With translucent simplicity Mrs. Eddy explains Church: "The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle."
Science and Health, p. 583 This spiritual structure conveys the nature of Principle, God. Its source is Principle. It is within Principle. It is governed by Principle.
To human sense this Principle-governed Church appears as a benevolent institution uniting spiritually-minded people. Its most clearly defined expression is the Church of Christ, Scientist. Because actual Church— the emanation of Truth and Love—is wholly spiritual, its closest human approximation is that institution which evinces the most spirituality and most reflects spiritual truth, washing out sickness and sin from the fabric of human experience.
In order for the Church of Christ, Scientist, collectively, and for individual branches, to be most effective, its members must evidence the highest spirituality they can in their own thought and living. The government of a church is not really personal. A church is governed by kinds of thought. The most spiritual thought assures the best government, for the institution expresses what its members entertain about it. The most fruitful church is not led or governed by a personal hierarchy but by spiritual-mindedness.
