The early Christians searched for a word that would express their bondedness with Jesus and with one another. They settled on the word koinonia. It means fellowship or community, and it connotes respect, equality, inclusion and bondedness. Koinonia describes the community established through the work of Jesus. This community is founded in the three divine Persons, and includes each one of us and our neighbour. Because it is founded in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, this community will last eternally. Because it is open to every human being, it offers a vision of universal reconciliation. This community took on visible form 2,000 years ago, in the shape of the Christian Church. It has had an extraordinary history, sometimes glorious, sometimes shocking and disgraceful. However imperfect it is, it is the divine solution, already operating in our world, to the mutual mistrust and dislike that lead to the fragmentation of human community when left to itself.