{"id":16437,"date":"2026-06-10T18:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/?p=16437"},"modified":"2026-06-13T18:47:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T01:47:45","slug":"salvation-is-possible-only-in-christ-and-in-his-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2026\/06\/salvation-is-possible-only-in-christ-and-in-his-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Salvation is Possible Only in Christ and in His Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Salvationby Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye and Melitopol –
\nNot all roads lead to heaven, and \u201cnot all that glitters is gold.\u201d Truth and Christ are synonymous words. <\/p>\n

\"Line<\/p>\n

God wants to save everyone – but in Christ, not in division.<\/p>\n

Today the Church enters the New Year of God’s grace. And on this day the words of the Apostle Paul are heard: “God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). This is not a wish, not an abstract idea – this is God’s will for every person.<\/p>\n

We live in times when the Truth is forgotten by many.<\/b> In our society, there is division, persecution of the Church and Her faithful children. This is done under the slogans of “unity” and protection of the “true faith.” But the apostle says: God wants the salvation of all, including those who are mistaken and persecute the Truth. If God wants this, we should want the same. Enmity, hatred, curses – are not what the Heavenly Father expects from us. Christ commanded us to respond to evil with good, even to sworn enemies. Our weapon is prayer and love.<\/p>\n

But we must also remember that salvation is possible only in Christ and in His Church. Not all roads lead to heaven, and “not all that glitters is gold.” Truth and Christ are synonymous words. There is no other truth besides Him who Himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. <\/p>\n

Knowing the Truth is not just having information; it is union with God<\/b>, not intellectual reflection about Him. One can be a “good refrigerator,” but without electricity it is just a clumsy cabinet. One can be a “good person,” but without God his soul cannot live in the heavenly abodes in eternity. And unity with the Creator of Heaven and Earth must be attained now. Those who say, “it doesn’t matter where to pray and take communion,” deceive themselves and those who listen to them.<\/p>\n

St. Mark the Ascetic says: “The unbaptized or the heterodox cannot come to the knowledge of the truth.” This is true because grace is needed for this, and it is given only in the Church of God. Communion is not just a ritual, but union with Christ. And if there is no canonical grace, then there is no unity with Christ, no Sacraments. We say this not because “every sandpiper praises its own swamp,” but out of sincere desire for salvation for all, as God wants. Because there is only “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5).<\/p>\n

St. Simeon the New Theologian warns: “He who has not received the grace of Christ vainly bears the name Christian.” If a person calls himself “Orthodox” but goes against the Church, he prepares a terrible fate for himself, and we pity such people. God wants them also to come to the understanding of the truth. Therefore, together with the flock, we pray, as the Church teaches, “for the salvation of all people,” including our enemies.<\/p>\n

Persecutions bring us closer to God<\/b>, so they do not frighten us. But the fate of the persecutors, who have sided with Christ’s executioners, saddens us. Therefore, we pray to the Heavenly Father together with the Savior: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Christ shed His blood for each one, so there is no person for whom we cannot pray.<\/p>\n

This day is also the beginning of the church year. A new page of our church life opens. Let us ask ourselves: what do I want this year from the Church, from Christ? Worldly success, health, or salvation — for myself and for others? If we want the same as God, then we will keep the truth, not agree to lies, and not make any compromises with conscience and God’s law. We will pray for authorities, enemies, those who are mistaken, so that the Lord may enlighten them. <\/p>\n

We will keep inner peace in grace and heartfelt calm. And most importantly – to grow in the knowledge of God and seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit in all life circumstances. Then we, according to the words of the apostle, will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.<\/p>\n

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\nMetropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye and Melitopol (9\/14\/2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye and Melitopol – Not all roads lead to heaven, and \u201cnot all that glitters is gold.\u201d Truth and Christ are synonymous words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,5,130,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moral-issues","category-orthodox-christianity","category-orthodox-church","category-theology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16437"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16442,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16437\/revisions\/16442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}