[Piemonedmow]

We can have unity without Truth, but it would not be Christian unity. Rather, it ould be unity in something else.

The sentiment expressed above that we can all hold each other in love and that we can together work for the common social good is itself not objectionable and I don' think that any of us would wish to contest thst. This seems to be the official position of the Russian Orthodox Church as expressed here, and was affirmed by both the Church in Russia and ROCOR as part of the preparation for the reunion.

However, this is not what saves us.

Unity in the Church - in the Body of Christ - comes from that common life, common Faith, and common Baptism that grafts us into Christ. It is no accident that the disciples were said to have "continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42). These things are intrinsicaly bound together. Where the Apostle's teaching has been abandoned, where that fellowship has been severed, there can be no common breaking of bread and no common prayer. This is the witness of Scripture, the Fathers, the Canons, and the Church's liturgical practice.

In any discussion about Christian unity, we must remember that the Church is already united. By definition, it cannot be otherwise. The Church is, by its nature, a communion, reflecting in some way the communion of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, and drawing us into such communion as part of our ongoing theosis. Therefore, it cannot embrace heresy and division within itself. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that the Trinity is divided, and I leave it to our more theologically-minded contributors to explore the doctrinal problems with that sort of ecclesiology.

It is, however, possible to be separated from the Church, and this is the state of the heterodox. This is how we must approach any discussionof unity, not with a view to uniting with heresy but in order to show before those who believe differently the Truth of the life in Christ, that they may wish to also become united with his Body, the Church for the sake of their salvation. I cannot express this better than the ROCOR synod:

Preserving faith in the One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church, the Synod of Bishops affirms that the Church never divided itself. The question lies only in who belongs to her and who does not. At the same time, the Synod of Bishops fervently welcomes all attempts of the heterodox to study Christ's teaching on the Church in the hope that through this study, especially with the participation of representatives of the Holy Orthodox Church, they will ultimately come to the conclusion that the Orthodox Church, as the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), fully and without error preserved the teaching handed down by Christ the Savior (sic) to His disciples."