Eastern Orthodox
Church and Their Perspectives of Mission
Introduction
The
Eastern Orthodox Church, a branch of Christianity also known as Eastern
Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity, or the Orthodox Church, identifies its roots
in the early Church, particularly as it developed within the Greek-speaking
eastern branch of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Orthodox Church accepts the
first seven Ecumenical Councils (which were held between 325 and 787 C.E.), and
regards itself as the True Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is organized
with an episcopal structure including the Four Patriarchs of Alexandria,
Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Their worship is highly liturgical and
extremely iconographic, both of which are central to the Church's life, history,
and practice. Their icons, which include depictions of Jesus, the Virgin Mary,
biblical scenes, or saints, are believed to create a sense of the presence of
God. Eastern Orthodoxy is strongly doctrinal and places great authority in the
Bible, the Creeds (Apostles' and Nicene), and the seven ecumenical councils.
However, the aim and objective of this paper is to bring out some of the
important Eastern Orthodox Church missionaries and their mission with special
focus on the characteristics of Russian Orthodox mission in the Eastern Europe.
And also this research will deal the modern eastern orthodox ideology of doing
mission in contemporary world.
1.
Definition of Orthodox
The
term “Orthodox” derives from two Greek words Orthos (right) and Doxa (opinion or
glory). The meaning of this combination is “right belief and worship,” as opposed
to heresy or heterodoxy. In this manual, the terms “Eastern Orthodox Church,”
“Eastern Christianity,” and “Orthodoxy” are used interchangeably.’[1]
The literal meaning according to some of Dictionary, such as Cambridge, Merriam
Webster and Oxford Dictionary on meaning of the word orthodox is “following or
conforming to the traditional or generally accepted rules or beliefs of a
religion, philosophy, or practice.”
2.
Brief History of Orthodox Church
The
Eastern Orthodox Church traces back their history from the time of Jesus and
claimed that their churches has been founded by the Apostles themselves include
the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Rome.
The Church of Constantinople was founded by St. Andrew, the Church of
Alexandria by St. Mark, the Church of Antioch by St. Paul, the Church of
Jerusalem by St. Peter and James, and the Church of Rome by St. Peter and Paul.
Those founded in later years through the missionary activity of the first
churches were the Churches of Sinai, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania,
and many others.[2]
2.1.Split
between East and West 1054 CE
The
doctrine of the Christian Church was established over the centuries at Councils
dating from as early as 325 CE where the leaders from all the Christian
communities were represented. The Eastern Church recognizes the authority of
the Councils of Nicea 325 CE, Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431) Chalcedon
(451) Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680) and Nicaea II (787).[3]
Therefore Eastern Orthodox Church declared itself as church of the seven
councils. However the term Eastern Orthodoxy arose as a distinct branch of
Christianity after the 11th-century "Great Schism", the split between
Eastern and Western Christendom. The separation was not sudden. For centuries
there had been significant religious, cultural, and political differences
between the Eastern and Western churches. Religiously, they had different views
on topics such as the use of images (icons), the nature of the Holy Spirit, and
the date on which Easter should be celebrated.[4]
2.2.Reason
for Split
The
political aspects of the split date back to the Emperor Constantine, who moved
the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. Upon his death,
the empire was divided between his two sons, one of whom ruled the western half
of the empire from Rome while the other ruled the eastern region from
Constantinople. Culturally, the east speaks Greek and west spoke Latin. These
various factors finally came to a head in 1054 AD, when Pope Leo IX
excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople (the leader of the Eastern
Church). In response, the patriarch anathematized (condemned) the Pope, and the
Christian church has been divided into West ("Roman Catholic") and
East ("Greek Orthodox") ever since.[5]
Especially
the two primary disputes at the time were Rome's claim to a universal papal
supremacy and the adding of the filioque to the Nicene Creed. This particular
conflict is also known as the Filioque Controversy. The Latin word filioque
means "and from the Son." It had been inserted into the Nicene Creed
during the 6th century, thus changing the phrase pertaining to the origin of
the Holy Spirit from "who proceeds from the Father" to "who
proceeds from the Father and the Son." It had been added to emphasize
Christ's divinity, but Eastern Christians not only objected to the altering of
anything produced by the first ecumenical councils, they disagreed with its new
meaning. Eastern Christians believe both the Spirit and the Son have their
origin in the Father.[6]
3.
