助我們。e) 聖職聖事：在教會中，聖靈賜予許多聖職和恩賜。聖靈賜給教會中某些成員特殊的恩典，即參與基督的聖職（祂是唯一真正的祭司，祂既獻上祭禮，也獻上自己），並舉行聖禮儀。主教是每個地方教會的父親，每一位主教與其他所有主教地位都是平等且合一。基於實際需求，一個大區域或州的主教會選出一位主教來主持會議，以解決實際問題，並能更好地牧養地方教會。

19. 聖禮儀如同天上的窗戶，透過它們，此時天主國度的臨在與恩典傳遞給我們。天主過去已經以精萃的形式向我們顯示祂自己，這些神蹟事件記載在聖經中，為我們準備聖子的降臨和道成肉身。

20. 教會無始無終，因為天主的兒子是教會的頭。教會在時間中逐漸顯現，從創造開始，最顯著的是通過舊約中天主的選民、先知等展現。教會因基督的降生而光輝四射，因聖靈的臨在而得榮耀。教會是基督的身體，由聖靈構成並賦予生命。教會不僅限於教堂，聖靈聖化整個宇宙和所有受造物，作為教會的一部分。而教會將在基督第二次降臨時，天主的國度得到完成。然而，在歷史上，基督的門徒——使徒們，在歐洲、亞洲和非洲建立了教會，至今延續了兩千多年。每一個地方教會都是一，都是基督的身體，擁有相同的信仰、同樣的聖經、同一個聖職，並以當地語言進行相同的聖禮儀。使徒們按立了繼承者——主教，主教在按立繼承者，代代相傳，聖靈的火焰代代手牽手傳遞，主教將其傳承給繼承者，至今未曾中斷過。

21. 然而，人類的情慾、驕傲、自我、對聖經及教會教義的誤解（由於不良的翻譯）以及外在因素（政治、民族等）試圖改變教會的信仰和生活。不幸的是，有些人切斷了聖餐、活的信仰和真理的連續性，脫離教會。另一些人則創建了自己的教會產生許多問題，這些教會並非由聖靈、使徒及其繼承者所傳承。教會譴責他們並稱之為異端，為了清楚地與他們區分，教會也被稱為正教，意即以正確的方式榮耀天主（而不是以錯誤的方式）。教會尊重當地傳統，允許參與社會活動（節日、婚禮、葬禮等）。

22. 我們不會忘記亡者，我們總是為他們祈禱，而不是向他們祈禱，祈求天主讓他們安息，直到我們都復活。死亡無法使我們與基督的愛分開。亡者不需要「紙錢」，而是需要在聖禮儀中於基督的身體前被記念，那是真正的生命糧食，讓他們活在天主的愛與生命的記憶中。他們在天主的手中，因此既不想也不能干涉我們的生活和家庭。神是我們祖先的神，祂不是死人的神，而是活人的神。我們的存在是對神呼召的回應（《羅馬書》4:17：「祂賜生命給死人，呼召不存在的如同存在的一般。」）。我們存在，因為神在「創世以前」就認識了我們（《以弗所書》1:4）。我們在神賜生命的記憶中，因此輪迴、前世等概念毫無意義。

23. 教會將所有受造物聖化，並以如此的方式推行，使神的恩典透過聖禮儀中自然界的傳達；例如：洗禮中的水、油，以及婚姻和按立時雙手的儀式。此外，教會藉著天主的恩典，聖化水、我們的家、工作場所、車輛、動物以及日常生活中的每一層面，使一切受造物成為聖物。萬物都被天主的光照亮…..24. 但我們要如何每天活在神的恩典中呢？藉由領受聖餐、透過禱告，我們參與基督與天父的溝通，輕聲地分享我們的心聲。我們的生活必須充滿實際的愛、關懷，並對萬物懷有憐憫。不懷恨任何人、尊重每個人、原諒那些傷害我們的人，如同神原諒我們，只以善意回應他們。

25. 這種在聖禮儀和天主恩典中的生活並非不可能。有些人已經活出了充實的生命，天主使他們成為我們的同工、幫助者和榜樣，他們就是教會的聖徒。我們尊崇他們為基督的朋友（但不敬拜他們），並請求他們在基督裡為我們代求。Theotokos 聖母馬利亞在基督內具有最顯著的聖潔，並為我們代求。我們祈求所有人的禱告，因為歸根究柢，唯有靠著天主的恩典，我們才能生存，並履行我們對天主和宇宙的責任。26. 我們渴望獲得永生，不是為了保存我們的個性，而是為了讓我們對所珍惜的人之感情，能夠無限地延續下去。此外，我們也渴望整個創造物能夠永恆不變。我們追求永恆的愛、創造和擴展我們的認知。我們愛神，我們的心不能忍受與祂分離。27. 基督將在榮耀中再來，更新萬物。我們將永遠住在基督的光與喜樂中，藉著聖靈的恩典與萬物合一；這就是天堂的定義。即使是惡人也會被基督愛的光所包圍，這是無法逃避的，然而他們將經歷審判和痛苦。

