An heretic sinneth deadly in pride, for he chooseth his rest and delight in his own opinion, and in his own sayings, for he imagineth them to be true; which opinion or sayings are against God and holy Church, and, therefore, he sinneth mortally in pride, for he loveth himself and his own will and wit so much, that though it be plainly against the ordinance of holy Church, he will not leave it, but resteth thereon, as upon the truth, and so maketh he it his god; but he beguileth himself, for God and holy Church are so united and accorded together that whoso doth against the one doth against both. And, therefore, he that saith he loveth God, and keepeth His biddings, and despiseth holy Church, and setteth at nought the laws and ordinances thereof, made by the head and supreme thereof appointed to govern all Christians, he lieth, for he chooseth not God, but chooseth the love of himself, contrary to the love of God, and so sinneth mortally. And wherein he imagineth most to please God, he most displeaseth Him; for he is blind, and will not see. (John Climacus)

I was born into a proudly non-conforming church. For the last twenty years I have participated in the life of a largely orthodox church.

I have considerable respect for my own will and wit. But I choose to defer in most ways to the orthodoxies of the church. I do not always embrace the orthodoxies, but I respect them, consider them, and over the years they have certainly influenced what I have come to understand of God and my relationship with God and neighbor.

The church is a human creation. I understand that humans are created by God and participate in God's intention and capacity. I have some confidence in the wisdom-of-crowds, especially when such wisdom is accumulated over centuries. While such wisdom is less than certain, it has a better chance than my own limited capacity.

The image is of the first Council of Nicea.