Eastern Orthodox Church Mission
According
to Valentin Kozhuharov “Orthodox mission has always consisted primarily of
“internal mission” on the part of the church in witnessing to the truth, not
external ecclesiastical endeavors or missions in foreign lands, whether in the
form of crusades or of some other sort. Examples exist of church planting done
by local Orthodox churches in various countries on all continents today. But
Orthodox churches’ predominantly concern continues to be internal witnessing;
Orthodox missionaries are mainly engaged in the work of catechizing and
liturgical “planting” of the truth in people’s mind and heart”.[7]
Though the method of Orthodox mission was Central petal, we could also see that
the Eastern Orthodox Church has play important role in term of spreading the
Christian gospel to world particularly in Eastern Europe as the history has
reveal us.
3.1.Byzantine
Missionaries and their Mission
The
most famous of the Byzantine (Constantinople) missionaries were the brothers
Cyril and Methodius (9th century), who evangelized the Slavic peoples of
Moravia (Czech Republic). Although Frankish (Irish and German) missionaries had
been working in this area for 50 years prior to their arrival, Cyril and
Methodius were the first to create a Slavic alphabet and translate Holy
Scriptures, Divine Services and writings of the Church Fathers into the
language of the people. They labored in this region for 20 years, leaving
behind more than 200 trained, indigenous clergy. Although little trace of their
work survived in the regions of Moravia during the years of Frankish
persecution following their deaths, their disciples carried their legacy into
the southern Slavic lands, doing evangelistic work and spreading the Gospel in
the lands of Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldavia, and eventually Russia. [8]
With
the fall of Constantinople in 1453, a period of darkness spread over the
Orthodox lands of the Balkans (modern Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria,
Romania,) and the Middle East. Islamic law forbade any proclamation of the
gospel to those outside the Christian faith, while conversion to Islam was
greatly encouraged and sometimes forced upon the subjugated Christians. During these 400 plus years of oppression and
decline, the suffering Orthodox Churches in the Balkans and the Middle East
were unable to participate in much missionary activity.[9]
One unique exception was that of Kosmas of Aitolos, the most famous Modern
Greek missionary. Kosmas was an 18th century monk from Mt. Athos (Located in
Greece), who left his monastery after 19 years to re-evangelize hundreds of
villages in modern-day northern Greece and Albania. His 20 year missionary
effort helped to create more than 200 schools, with the main goal of wanted the
future generation of children to be educated and able to read Holy Scriptures
and writings of the Church Fathers. He continued his missionary efforts until
his martyrdom in 1779.[10]
In this paragraph we could clearly see that most of the Eastern Orthodox
missionary task in their mission was, translating the bible into vernacular,
and preaching the gospel. And to educate people trained, this kinds of mission
model was still appropriate to use and applicable in our context today.
3.2.Russian
Orthodox Mission
Among
many others of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church plays many
roles in mission activities in the history of the eastern orthodox mission. While
the Orthodox Churches in the Balkans and the Middle East struggled during these
dark ages, the Orthodox Church in Russia actively began participating in
significant missionary outreach throughout the lands north and east of Kiev
(Ukraine) from the 14th century onwards.[11] The
most famous missionary of this era was Stephen of Perm, the evangelizer of the
Syrian people of northwestern Siberia from 1378-1396. He followed the
missionary model of Cyril and Methodius, creating an alphabet with ancient
Syrian ruins and translating Holy Scriptures and liturgical services for the
people, training and ordaining indigenous clergy, and establishing a strong,
local Church. From the 16th to 18th centuries, the Russian Church’s missionary
outreach struggled under hostile state policies, yet still produced certain
noteworthy exceptions.[12]
In the mid-16th century, Bishop Gurii evangelized the peoples of Kazan and
helped convert thousands of Muslims. Centuries later, the famous Academy of
Kazan would become an important center of missionary and linguistic research
and training. Other noteworthy missionaries of this period were the layman
Trifon of Novgorod, who proclaimed the Gospel to the Lapp (Indigenous people
who are also called Sami/saami, living in, northern Norway, Sweden, Finland,
the Kola Peninsula of Russia.) people, and Bishop Filotei of Tobolsk, who
evangelized and helped convert 40,000 indigenous peoples in various parts of
Siberia. In 1714, the first official Orthodox mission began in Peking (Located
in China).[13]
Missionary
activity reached its apex in the 19th century, when a great spiritual renewal
swept across Russia, bringing about a renewed apostolic zeal. Since most of the missions of this period
took place among the numerous ethno-linguistic groups within the vast boundaries
of the Russian Empire, the amazing achievements of so many of these outstanding
missionaries drew little notice outside of Orthodox circles.[14]
As we have seen in above, by seeing the mission history, we came to know that
Russian Orthodox Church has contributed a lot in doing mission among the other
eastern orthodox churches.
