Does the Church Today Embody the Presence of God’s Love in the World?

On the Feast of All Saints of America, we honor Matushka Olga Michael of Alaska, recently glorified as a saint—joining the cloud of witnesses who manifest God’s love in our midst.

In his homily, Fr. Robert posed a powerful question:

What does it mean to be the Orthodox Church in America—or in Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, or anywhere the Church dwells today?

Drawing from the Epistle to Diognetus, an early Christian letter to a pagan inquirer, we’re reminded:

Christians live in the world, but are not of it.

They care for the sick, walk with strangers, and reveal the crucified and risen Christ through truth, beauty, and sacrificial love.

Even the word parish—from the Greek 'paroikia', meaning 'temporary dwelling in a strange land'—reminds us we are pilgrims, gathered not by nation, ethnicity or tribe, but by the call of Christ.

But do we truly live this way?

We are the Church “for the life of the world,” called to offer divine healing.

But when the Gospel is distorted, do we take a stand and speak in a strong, clear and edifying voice as the Church?

When our neighbors suffer, do we act?

In a broken world, do we manifest God’s love?