28. 萬物將在聖靈的優美恩典中綻放光芒，整個受造物將在喜樂與真正的自由中蓬勃發展。屆時，不會有死亡、疾病、悲傷或匱乏。這種新的存在將不再是平凡的；相反，它將是一個永無止境進步的旅程，通過深邃的知識和愛來豐富我們。神將居住在我們裡面，賜予我們充滿活力的生命——目前只能在模糊的映像和短暫的瞬間中感知到這生命。聖靈將在所有人和受造物之間建立連結，使我們的內心充滿無限的喜樂、知識和愛。我們熱切邀請您來迎接這燦爛的生命。

Oikomenical patriarchate of Costantinple

IMHK&SEAΚατερίνα Ρήγα

[email protected]

The Orthodox Church: A Concise Introduction

1. Welcome to the family of God, who embraces people (living and departed), angels, and the whole universe, and in which you will feel the joy of resurrection; Christ is risen, alive, and has conquered death. Here, the Divine Liturgy gives joy to our fallen ancestors’ souls. Here, we are freed from the past, from the fear of punishment, death, and every influence and bondage imposed on us by local conditions of place, time, and spiritual forces. Our lives take on a whole new meaning.
2. The Church is the most perfect family. Christ (fully God and man) is the head, and we are all the members. In the Divine Liturgy, we realize that Christ’s glorious kingdom is revealed in this family through the grace of the resurrection. We come to the temple and bring along the whole of creation out of love (for creation, groaning, and suffering still cannot bring itself) to God, the names of those we love (relatives, friends, and all the departed), and our hopes and sorrows. We oﬀer them with the hands of the priest, but Christ is the real invisible priest; it is He oﬀers them, but He also oﬀers Himself.
3. But to whom does Christ oﬀer up the world? To the Father, who receives our gifts and oﬀers us in return what He loves most: His only begotten Son, who became man, that He might be like us and unite us to Him. The Father sends the Holy Spirit, who is also God, and a) transforms our gifts, bread, and wine into the living body and blood of Christ; b) unites us to one another as one in the body of Christ. By receiving His body and blood, we are united with Christ, and He is with us with our whole being and every cell of our body. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit connects us to the story of Christ, how He became man, taught, was crucified, resurrected, ascended, and will come again in the glory of His kingdom.
4. Do we have three separate Gods? No, God is one; we do not enumerate (as in arithmetic, three objects) but distinguish within the unity. God is one (but not alone), exists, and lives always as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Always together, distinguished, not confused, but always united, having all things in common, indivisible and co-equal. God is the Father, God is the Son of the Father, and God is the Holy Spirit. How do we know this? It is impossible to know what God is, although we have evidence of His existence. Christ, the Son of God, has revealed to us how God is–that God is uniquely His Father, and that the Holy Spirit rests and is fully manifested in the Son, proceeding from the Father.
5. Knowing the above is necessary because God calls us to exist in the way He exists, that is, as coexistence. God is not a solitary dictator but a communion of love.
6. Our knowledge of God is not based on physical or biological concepts, but we understand Him through relationships: we know God as the Father of Jesus. Similarly, when we get to know other people, we also identify them through relationships, such as father, wife, and children, rather than just seeing them as abstract individuals.
7. God brought everything (time, space, plants, animals) out of nothing into being, out of love, not necessity. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, etc. … God created man with unique creative energy (Genesis 2:7 “then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,; and the man became a living being”). “In our image, according to our likeness,” that is, as an existence that should exist in the same way that God exists, that can freely relate in a loving relationship, like the love of the Son to the Father. Christ is the perfect image of God. Man is the priest of creation and must oﬀer it up to God.
8. Moreover, God’s grace holds into existence, blesses, permeates everything, and gives life. God did not leave the world, like someone who made a clock and left it.
9. God would become man by His extravagant love. God had a plan for us, namely, that man, as the priest of creation, should unite all things, each in its order and hierarchy, into the body of Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
10. By misusing his freedom, man saw God as power, not love. Therefore, man tried to antagonize God by enslaving nature and breaking harmony. All of creation was disturbed and broken up. Sin, as a disease, entered our existence. Death came as a separation and a brake on the wickedness that prevailed everywhere. Existence became an endless, incurable pain.
11. God has not abandoned us (Acts 14:17: “Though he leaves not his lovingkindness, from heaven he hath given you good things to teach you and fruitfulness, giving you food and gladness for your hearts”). He wrote in the hearts of all the first imperfect, simple law; He tried to educate us so that we would not forget the work we neglected; He planted in our hearts the desire to liberate all things, to unite all things with God. Our ancestors tried, in touching ways, with ancient religions, sacrifices, morality, and cultivation. But man cannot achieve this; it is a gift from God.
