St Savas Cathedral – Belgrade
This quote explains why we build churches to God’s glory. It is a quote from St. Philaret of Moscow on the occasion of a church consecration.
“God is everywhere and doesn’t need churches, which are small for him and cannot contain Him. But man is limited, and thus needs limited revelation of God’s presence. God condescended to the need of man and granted that this church exist, granting it the grace of His particular presence. We know of only one state of man in which he has no need of churches: the eternal life in the New Jerusalem, under a “new heaven and a new earth…” the seer of heaven (St. John the Evangelist) notes a special distinguishing feature of the New Jerusalem, namely that there is no church there: “and I saw no church there: (Rev. 21, 22). But we are not yet in the New Jerusalem, which will descend from the heavens, therefore we need a church temple. Belonging to the creation, after the fall, our own flesh, rough and unpurified, blocks our entrance into the grace-filled presence of God. This is why it is necessary for His charismatic presence to reveal itself to us in holy churches. The heavens – where Christ, our light, ascended – have not yet opened up and revealed to us the radiance of His glory. because of this we need for the time being at least a small heaven on earth, as well as light – even though it may be hidden in mystery. We can find all this in the church, through prayer, the word of God and the sacraments
God Bless…….Fr G.
