Page 336 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
If, therefore, the technologies of individualism and virtual
reality are used to convey the eschatological message of the
Church, that message is absorbed and ultimately disappears.
And yet, the Church cannot simply abandon the use of such
means. She has always made use of what belongs to the world.
The question is how she can do so without becoming secularized.
The answer lies in this: she may use these means only insofar
as she preserves, untouched by them, those realities that are by
nature bearers of her eschatological identity. Only in this way can
she offer, through them, a witness to what is “not of this world.”
There is no other protection against secularization. There has
never been one in the history of the Church.
The Church has always used the things of the world—but she
has also always developed what might be called eschatological
“antibodies.” Even when she employs worldly means—for ex-
ample, in administration—she must ensure that in her liturgical
and communal life she manifests the reality of the Kingdom.
If these remain intact, she remains free.
If they are lost, she becomes indistinguishable from the world
she inhabits.
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