That They May Be One

Fr Aaron explained that the famous verse of Jesus praying that His disciples would “be one” should not primarily be understood as a reference to ecumenism. Rather, we should recognize that Jesus is praying that we would be perfectly united to God’s will. For centuries, Christians have been separated into many different denominations and branches, and we arrived at this place because of our sin which often expresses itself in pride. These divisions were present even in the early Church prior to Constantine, and they became even more prevalent in the centuries thereafter. But to put ourselves at the center of the universe and interpret that these verses speak to our current situation would take Christ’s words far from the context in which he spoke. His comments reflected His desire that we, just like Him, would be united to God’s will.