Who is Jesus Christ?

Christians in our world have
grown accustomed to living
in a divided Church – so
much so that many Christians who endeavour to live honest,
faithful lives never even
notice that the Church worldwide is fractured by disputes in theology, tradition, nationality, race…and much else.

These days, we are baptised into a broken Church, a broken Body of Christ. Yet we should always be full of hope. Christ is risen! And with his resurrection we are called to new life. This broken body will be redeemed, as surely as our Lord’s.

This is Jesus Christ, as he is known to both
Anglicans and Orthodox Christians – the carpenter
from Nazareth, the itinerant preacher, the Son of
God and Son of Man who, sacrificed on a cross,
died and was buried. He rose again and is seated
at the right hand of God the Father. He will come
again to judge the living and the dead.

When we proclaim our shared faith in the Lord, he
heals his divided Church.

The people of St Mary’s are privileged to proclaim
their faith within the Anglican tradition – part of the
“Western” church – while living in Serbia, home to the Serbian Orthodox Church – which is part of the “Eastern” church.

In this way, we are blessed to be witnesses of God’s work in the healing of his Church, through fellowship with our Serbian Orthodox brothers and sisters. We uphold each other in prayer, desiring the day when Church unity will be restored and made visible to us all, to the glory of our Lord.

Our experience of fellowship between Anglican and Orthodox Christians is made possible by the hospitality of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch. One especially beautiful sign of the Patriarch’s hospitality has been his tradition of inviting us to celebrate Christmas Eve in the patriarchal chapel.

Bringing Anglicans and Serbian Orthodox Christians closer together is an important part of our chaplain’s mission. He is the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official representative, or Apokrisarios, to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

This means working to maintain good relations between our Churches, and seeking to promote greater understanding and unity. In this, the chaplain works closely with the Patriarch’s Secretary for External Church Relations.

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