Why should I go to church, can't I just believe at home?

The Orthodox nuance

"I believe in God, but I don't need the church" sounds modern and sincere, but it hides a trap. Christ says where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). And Saint Paul calls the Church a body, in which you cannot say I have no need of you, just as the eye cannot live separated from the body (1 Corinthians 12).

Furthermore, you do not have everything at home: no Communion, no absolution in confession, no Liturgy — which is not a spectacle you watch, but a sacrifice you take part in. The Holy Fathers were strict with those who willingly separated themselves from the gathering, because a coal taken out of the fire extinguishes itself, no matter how burning it was.

And there is another gift you cannot see from the couch. At church, you rub shoulders with people who are not like you — the elderly, children, people who get on your nerves — and you learn patience and humility, exactly what you do not learn alone, where everything is to your taste. The community is not a bonus, it is the place where salvation is worked out.