Photo from here
Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia and Malawi
The Orthodox Church actively cares for all people who are in need of help, including the hungry, the poor, the sick, invalids, the elderly, the persecuted, the captives and those in prison, the homeless, the orphans, the victims of catastrophes and military conflicts, the trade of people and contemporary forms of slavery. The efforts of the Orthodox Church in overcoming need and social injustice are the expression of her faith and ministry to Christ, who identifies himself with each person and more so with those in need
Is missionary work an Orthodox practice? Should our Faith be earned to
all peoples of the globe? Can all Orthodox Christians participate in
mission work?
The answer to each of these questions is a resounding, “Yes!”
Participation in spreading the glory of God is so basic to the Christian spirit that it may be called an inner necessity.
"......The vision of the glory of the trinitarian God is the ultimate purpose of "being" with Christ. Through the Lord's work of redemption the dawn of the last day approaches, namely man's participation in the glorious life of the Holy Trinity in theosis. Since then, the Holy Spirit continues and completes the divine plan, with the participation of the Lord's disciples to whom He gave authority to preach salvation to all creation and to prepare for the parousia in which God's full glory will be revealed. All those who "have beheld his glory" through the faith and mysteries and who have become members of His Body, partake in a mission that has one end in view: the recapitulation of all in Christ, and their participation in the divine glory.
The objectives of the missionary activity of local churches and of the faithful are set in this wider theological spectrum.
The preaching of the Gospel is not a mere announcement of ideas but a doxological movement. The foundation of a local church is not the creation of a small colony or of a section of some organization, but a prelude and image of the Kingdom, a creation of the eucharistic community, which through the mysteries and all its life participates in the praise and life of the whole Church.
It will contribute to Christ's presence, becoming perceptible in a specific place and time "until He comes" in His final parousia. If the missionary is unable to transmit this sort of glory, which is not the secular, external glory of civilization, wealth and knowledge, but the inner glory of God as it is revealed in the mystery of kenosis, of the Resurrection and Pentecost, then he has nothing essential to offer.. ...."
"This is what modern mission work should look like: indigenous, authentic, and driven by genuine need. Look carefully. These African faces are the new faces of the Church. These are the new apostles of the faith. This is where the new duties of the Christian Church are calling us..."
The answer to each of these questions is a resounding, “Yes!”
Participation in spreading the glory of God is so basic to the Christian spirit that it may be called an inner necessity.
"......The vision of the glory of the trinitarian God is the ultimate purpose of "being" with Christ. Through the Lord's work of redemption the dawn of the last day approaches, namely man's participation in the glorious life of the Holy Trinity in theosis. Since then, the Holy Spirit continues and completes the divine plan, with the participation of the Lord's disciples to whom He gave authority to preach salvation to all creation and to prepare for the parousia in which God's full glory will be revealed. All those who "have beheld his glory" through the faith and mysteries and who have become members of His Body, partake in a mission that has one end in view: the recapitulation of all in Christ, and their participation in the divine glory.
The objectives of the missionary activity of local churches and of the faithful are set in this wider theological spectrum.
The preaching of the Gospel is not a mere announcement of ideas but a doxological movement. The foundation of a local church is not the creation of a small colony or of a section of some organization, but a prelude and image of the Kingdom, a creation of the eucharistic community, which through the mysteries and all its life participates in the praise and life of the whole Church.
It will contribute to Christ's presence, becoming perceptible in a specific place and time "until He comes" in His final parousia. If the missionary is unable to transmit this sort of glory, which is not the secular, external glory of civilization, wealth and knowledge, but the inner glory of God as it is revealed in the mystery of kenosis, of the Resurrection and Pentecost, then he has nothing essential to offer.. ...."
***
"This is what modern mission work should look like: indigenous, authentic, and driven by genuine need. Look carefully. These African faces are the new faces of the Church. These are the new apostles of the faith. This is where the new duties of the Christian Church are calling us..."
Fr Cassian Sibley from springs of life America
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