The Church of the Bereans Still Lives

Protestants often speak of the noble Bereans mentioned in the Book of Acts, praising them because they “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The Bereans are frequently presented as an example of independent Bible study detached from the life of the historic Church. Yet many overlook a remarkable and undeniable reality: Berea still exists today, the city now known as Veria in northern Greece, and the Church established there through the preaching of the Apostle Paul continues to exist within the life of the Orthodox Church.

The faith of the Bereans did not disappear into the pages of history, nor did it fragment into countless competing interpretations and denominations. The Christian community born from apostolic preaching remained within the living continuity of the ancient Church, preserving the same sacramental life, apostolic succession, liturgical worship, and theological inheritance handed down from generation to generation for nearly two thousand years.

A person can travel to Veria even now and walk the very ground where Saint Paul once preached Christ crucified and risen from the dead. One may visit the ancient Bema commemorating the Apostle’s preaching and speak with the Orthodox bishop who stands in the line of succession of those entrusted to shepherd the flock in that same city. This is not merely archaeology, sentimentality, or historical nostalgia. It is the living testimony of continuity. The Church founded by the Apostles did not vanish and later need to be rediscovered or reinvented. It remained alive.

The Bereans were not praised because they rejected apostolic authority or separated themselves from the Church. They were commended because they received the preaching of the Apostles eagerly and with discernment, testing what they heard according to the Scriptures they already possessed. Their searching of the Scriptures did not lead them away from the Apostles, but deeper into communion with the apostolic Church. The Scriptures and the Apostolic Tradition were never enemies. They existed together within the life of the Church as two expressions of the same divine revelation.

This is one of the great misunderstandings of modern Christianity. Many imagine the early Christians as isolated readers of the Bible apart from sacramental worship, bishops, councils, fasting, liturgical prayer, and holy tradition. Yet the New Testament itself was born from within the Church. The canon of Scripture was preserved, recognized, copied, and defended by the same historic Orthodox Church that continues to worship today much as the ancient Christians worshipped centuries ago.

The Orthodox Church does not claim to be a “version” of Christianity among many others. Orthodoxy is the continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, proclaimed by the Apostles, defended by the Holy Fathers, preserved by the martyrs, and sanctified through the lives of the saints. Its faith is not a modern theological construction, but the ancient path walked continuously through the centuries.

When one visits Veria today, one does not encounter the ruins of a lost faith. One encounters a living Church. The prayers continue. The Divine Liturgy is still celebrated. The Gospel is still proclaimed. The bishops still guard the apostolic deposit. The faithful still gather around the Eucharistic Chalice just as Christians did in the earliest centuries.

The Church of the Bereans is not gone.

It still lives.

And it remains Orthodox.