Orthodox Church – The ark of salvationtranslated

That threshing floor, where the sacrifice was offered to stop the mortal, prefigured the Church, which is an angelic and otherworldly place. St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his famous Catechisms, giving the stamp of the Church, observes: "This Church is to whom all are called and all come together." The Church is an invitation and challenge to salvation, as its mission is to guide man towards the highest purpose of his existence, which is none other than sanctification and deification. It is the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth and, because of its profound soteriological implications, it is already foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Saint Gregory the Palamas, on the occasion of the fall of King David, as recorded in II Kings, refers to the event in which David, instead of relying on God's providence, trusted in his own strength, as a result of which he became fatal to the people.

Referring to the expiatory sacrifice that was offered at the threshing floor of Ornas of Jebusaeus, which was on a hill, he observes: "It is a type of our Church, which is situated […] on high ground, an angelic and supernatural place".

That threshing floor, where...