“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
—Matthew 7:13–14
These words from Jesus are not poetic musings. They are a warning. A promise. A call.
And in our day, they are perhaps more relevant than ever.
In a time when Christianity has been fractured into tens of thousands of expressions, often holding contradictory teachings while claiming to represent “Biblical truth,” we are compelled to ask: What did Jesus actually mean by the narrow way? Would He really approve of a spiritual marketplace where every believer determines for themselves what it means to follow Him?
Orthodoxy Does Not Judge the Soul, But It Does Guard the Truth
Let me say this from the outset: the Orthodox Church does not presume to judge the eternal fate of any individual. That judgment belongs to the Lord alone—who is both just and merciful.
But the Church, by God’s grace, is entrusted with something sacred: the preservation and proclamation of the Faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). It does not invent, revise, or reinterpret to match the fashions of the age. Rather, it serves as a spiritual compass for those who long to walk the path Christ actually laid out—not merely one that feels close enough.
This path—this narrow way—is not a matter of denominational loyalty or good intentions. It is a life of sacramental grace, of repentance, of obedience to Christ through His Church. It is the way that leads to life.
What Did Jesus Actually Mean?
In Matthew 7, Jesus contrasts two paths: one wide and easy, the other narrow and difficult. The first is popular—but ends in destruction. The second is hard—but leads to life.
He reinforces this teaching in Luke 13:24:
“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
The Greek word used for “strive” is agonizomai—a word implying intense effort, even struggle. Christianity was never meant to be a casual belief system or a Sunday tradition. It is a path of transformation, of becoming like Christ, of dying to self and rising in Him.
And yet, the very idea of a narrow way is deeply offensive to our modern sensibilities. We like options. We demand choices. But Jesus gave one way, and warned that few would find it.
The Ancient Church Knew the Way
In the earliest days of the faith, there was no confusion. The Apostles established communities grounded in the teachings they received directly from Christ.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.”
—Acts 2:42
This wasn’t spiritual guesswork or doctrinal experimentation. It was the Christian life, lived in unity, centered on the Eucharist, under the guidance of bishops in apostolic succession.
Early Church Fathers—men like St. Ignatius of Antioch, who was taught by the Apostle John—warned the faithful to avoid anyone who deviated from this pattern. He famously wrote:
“Where the bishop is, there is the Church.”
There was no room for personal theology divorced from the life of the Church. To be a Christian was to be part of the Body of Christ, united in truth, worship, and practice.
The Shattering of Christian Unity
But as centuries passed, pride, politics, and innovation began to chip away at the unity Christ had prayed for:
The Great Schism of 1054 divided East and West.
The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century rejected apostolic succession and sacramental continuity.
Today, we live in the aftermath—a landscape of confusion, with tens of thousands of churches, each claiming to know the way.
How do we reconcile this chaos with Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21:
“That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you…”
If Christ warned us that few would find the narrow way, how can we assume that all paths lead to life?
After a Lifetime of Seeking, I Found the Narrow Way
I do not write these words as a critic looking in from the outside. I spent decades on a journey of sincere faith. I served within various Christian communities. I preached. I prayed. I believed.
But something was missing.
The deeper I studied Scripture and history, the more I longed for a faith that wasn’t a reaction to something else—not Protestantism reacting to Rome, not new movements responding to old institutions—but the original Church, the one founded by Christ and preserved by the Apostles. – by Bishop Michael Callahan