What is Reformation?

“Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Twice in those three verses from Philippians, Saint Paul uses the term form or morphe in Greek, meaning the inherent nature of a thing. Let’s read the verses again with the term nature standing in for morphe, and we can begin to see more clearly Paul’s meaning: Jesus, though he was in the nature of God, took the nature of a servant, and being found in human nature, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

To know what a thing is we must know what its nature is, what its form is, and in the case of the Lord Jesus, he is a divine person with two natures, one divine and one human. In the case of Christ’s Church, its nature is that of a sacrament, a visible sign of an invisible reality. The Church has the form of a communion of communions, meaning a universal gathering of all local churches (what we usually call dioceses and eparchies) in which the universal communion comes before all local communions logically, chronologically, and ontologically. And the Church has the form of a human body with a head (Christ) and various members (all the baptized) who together form a single organic unity which is called into being by the preaching of the Gospel and the celebration of the sacred mysteries of the New and Eternal Covenant.

When we say that the Church is always in need of being reformed and purified, we do not mean - we cannot mean - that the Church’s nature or form must be changed. That would mean the Church’s death. No, reformation in and of the Church means returning the Church to her original form by cleansing her of deformities. But how would those deformities arise in the first place? Let’s hear again from Saint Paul: “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

So, deformities in the Church come from Christians being conformed to the world, and the Apostle urges us instead of being conformed to the world to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. How? By becoming living sacrifices and testing all things to be certain of what conforms to the will of God because it is good, acceptable, and perfect. In other words, reformation in and of the Church is accomplished by the grace of God through conversion from sin, adherence to the truth, and the willing transformation of Christian minds and hearts through sacrificial living. Notice what is missing from this list. Authentic reformation is not accomplished by new programs, novel organizational charts, liturgical committees, communications strategies, or the adaptation of Christian doctrine to suit the spirit of the age.

How do we help in the work of constant reformation in the Church? By following the Lord Jesus in the Way of the Cross, by believing everything God has revealed for our salvation in the Gospel, and by being transformed by grace through faith from children of wrath into children of God. We cannot reform either ourselves or the Church by going to meetings or taking votes on how we think God should have arranged the universe to suit our wisdom. Re-formation is the retrieval of the original form, and in the case of the Church, that form is revealed on the Cross.