The Insubstantial Church

  Church - A term widely used to describe a number o notions , if we take it most traditional sense , we will refer to two well known notions : a) Church -the organizational/administrative form which a christian branch takes ; b) Church - the building used by christians to officiate religious services.  

  From its begging , the Church developed a administrative system in order to organize its activities , it's actions , to develop a unity in doctrine and thinking , to be a generator of social change. In Medieval Europe , the Church's identity was outlined by it's very rigid administrative system , which was a complex collection of statuses , rules , rituals and formalities.  

  The opacity of this system distanced the Church from the people's actual needs , creating a separate world for the clergy and a marginal one for the believers. In that era , the Church's identity and mark left on the collective memory of the believers was composed by a number of dramatic and outstanding physical elements. 

  Outstanding cathedrals with lavish interiors , ornaments made from precious metals or stone , stained glass, icons , statues and ceremonial objects . This were the "touchable" elements which became the most easy to pick part from the Church's identity , as a negative reaction , more and more believers started to question the importance and functionality of all this elements in the life of the Church. 

  The Radical Reform started a ideological movement that was seeking to restore Christianity to it's primitive roots , clearing the church of elements that don't find support in the holly writings . This movement was named Restorationism , it's effect was not temporally limited just to the period in which the Reform took place , similar ideologies or a residual form of it made it's name heard even in the New Ages movements and the christian churches that came in to existence in the later centuries. 
  The most radical form in which this ideology can manifest is that of questioning the actual need of a physical church in the life of the christian community. After centuries in which believers were suffocated by the smell of burning candles and were visually mutilated by the extravagance of the baroque and gothic churches , was time to bring the life of the christian community outside the man built walls of the church and closer to the most noticeable of God's creations on Earth - nature. Do we need a church building? 
  Can we have a church without a administrative system? It's nice to think that this theory could actually be applied 100% in the real world , sadly , it's not the case. This can be applied in one case , that of a very small religious group ...a sect actually.  It's very hard to organize a numerous religious group without having any physical place for the religious services , a very good reason is the legal one , in order for a cult to be officially recognized in a state it must have some identification dates , one of which is the actual location of the church . 
  A second reason would be that of the image that in projects within the community , a religious organization of any kind can project a strong image in the people's mind if they can associate it with a element from their living environment . And the final one , the credibility issue .
   How many would trust a organization , religious or not , if it dose not have a actual location where we could find it? How about the administrative system? Can we have a church without it? Maybe at a very high theoretical level , not in the real world. In order of it to function , there will be a number of statuses , functions and ranks , this can be more rigid or flexible in nature , it can be of a high democratic nature where all the members participate directly in the decision making process.
   A church is not a imposing building with statues and stained glass , a church is not or is not intended to impress with it extreme volumes , textures , colors and decorations. A church is that building which people turn it in to a place of connection with God , its that intimate space which receives this label from the believers. 
  We can't contest the role played by the architectural elements in the ceremony , the way they influence our emotional states . but we should not become dependent on them for creating a good church atmosphere .
  As a conclusion , we can state that a church needs a physical body but it should not become dependent or fully identify with it for the good of the service and of the community's life.