Our common heritage

That which is called ‘Orthodoxy’ is the common heritage of all followers of Jesus, all confessors of His name, and as such it encompasses all those who do not resist Him. Our denominational skirmishes and problems are all at our end, not at His. They are caused by all of us being somewhat imperfect in understanding, in experience, and in love. We have enemies who like to arouse our contempt for one another by abusing history to enflame us. But really, we are Christ’s, all of us, and whether we honor the saints outwardly and dogmatically or not, we worship one Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. There really is only ‘One Lord, One faith, and One baptism,’ as the holy apostle Paul puts it. Whoever honors and worships the Son of God, also honors the saints by gratitude and worships the Father by faith. As holy apostle and evangelist John writes,

My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
…
My dear people,
since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another.
John 4:7, 11 Jerusalem Bible