It is nearly impossible to begin with an accurate definition of the Church, because, in fact, there is none that we could consider an accepted doctrinal authority.

We cannot find any definition either in the Holy Scriptures, or in the Fathers, or in the decisions or rules of the Ecumenical Councils, nor even in later texts.

…and perhaps Father Pavel Florensky was right to insist: “The idea of the Church does not exist at all, but the Church itself exists, and for every living member, ecclesiastical life is the most defined and tangible thing of all that they know.”