How did the canons of the Church originate?

The eternal Word of God descended to us in the flesh that He might build us into a Church united with Him, in which He lives, and that bears His image. Thus, by making us members of His Holy Body — that is, the Church that is one with Him — we enter into His life, practice His heavenly behavior, and discover His kingdom within us. He tinged His Church with the colors of heaven and brought it into “supernatural life” through its union with Him; not as a fictional life like those found in books or preached by some of the servants of God, but as “a real experience in Christ” who came to us in our earthly reality.

For the Christian life is a life that resembles heaven, yet it is lived upon the earth. God does not invite us to live this life while He remains far from us in heaven; rather, the divine Word descended and was united with our humanity, lived on earth, was subject to its laws, and practiced the rituals of worship, while He is the eternal One who is worshiped! He has given us an earnest of eternity within the reality of time; and so we abide in the heavenly places whilst still on earth.

Thus did the Church live in the era of the Apostles, as also in the era of the early Fathers, abiding in a real heavenly spirit, bearing the imprints of the eschaton (the end times) and the present reality at the same time. She declared without ceasing her fervent longing for the eternal meeting with the Lord face to face in paradise, yet never neglected to live the holy life daily in Christ Jesus.

All of this was reflected in the life of the Church; in her worship, preaching, and behavior, for she wishes to bring the whole world into “eternity.” She liberates every soul from the bounds of time and opens every eye to behold the kingdom of God which no language can express, no laws can define, and no human system can regulate. But at the same time, she does not neglect our reality as embodied human beings who walk upon on the face of the earth. The Church delivers her faith to us through words and laws that invite us into that which is beyond words and laws.

For this reason, we ought to examine together, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the laws of the apostles as recorded by the early Church. How did they begin? How did they evolve? What is their purpose?