The essence and nature of the Orthodox Church

The premise for the work on this text has been an attempt to look at the Church from the perspective of Orthodox ecclesiology. It will briefly synthesise a number of functioning definitions of the term. Each attempt to characterise what the Church is sets a slightly different benchmark for further analysis. Catechismic, theological, administrative, comparative, historical, contemporary, internal or external definitions imply the way in which we talk about the Church. Within the boundaries outlined by the definitions, we will be able to characterise the nature of the Church and its essence as it is spoken of and realised by the Orthodox Church. It will therefore be an analysis based on a theological, internal view, which will nevertheless take into account external characteristics, i.e. reference to how the Church is perceived. The internal theological analysis will draw primarily on the achievements of Orthodox ecclesiology, taking into account both its historical foundations and contemporary interpretations.