Built on the Anointed Rock: Christ, the Church, and the Gates of Death

In this episode of Made to be a Kingdom, Fathers Harry Linsenbigler and Anthony Perkins return

to Christ’s words in Matthew 16–18 to explore what Scripture reveals about the nature of the

Church. Reading the Gospel through its original biblical and Septuagint context, they reflect on

Christ as the anointed Petra, the gathering of the scattered people of Israel, and the Church as

the place where God restores His flock from among the nations.

Drawing on Micah’s prophecy (2:6-13), the language of gates and mountains, and the Paschal

victory over death, the conversation shows how Orthodox ecclesiology is rooted not in abstract

authority, but in Christ Himself—the Anointed Rock who leads His people through the gates of

hell into life. Along the way, they highlight how Scripture interprets Scripture, why the Church

understands herself as the restored Israel, and how Pascha stands at the heart of what it means

for the Church to be built, gathered, and led by Christ.