12. The Son of God was born a genuinely perfect man (without ceasing to be God) from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Jesus lived humbly, taught, healed, resurrected people, and revealed the right way, which in essence is Him. Finally, on the night before being arrested, Jesus freely shared Himself as wine and bread, so that we might be joined and united with Him, the Bread of Life.
13. For wicked men couldn’t tolerate in their midst the perfect Master, and so they put Him to a painful death on the cross. They thought that wickedness had conquered, but Christ took upon Himself all sickness, all wickedness, all sin, all the pain of the universe, and all future sins–mine, yours, and everyone’s, until the end of the world–and killed them by His bodily death on the cross. So old sins, natures, and time have no power over us; we are free.
14. Christ, by His death, came into contact with all souls, including the souls of our ancestors who lived under the power of death. But as Christ rose from the dead and defeated death, He now gives us victory over death. Therefore, we no longer fear death. Whoever believes and communes with Christ in Holy Communion, “he has passed from death to life” (John 5:24) and “will never see death” (John 8:51). Together, we wait for Him to resurrect us so that our bodies will be transformed, become bright and luminous like the resurrected body of Christ, filled with power and love, without decay, without sickness, no longer constrained by the laws of physics.
15. Jesus Christ did not remain on earth, though he appeared to many, but ascended to God the Father, so that now there is always and inseparably the human flesh of Christ in God so that we may be united in truth with God. Good works cannot buy this gift of Christ, but we do good through selfless love to respond to God’s love.
16. The Holy Spirit came on Pentecost and gave new life. He, the Spirit, sustains, guides, comforts, reveals, and unites us to Christ. The Holy Spirit makes our love perfect and profound toso that we can overcome the fear of death and hell. He leads us to the truth, which is not ideas but Christ. The Holy Spirit constitutes the body of Christ, the Church.
17. So how can I, who love the world, my family, and my ancestors, become a member of the glorious body of Christ and thus help those I love? Through the sacraments of the Church.
18. The central sacrament is the Divine Liturgy, as described at the beginning. Other sacraments include:
•          Baptism: Jesus granted us the freedom to be born of God, overcoming the human way of existence through parents. The Holy Spirit, in the waters of baptism, erases all our sins, bestows upon us the gift of participating in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and makes us members of His body—the Church, our new family.
•          Anointing: The Holy Spirit enters us and grants us a new brilliant personality. We are given proper cultivation and freedom, release from all past burdens, and become aware of the groaning of creation; we are shown the way to fulfill our deep aspirations to liberate everything–by offering the universe to God.
•          Confession: Unfortunately, in this world, we make mistakes and hurt others. We have no face to stand before God. This situation is called sin. We become sick members of the body of Christ through our bad attitudes and actions. Anything that breaks down love for God, ourselves, others, and creation is a sin. Healing is needed, and it is by forgiveness, reconciliation, acknowledgment of our evil deeds, authentic and practical repentance, and restitution for the evil we have caused. In the sacrament of confession, the Holy Spirit heals us of sin and grants us forgiveness so that we can become a healthy member of the body of Christ . Our sin influences the entire universe, but when I confess, the forgiving grace of the Holy Spirit radiates healing, especially to those I have sinned against.
•          The love of man and woman is a primary human characteristic (Genesis 2:18: “… It is not good that the man should be alone”). God created human beings as a couple, man and woman, that the two flesh may be one. This is done in the sacrament of marriage. The conjugal love is presented to the Church, allowing the Holy Spirit to strengthen and fulfill it, thereby integrating with the procreation of children, which also contributes to the growth of the Church
•          When we get sick, the Church, through the sacrament of oil, helps us to deal with the illness psychosomatically. The Holy Spirit sanctifies the oil, and the priest anoints us so that God’s grace can help us
•          The Holy Spirit grants many ministries and gifts in the Church. It gives the special grace of the priesthood to certain members of the Church, that is, to participate in the priesthood of Christ (the only true priest who oﬀers things and oﬀers himself) and to administer the sacraments. The bishop is the father of each local Church. Every bishop is equal and united with all the other bishops. For practical reasons, the bishops of a large region or state elect one bishop to preside over meetings to solve practical problems and better shepherd the local churches
19. The sacraments are like heaven’s windows through which we now receive the presence and grace of God’s kingdom. God has presented them to us in the past in condensed forms, as miraculous events recorded in the Bible, to prepare us for the coming and incarnation of the Son.
