What does this mean, and is it believed by the Church: "the knowledge of the truth is given to mutual love"?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-08
The statement "the knowledge of the truth is given to mutual love" expresses a fundamental truth of Orthodox Christian theology and life. The Church fully embraces and lives this reality.
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1. What the Statement Means
In Orthodox theology, Truth is not an abstract philosophical theory, a set of academic propositions, or a logical puzzle to be solved by human intellect alone. Truth is personal: it is the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who declared:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)
Because Truth is a divine Person—and because God Himself is love—the faculty through which a human being comes to truly know God is not merely the fallen human intellect, but a cleansed heart united to others in selfless Christian love (ⲁⲅⲁⲡⲏ, agape).
The statement means:
- Theology cannot be divorced from spiritual life: One cannot truly know God while living in pride, isolation, or bitterness toward others.
- Truth is preserved and understood within the Body of Christ, not in isolation: Individualistic speculation breeds heresy. The Holy Spirit reveals the depth of divine mystery to the Church gathered in communion, unity, and love.
- Love is the condition for spiritual vision: Selfishness blinds the soul; mutual charity purifies the eye of the soul (the nous), allowing it to perceive divine realities.
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2. Scriptural Foundation
The Holy Scriptures explicitly teach that knowledge of God and love for the brethren are inseparable:
- 1 John 4:7–8:
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
- 1 John 2:9–11:
"He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him."
- 1 Corinthians 8:1:
"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies."
- Ephesians 3:17–19:
St. Paul prays that the believers, "being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge." Notice that comprehension of divine mystery happens "with all the saints" in mutual love.
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3. Liturgical Evidence: The Kiss of Peace and the Creed
The Coptic liturgical tradition embeds this exact principle directly into every celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
Before the congregation can stand and proclaim the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (the Orthodox confession of Truth), the Church commands two actions:
- The Prayer of Reconciliation: The priest prays that God remove all malice, deceit, and enmity from our hearts.
- The Kiss of Peace: The deacon calls out: "Greet one another with a holy kiss", and the congregation exchanges the reconciliation.
Only after the people are reconciled in mutual love does the Church begin the Creed: "In truth we believe in one God, God the Father the Pantocrator..."
The Church forbids confessing the Truth of the Faith while harboring hatred or division. To proclaim the truth of the Holy Trinity—Who is an eternal communion of Divine Love—requires that those confessing it possess unity of mind and heart (ⲙⲉⲧϩⲏⲧ ⲛⲟⲩⲱⲧ, met-heet-ouwt).
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4. Patristic Witness
The Church Fathers consistently taught that heresy and spiritual blindness stem from pride and separation from love:
- St. Athanasius the Apostolic emphasized that spiritual understanding requires a pure life directed toward God. Without purification and love, intellectual study cannot penetrate the mysteries of God.
- St. Maximus the Confessor taught that knowledge of divine things is blocked by self-love (philautia) and division. He wrote that mutual love between brothers dissolves rancor and prepares the soul for true theological knowledge (theoria).
- The Desert Fathers warned that a monk who masters theological argumentation but lacks love for his brother is entirely blind to the true knowledge of God.
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Summary
The Church does not view dogma as dry scholastic philosophy, nor does she reduce faith to mere human sentimentality. Dogma and love are interdependent: orthodox dogma defines the true God whom we love, and mutual love opens our spiritual senses to know that Truth experientially. Therefore, the knowledge of the truth is indeed given to mutual love.