When you deeply search in history about the causes of the strength of
the primitive Church and of the weakness and decay of the modern Church,
you will come to a very clear and simple conclusion.
1. The primitive Church was inclusive as to its forms, but exclusive as to its spirit.
2. The modern Church has been exclusive as to its forms, but inclusive as to its spirit.
The primitive Church was very puritanic concerning the
Christian spirit. She was not particular as to the vessels in which to
pour the new wine, but she was extremely particular as to the wine
itself. She borrowed the vessels in Judæa, Alexandria, Athens, Rome, but
she never borrowed wine. The Christian spirit and the pagan spirit were
just like two opposite poles, like white and black, or day and night.
The Church was conscious of it, and jealously watchful that no drop of
any foreign spirit should be mixed with the precious spirit of the New
Gospel. There existed no thought of compromise, and no idea of
inclusiveness whatever regarding the spirit. The terrific conflict of
Christianity and Paganism through centuries sprang from the
irreconcilability of two different spirits. Were the Church as inclusive
as to the spirit as she was to forms, doctrines, customs and worships,
conflicts never would arise—but then neither would Christianity arise.
The modern Church is particular as to its institutions,
but not particular at all as to its spirit. The Roman Emperors never
would persecute the modern Church, for they would easily recognise their
own spirit included in her. Nor would the Pharaohs from Egypt persecute
modern Christianity. Nor would Areopagus or Akropolis be puzzled so
much had St Paul preached to them the modern European Christianity with
its complicated spirit of all kinds of compromises with Heaven and Hell,
compromise with the State, Plutocracy, Nationalism, Imperialism,
Conquest, War, Diplomacy, Secular Philosophy, Secular Science, Agnostic
Parliaments, Tribal Chauvinism, Education, Officialism, Bureaucracy,
etc., etc. All these things have their own spirit, and every such spirit
is partly or wholly included in the spirit of the Church, i.e. of
modern Christianity. None of the Christian Churches of our time makes an
exception as to this inclusiveness of all kinds of spirits. Even
Protestantism, which claims the simplicity of its Christian ritual and
administration, represents a lamentable mosaic of spirits gathered from
all the pagan corners of secular Europe and mixed up with the Christian
wine in the same barrel.
The Church of the East excommunicated thousands of those
who crossed themselves with two fingers instead of using three fingers.
The Church of the West burnt thousands of those who did not recognise
the papal organisation of the Church as the only ark of salvation. Yet
there is rarely to be found in the Church annals an excommunication on
the ground of chauvinism or brutal egoism. No one of the world
conquerors—neither Napoleon nor Kaiser William—have been excommunicated
by the Church. It signifies an extreme decadence of the Church. And this
decadence penetrates and dominates our own time. Speaking on the
reunion of the Churches the peoples of the East are anxious to know—not
whether the Church of the West has preserved the unmixed Christian
spirit in its integrity, but whether this Church still keeps Filioque as
a dogma, and whether she has ikons, and whether she allows eggs and
milk in Lent. And the people of the West are anxious to know whether the
Eastern Church has a screen quite different from their own screen at
the altar, and whether she has been always tenaciously exclusive in
teaching, worship and organisation. Who of us and of you asks about the
integrity of the Christian spirit? If St Paul were amongst us he would
ridicule our controversies on Filioque and all the trifles concerning
Church organisation and the external expressions of Christianity. He
would ask: What happened with the spirit he preached? What happened with
this spirit which excommunicated de facto the Jewish narrow Patriotism
and the Roman Imperialism? Have we still this exclusive spirit which
moved the world effecting the greatest revolution in History? I am sure
he would have to repeat with good reasons to every Church and to
everyone of us: "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
His."
Well, we must come again to this source of Christian
strength and greatness, which is Christ's spirit. A new revival, yea,
regeneration of Christianity, could be possible only in a united
Christian Church; and the union of the Church is possible only upon the
ground of the primitive Church, which was inclusive in teaching, worship
and organisation, but exclusive in spirit. On the day when we all
exclude from ourselves the Jewish and Greek and Roman spirit, and retain
only the pure Christian spirit, we shall be at once ready to include
each other's Church into one body, into one Christianity. We must be
clear about it, and we must confess that the divisions of the church are
due to the invasion of a foreign spirit, an unclean spirit, into the
Church. When the Church cleanses herself from this foreign unclean
spirit she will be victorious over herself, and from this victory to the
ultimate victory of Christianity over our planet will be a very short
distance.
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