20. The Church has no beginning; it has always existed because the Son of God is her head. However, its existence was revealed gradually over time and space, most obviously by God’s people in the Old Testament, the prophets, etc. The church shone forth by the incarnation of Christ and was glorified by the descent of the Holy Spirit. The Church is the body of Christ, which is constituted and enlivened by the Holy Spirit. It’s important to remember that the Church isn’t just about a building. The Holy Spirit blesses all of creation, embracing everything as part of the Church. And the Church will be completed in the Kingdom of God at the Second Coming. Historically, the disciples of Christ, the apostles, planted the Church over 2000 years ago in Europe, Asia, and Africa, with active local churches to this day. Each local church is one as the body of Christ, with the same faith, the same Bible, one priesthood, and the same worship (only the language is local). The apostles ordained their successors, the bishops, who also ordained their successors in one continuous line through the ages, the flame of the Holy Spirit passed by each bishop hand in hand to his successor, uninterrupted to this day.
21. Sadly, human passions, pride, and misunderstandings of the Bible and the Church’s teaching due to bad translations as well as external factors (political, nationalistic, etc.) have tried to alter the faith and life of the Church. Some people have broken away by cutting oﬀ continuity in the Eucharist, the living faith and truth. Some others have created their own problematic Churches, not founded by the Holy Spirit, the apostles, and their successors. They are condemned as heretics, and a clear distinction must be made by calling the Church “Orthodox,” i.e., it glorifies God in a correct, not a wrong, way. The Church respects local traditions, allowing participation in social events (festivals, marriages, funerals, etc…).
22. We do not forget our deceased. We always pray for them – not at them – that God will give them rest until we all rise again. Death cannot separate us from the love of Christ. The deceased does not need “paper money” but only to be remembered in the Liturgy before the Body of Christ, which is the authentic food of life, so that they may live in God’s loving, life-giving memory. They are in God’s hands, so they do not want to and cannot interfere in our lives and homes. God is the God of our fathers; He is not a God of the dead but of the living. We exist in response to God’s call (Romans 4:17: “God who gives life to the dead and calls the non-living as living beings”). We exist because God knows us “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). We are in God’s life-giving memory, so there is no point in reincarnation, past lives, etc.
23. The Church sanctifies all of creation and promotes it so that God’s grace is conveyed through nature within the sacraments; for example, water utilized in baptism, oil, and the touch of hands during marriage and ordination. Furthermore, the Church sanctifies creation through the grace of God by consecrating water, our homes, places of work, vehicles, animals, and every aspect of daily life. The light of heaven illuminates all things…
24. But how are we to live daily in God’s grace? By Holy Communion. Through prayer, we engage with Christ’s communication with the Father, sharing our words softly as well.. Our lives must have practical love, care, and compassion for everything. Hate no one, respect everyone, forgive those who have hurt us as God forgives us, and return them only with good.
25. This life in the sacraments and God’s grace is not impossible. Some people have lived it intensely, and God has made them our fellow workers, helpers, and examples. They are the Saints of the Church. We honor them as friends of Christ (but do not worship them) and ask them to intercede for us in Christ. The Theotokos Virgin Mary has the most remarkable holiness and parity in Christ and intercedes for us. We ask for the prayers of all because, ultimately, it is only by God’s grace that we can live and fulfill our duty to Him and the universe.
26 We aspire to achieve immortality, not for the sake of preserving our individuality, but so that our affection for those we currently cherish may endure indefinitely. Moreover, we desire the entirety of creation to remain perpetual. We seek to love, create, and expand our understanding throughout eternity. We love God, and our hearts cannot bear to be separated from Him.
27 Christ will return in glory and renew all things. We will dwell eternally in the light and joy of Christ, united by the Holy Spirit’s grace with all beings; this defines paradise. Even the wicked will be encompassed by the radiance of Christ’s love, which is inescapable, yet they will experience it as judgment and suffering.
28. All things shall radiate in the exquisite grace of the Holy Spirit, and the entirety of creation will flourish with joy and authentic freedom. There will be no death, illness, sorrow, or want. This new existence shall not be mundane; instead, it will represent a journey of perpetual advancement enriched by profound knowledge and love. God shall dwell within us, imparting the vibrant life that we currently perceive only in dim reflections and fleeting moments. The Holy Spirit will establish connections among all individuals and all creations, filling our hearts with boundless joy, knowledge, and love. We extend a warm welcome to you as you embrace this splendid life.

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