3.3.Modern
Missionaries Movement of Russian Orthodox Church
The
most famous of the Russian missionary efforts began with a group of 10 monks
from the Valaam (located with Russian federation) monastery going to Alaska
(Located in United State of America) in 1792. Although the group witnessed
promising numerical success in the early years, various tragedies and deaths
reduced the original missionary group to one simple lay monk, Herman. This
monk, however, lived a holy life in this rugged land, offering a witness of
love to the indigenous peoples, and often defending them from the cruel Russian
traders and exploiters. Although Herman never translated any materials, nor
partook in active missionary outreach, he represented the “passive” model of
missions, drawing people to Christ through his holy example. He is revered
today as the father of Orthodoxy in Alaska today.
The
greatest of all Russian missionaries was probably Innocent (John) Veniaminov.
His adventurous and outstanding 45 year ministry in Alaska and Eastern Siberia
represented the best of the Orthodox missionary tradition. This married priest
began his apostolic efforts in 1823 working among the Fox-Aleut tribes of
Alaska. During his ten years among this tribe, he created an alphabet and
translated parts of Holy Scripture and Divine Services into their language, as
well as trained numerous indigenous leaders. From 1834-1839, he began work
among the neighboring Thlinglit (he Tlingit are an indigenous people of the Pacific
Northwest Coast of North America.) peoples, once again creating a new writing
system and translating parts of Holy Scriptures and liturgical services into
their language.
Another
exemplary Russian missionary was Nicholas Kasatkin, whose apostolic effort took
place in Japan from 1861-1912. He entered Japan when the country was still
considered one of the most xenophobic (extreme dislike/hate of foreign religion
or tradition) and unevangelized countries in the world. At the end of his 50
year ministry, the Orthodox Church of Japan claimed more than 33,000 Christians
within 266 communities, and included 43 clergymen and 121 lay preachers.
Another part of Nicholas’ legacy was the translation into Japanese of the New
Testament and most of the Old Testament, as well as most of the liturgical
services of the Church.[15]
4.
Characteristics of Orthodox
Missions
In
looking at the missionaries Cyril and Methodius of Moravia, Stephan of Perm,
Herman of Alaska, and Nicholas Kasatkin of Japan we recognize patterns in Orthodox
missionary work.
There
were three main characteristics of Orthodox missions: use of the local
language, selection and training of national leaders, and the formation of an
indigenous church.
Use
of the vernacular in worship and Bible translation was a hallmark of most
Orthodox missions. That is, the missionaries preached the Gospel, and the
converts worshiped in their own language. The usual process of evangelism was
to have the most promising indigenous Christian leaders ordained as soon as possible.
If there was a delay in consecration, this was generally due to the lack of a
bishop in an inaccessible region, and subsequently righted when the Orthodox
missionary returned home. The clergy were trained more informally than
formally, with emphasis on the fundamental doctrines of the faith, especially
the liturgy, since it was the center of Orthodox faith and theology. The goal
was the establishment of local churches with a strong thrust for
self-government. Of course, there was often disagreement between the mother
church and the local members over when independence should occur.[16] With
these three characteristics in mind, we can identify that Orthodox mission
practice had its own identity and was not a copy of western methodology.
4.1.Orthodox
Missionaries Methods of Mission
1. Orthodox missionaries always had
to create an authentic local liturgical community and translate the Holy
Scripture and liturgical texts into the local languages.
2. The building of a beautiful
church always had priority, not only for practical purposes, but also because
it was the symbol of God's presence in the midst of the people, the place where
the sacraments of the coming and anticipated Kingdom would be celebrated.
