Why does the Creed mention the Church after talking about the oneness of God and the Holy Trinity?

The goal of the Orthodox Creed is not to mention some theoretical facts about God, the world, the Church, the final judgment, and the eternal life, but its main goal is to help the believer encounter God, enjoy His love as he struggles in the world, prepare him for the great day of the Lord, help him have communion with the heavenly, and have eternal life. So, as we confess our faith saying, “ and in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church,” we are affirming our commitment to be in communion with the Holy God, to love one another, to have a relationship with our friends in heaven as we join their praising choir and enjoy our sonship to God on an eternal level.

Our knowledge of the Church drives us to look forward to our life in heaven when we depart and meet the heavenly Bridegroom who will welcome us in a joyful heavenly procession which the heavenly hosts look forward to saying, “thrust in your sickle and reap” (Rev. 14:15). We should not marvel that the heavenly hosts are earnestly looking forward to the day of the Lord, since they view our Church not as a social institution governed by some laws that are in place to ensure man’s happiness, but as the people of God who are being prepared to partake in the angelic life where the believer experiences God’s plan for him every day. Therefore, we should not be surprised if we hear about many of the saints such as St. John Chrysostom who felt that they were the happiest people in the world. The believer has his eyes fixed on his Creator and Savior and what He is preparing for him in heaven, so he is joyful in the midst of his hardships. The believer performs his job with all honesty and is faithful in his relationships with others, because he considers himself to be a child of God who does not know failure, despair, or greed as he is the ambassador of heaven on earth.

St. Isaac the Syrian and other saints spoke about their practical lives saying that the believer loves God and those who persecute him as well as all the animals and birds, so he does not accept the torture of any being, even if he wanted to get rid of them such as in the case of snakes. He does not just care for all living creatures but also cares for the beauty of the non-living creatures so that he would not waste the world’s resources. This calls us to care for our membership in the Church, our sonship to God and our friendship with the heavenly that we may know the characteristics of the Church, whether at the ecumenical level, local level, or personal level. It also calls us to know the Word of God who is present in His Church and to honor one another regardless of the other’s nationality, culture, talents, age, or capabilities, even if that person was just a baby or has special needs.

St. Augustine says, “Peter is the eye in the body, that man is the finger, yet is he in the same body in which Peter is; and if the finger has less power than the eye, yet it is not cut off from the body. Better is it to be a finger and to be in the body, than to be an eye and to be plucked out of the body. Therefore, my brethren, let no man deceive you, let no man seduce you: love the peace of Christ, who was crucified for you, while He was God. Paul says, ‘so then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase’ (1 Cor. 3:7) … so let the members love one another but live all under the Head.”⁹²³