Abstract:
After a barren period between about 1920 and 1970, in
which there was little or no mission activity, the
Orthodox Church has experienced a revival of interest
in mission. This thesis is an examination of how
Orthodox theology and worldviews have affected Orthodox
mission methods, and account for some of the differences
between Orthodox methods and those of Western
Christians. A starting point for the study of the
Orthodox theology of mission is the ikon of the descent
of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which shows the
apostles gathered in the upper room with the world in
their midst. Orthodox soteriology, which sees Christ as
the conqueror of evil and death, rather than as the
punisher of sin, has led Orthodox missionaries to have
a more open approach to other cultures. A historical
survey of ways in which the Orthodox Church grew in the
past includes martyrdom, mission and statecraft,
monastic mission, and in the 20th century, the missionary
significance of the Orthodox diaspora. Even in the
fallow period, however, there was mission in the sense
that various groups of people were drawn to Orthodoxy,
sometimes through the ministry of irregularly ordained
bishops. The collapse of communist regimes in the Second
World has created many new opportunities for
orthodox mission, but has also brought problems of
intra-Christian proselytism, nationalism and viole:1ce,
and schism and stagnation in those places. As the
Orthodox Church prepares to enter the 21st century, its
worldview, which has been less influenced by the modernity
of the West, may enable it to minister more
effectively to people involved in postmodern reactions
against modernity.