3. Emphasis on liturgical life and
the ascetic ideal did not inhibit interest in the social and political
dimensions of life. Along with religion, the Byzantines offered the peoples
they attracted to Christianity, experience in governmental administration,
education, the bases for developing their own literature, the first teachers
and artists who then trained leaders in various cultural sectors. They gave
them all the prerequisites for developing into true nations.
4. The Russian Church adopted
Byzantine missionary tradition. With originality and daring, they continued and
developed missionary methods inherited from the Byzantines: i.e. catholicity in
their view of missionary obligations within and outside the borders of the
empire; participation of both clergy and laity, and even a general mobilization
of the faithful; education for native clergy; translation of liturgical and
religious books into native languages with a systematic linguistic interest;
celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the local language. Emphasis was on the
meaning of the temple's beauty as a visible symbol of God's glory in space.[17]
5.
The Mission Ideology of the
Orthodox Church in Today’s World
Today,
the Orthodox Church mission turn into humanization, they focus on spreading the
idea of dignity of human being as created by God in his own likeness, the
orthodox believe in the important of human dignity. Also freedom and
responsibility of people are their emphasis in doing mission; the Orthodox
Church today is through its preaching, theology, worship, and pastoral activity
to assert the truth of freedom in Christ. The Orthodox Church in today preaches
about the justice and peace for the world based on what the bible speaks about
peace. They also talk about the aversion of war and condemn war in general,
recognizing it as the result of the presence of evil and sin in the world: Where do wars and fights come from among
you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
(Jm 4:1). Every war threatens to destroy creation and life. This is most
particularly the case with wars with weapons of mass destruction because their
consequences would be horrific not only because they lead to the death of an
unforeseeable number of people, but also because they render life unbearable
for those who survive. They also lead to incurable diseases, cause genetic
mutations and other disasters, with catastrophic impact on future generations. They
also fight against any kinds of Discrimination in the world, based on the
bible.[18]
The Lord, as King
of righteousness (Heb 7:2-3) denounces violence and injustice (Ps 10:5), while
condemning the inhumane treatment of one’s neighbor (Mt 25:41-46; Jm 2:15-16).
In His Kingdom, reflected and present in His Church on earth, there is no place
for hatred, enmity, or intolerance (Is 11:6; Rom 12:10).
The
Orthodox Church’s position on this is clear. She believes that God has made
from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth (Acts
17:26) and that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ
Jesus (Gal 3:28). To the question: Who is my neighbor? Christ responded with
the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). In so doing, He taught us to
tear down all barriers erected by enmity and prejudice. The Orthodox Church
confesses that every human being, regardless of skin color, religion, race,
sex, ethnicity, and language, is created in the image and likeness of God, and
enjoys equal rights in society. Consistent with this belief, the Orthodox
Church rejects discrimination for any of the aforementioned reasons since these
presuppose a difference in dignity between people.
5.1.The
Mission of the Orthodox Church as a Witness of Love through Service
In
fulfilling her salvific mission in the world, the Orthodox Church actively
cares for all people in need, including the hungry, the poor, the sick, the
disabled, the elderly, the persecuted, those in captivity and prison, the
homeless, the orphans, the victims of destruction and military conflict, those
affected by human trafficking and modern forms of slavery. The Orthodox
Church’s efforts to confront destitution and social injustice are an expression
of her faith and the service to the Lord, Who identifies Himself with every
person and especially with those in needs: Inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least of these my brethren, you did it to me (Mt 25:40). This multidimensional
social service enables the Church to cooperate with various relevant social
institutions.[19]
5.2.Orthodox
Prayer for Mission
God
of truth and love: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Hear our prayer for those who
do not know you. That they may come to a saving knowledge of the truth, and
that Your Name may be praised among all peoples of the world. Sustain, inspire,
and enlighten your servants who bring them the Gospel. Bring fresh vigor to
wavering faith; sustain our faith when it is still fragile. Continually renew
missionary zeal in ourselves and in the Church, and rise up new missionaries
who will follow you to the ends of the world. Make us witnesses to your
goodness full of love, full of strength, and full of faith for your glory and
the salvation of the entire world. Through the prayers of all the missionary
saints, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.[20]
Conclusion
As
we have seen in above several paragraphs, most of the Orthodox missionaries are
cross-cultural workers; their mission were generally creating alphabets for
unwritten languages, translated the Bible, and celebrated the beauty and
importance of liturgy life within vernacular worship. Together with selecting
and training indigenous clergy for pastoral care and evangelism, the local
culture was valued alongside educational, agricultural, and artistic
development. However, the methods and work done by Orthodox Missionary in their
mission field was still applicable for our context today. Their ideologies on
mission were also useful and imitable in our contemporary world. And the
contemporary mission strategy of Orthodox Church was also very much applicable
for us today, the methods of doing mission should be focus on humanization, we
have to keep the world peace and justice, their humanization mission show how
to live an example life for others and to show our Christian identity by our
behavior rather than by preaching and speaking that really is what we need in
today. The researcher is hopeful that this a few sheet of paper would give the
information of the Eastern Orthodox mission and their methods of doing mission
today the reader so that they may apply and would be helpful to their mission
work.
