The Revival of Orthodox Mission in New Borders and the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

One of the critical issues emphasized at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016 was that of the witness of Orthodoxy in the modern world, as expressed in the Message and Encyclical of the council, and in the council document on the Mission of the Orthodox Church. This paper traces the revival of foreign mission and witness within the Orthodox Church since the late 1950s and how it came to fruition at the council in Crete.     

The Mission of the Church in the Contemporary World in Light of the Decisions of the Holy and Great Council

This article discusses the place of mission in the Orthodox Church. The document “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today's World,” which was approved by the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church held in Crete in 2016, is still in the process of reception, as are the other documents, but it constitutes, without doubt, a new era in Orthodox missiology – as indeed the Great and Holy Council in Crete represents a new era in Orthodoxy. The interrelatedness of unity and mission is not a question of methodology or strategy. It is an ontological one: it is related to the very essence of koinonia as fellowship in the triune God, and to the specific aspect of κοινονια as participation in God's economy in and for the world. Mission is commitment to the work of the triune God incarnated in Jesus Christ. Both are God’s gift and command. It is only in unity with the Holy Trinity that the church is able to fulfil its vocation.     

Eternal progression and temporal procession of the Holy Spirit

ABSTRACT

This article exposes the way in which Anglican ecumenists have adopted mutually conflicting positions on the historically controverted filioque clause in agreed statements with different bilateral partners. It contrasts the restriction of the filioque to the divine economy agreed with representatives of the Oriental Orthodox tradition in the Procession and Work of the Holy Spirit (2017) with the possibility of an eternal manifestation of the Spirit from the Father through the Son which is explored in the Moscow, Dublin and Cyprus discussions (with the Chalcedonian Orthodox). The article shows how the latter position resonates better with the pneumatology contained in historic Anglican formularies and in theologians such as John Pearson and William Beveridge. The paper concludes by springboarding into broader questions about the purpose and method of Anglican ecumenical endeavour.     

Who is the Church?

Abstract : Although the question of survival is on the mind of most mainline congregations in the United States, the real crisis facing the churches is one of identity. After briefly reviewing three theological paradigms for the church (Word‐event, communion, and missio dei), I propose that the question of the church's identity is best answered by returning to the “story of the church,” which properly “starts with the Spirit,” and by reclaiming a concept of the church as a Spirit‐breathed people who are called and sent.     

The Holy Spirit in EG,TTL, and CTC: The Pneumatological Impulse for Christian Mission

This article examines the correspondence in the pneumatological impulse for mission among three documents: Evangelii Gaudium (EG), Together towards Life (TTL), and The Cape Town Commitment (CTC). This consonance in EG, TTL, and CTC is significant given the dissonance on theological and missiological perspectives across the representing ecclesial bodies since the mid‐20th century. Following a review of pneumatology in these three documents, the paper proposes a forward‐looking trajectory to a more expansive view of the Spirit's ever‐mysterious operations in the church, in missions, and in the world.     

Helping the Homeless: What About the Spirit of God?

This paper argues that the Holy Spirit is missing from services for the homeless. Spirituality is reviewed as a concept, and it is argued that the transforming Spirit that Paul described is not often present in discussions. Instead, the Social Gospel and Modernism have replaced the role of the Holy Spirit, and people who are homeless are being provided with very limited options to transform their lives and escape the desperation they so often feel.     

The Preparation and Organization of the Holy and Great Council

This paper, given at the 8th International Conference of Orthodox Theology, held in Thessaloniki, 21–25 May 2018, on the theme “The Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church: Orthodox Theology in the 21st Century,” reviews the preparation, organization, and convocation of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in 2016 and makes suggestions for the next pan-Orthodox synodal expression of the church.     

《圣经》中希伯来医学文化探析

医学文化是希伯来文明的重要组成部分,是世界非物质文化遗产。在圣经时代,希伯来人的医学与宗教紧密结合。一些宗教戒律逐渐演变成希伯来的民俗和传统文化。希伯来人治疗心理疾病主要通过宗教仪式和祈祷求得上帝的拯救;在保健和预防疾病方面是保持圣洁。犹太教的一些戒律具有养生保健作用。犹太教在希伯来医学的发展中打下了深刻的烙印。     

Pneumatology and the Cross: The Challenge of Neo‐Pentecostalism to Lutheran Theology

Abstract : Historically, Lutheran engagement with the charismatic and Pentecostal movements has been largely negative. After a brief review of this history, I explore the question: What would a Lutheran engagement of the Spirit look like in view of the kinds of questions people are asking today that draw them to Pentecostal churches? Is there a place in Lutheran theology for affirming that the Holy Spirit is the “giver of life” and even “abundant life”?     

The Documents of the Holy and Great Council on Marriage and Fasting

This article offers a critical response to the documents on marriage and on fasting of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which took place in Crete in 2016. It suggests greater attention be given to the concept of oikonomia in contemporary Orthodoxy, both in the context of the issues raised in these two documents and with respect to other contentious issues. In contemporary Orthodoxy, the exercise of oikonomia is understood in different ways. One approach is the legalistic understanding of the term that is employed in the council documents; the second and more traditional approach is to understand oikonomia as discernment of what is true and authentic, even outside the canonical limits of Orthodoxy. The article asks whether such a perspective could characterize the church’s approach to other complex pastoral issues, such as those related to marriage and fasting.     

Religious Communities and Their Mission

In the past thirty years, religious orders of men and women within the Roman Catholic Church have witnessed both the graying of its members and a decrease in the number of new vocations. Research has shown that only those communities with a clear focus in terms of charism and mission will survive. The present study reports the results of survey research conducted with 484 Roman Catholic religious which investigated three research questions: the uniqueness of the stated mission of seven religious communities, the awareness and experience of each community's unique charism, and an understanding of those lived experiences within community life which contribute to and predict a community's charism. The findings indicate that, while each of the religious communities surveyed can both identify and experience their community's stated charism, their mission statements poorly reflect the charism which is unique to each community. The data also indicates that time spent in prayer, both personal and communal, as well as the level of one's formal education, contribute to and predict and community's charism.