Indeed, the entire life of the Church as the theanrthopic Body of Christ lies in this truth. It is in the Church that humanity is united to divinity, since it is the body of Christ that was raised to the right hand of the Father. It is in the Church that the Holy Spirit breathes His uncreated gifts, manifesting the Son and uniting man to Him, since it was Christ the Word that sent the Spirit which proceeds from the Father to His disciples. And it is to the Church that all of humanity is called, summoned to freely participate in the life of God as He partakes in humanity’s.

Thus, in Orthodoxy, the Church is not merely a socio-temporal community, since it is the unity of humanity; it is not merely an institution, since it is not limited to its administrative structures and hierarchies; it is not a cultural artifact, but a mode of life, a mode of thought, a mode of being that is ineffibly interpenetrated by the life uncreated Godhead. ~Leonidas Pittos, Orthodox Ecclesiology

I would like to introduce readers of Eunomia to a new blog that has been in the works for some time and which has been inaugurated with its first post. This is Orthodox Ecclesiology, operated by a good friend and colleague of mine here at the University of Chicago, Leonidas Pittos. Leonidas is a Ph.D. student in Byzantine history, specialising in late Byzantine religion and culture, and he is a staunch Orthodox Traditionalist from the Church of Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece. He is very engaging and thoughtful, he is especially well-versed in the writings of the Greek Fathers and has what I consider to be a profound understanding of liturgics and ecclesiology.

Anyone interested broadly in Church Tradition, ecclesiology, theology, the problems of ecumenism and questions of religious identity, among many other topics, would be well-served to start reading Orthodox Ecclesiology. Leonidas provides a particular and very intelligent perspective on the problems confronting the Orthodox Church today, and his blog is a very welcome addition to a sphere where educated and rational discourse is often lacking.