Bibliography and
Worksite:
Benz,
Ernst. The Eastern Orthodox Church: Its Thought and Life,
Bria,
Ion. The Witness of the Orthodox Churches Today. Geneva: WCC, 1980.
Gallagher,
Robert L. Encountering Orthodox Missions. PDF Format.
Spann,
Matt. Witnessing to People of Eastern Orthodox Background: Turning Barriers of
Belief into Bridges to Personal
Faith. American: North America Mission Board, 2001.
Veronis,
Luke A. Eastern Orthodox Missions. http://www.hchc.edu/missions/articles/articles/eastern- orthodox-missions
Access on August 24, 2016.
http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/catechism_ext.htm,
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Access on August 21, 2016.
http://greatschism.org/east-west-schism/,
Access on August 27, 2016.
http://www.religionfacts.com/eastern-orthodoxy
Access on August 21, 2016.
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Access on August 23, 2016.
http://www.hchc.edu/missions/articles/articles/discovering-the-orthodox-missionary-ethos
Access on August 21, 2016.
http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2013-02/2013-02-073-kozhuharov.html
Access on August 24,
2016.
http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/eastern_orthodox_church_e_benz.htm#_Toc49321408, Access on August 27, 2016.
http://www.hchc.edu/missions/articles/articles/discovering-the-orthodox-missionary-ethos
Access on August 21, 2016
Official
Documents of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, 2016.
https://www.holycouncil.org/-/mission-orthodox-church-todays-world
Access on August 21, 2016.
https://www.ocmc.org/
Access on 2016 August 16.
[2] http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/catechism_ext.htm, Access on August 23, 2016.
[4] http://greatschism.org/east-west-schism/, Access on August 27, 2016.
[5] http://www.religionfacts.com/eastern-orthodoxy Access on August 21, 2016.
[6] http://christianity.about.com/od/easternorthodoxy/a/orthodoxhistory.htm Access on August 23, 2016.
[7] http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2013-02/2013-02-073-kozhuharov.html Access on August 24, 2016.
[10] Luke
A.Veronis, Eastern Orthodox Missions, http://www.hchc.edu/missions/articles/articles/eastern-orthodox-missions Access on August 24, 2016.
[11] http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2013-02/2013-02-073-kozhuharov.html Access on August 24, 2016.
[13] Ernst
Benz, The Eastern Orthodox Church: Its Thought and Life, http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/eastern_orthodox_church_e_benz.htm#_Toc49321408, Access on August 27, 2016.
[18]
Official Documents of the
Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, 2016. 11. The Mission of The
Orthodox Church in Today’s World, The contribution of the Orthodox Church in
realizing peace, justice, freedom, fraternity and love between peoples, and in
the removal of racial and other discriminations,
https://www.holycouncil.org/-/mission-orthodox-church-todays-world Access on
August 21, 2016.
[19]
Official Documents of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, 2016. 11.
The Mission of The Orthodox Church in Today’s World, The contribution of the
Orthodox Church in realizing peace, justice, freedom, fraternity and love
between peoples, and in the removal of racial and other discriminations,
https://www.holycouncil.org/-/mission-orthodox-church-todays-world Access on
August 21, 2016.
[20] https://www.ocmc.org/ Access on 2016 August 16.
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