Course aims:

to know, define and understand the Church’s missionary work;
to understand the most important missionary aspects;
to explain the mission’s effects upon the Church;
to identify and use the specific bibliographic and patristic resources;
to know and can apply the concept of missionary work.

Course Entry Requirements:

n/a

Course contents:

1. The Orthodox Missiology as Theological Discipline. Discipline’s History and Literature. The Missionary Terminology; 2. Theological Grounds of the Mission. Trinity and Mission; 3. Church’s Mission and Its Aspects: the Evangelizing or the Preaching of the Gospel; 4. The Witness; 5. The Deacon and the Ministration; 6. The Pastoration; 7. The Mission’s Exigencies: The Preaching of the Gospel. Transmitting the Right Faith: the Word of Truth. Conveying the Tradition; 8. Indigenizing and Cultural Identity. The World and Its Situation. The Good News to the Poor; 9. The Mission as Building Up the “Body”- the Church. Mission and Liturgy; 10. The Mission and the Parish’s Community. The Laymen’s Apostolate. The Quality of the Christians’ Life; 11. The concept of Liturgy after Liturgy; 12. Christ's gospel and the culture of the world; 13. The missionary activity of the Holy Apostles; 14. The missionary activity of the Holy Apostle Paul.

Teaching methods:

Lecture, exemplification, conversation, debate, PowerPoint presentation, video-projections.

Learning outcomes:

To take into account all elements involved (linguistic, socio-cultural, political, religious, etc.), to interpret both in a synchronous and diachronic mode, critical reading skills on bibliographic sources and ability to initiate own research, interpretation and critical evaluation of Orthodox Missiology in different contexts.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Written paper-interpretative essay – 10%. Frontal evaluation / Oral exam: 90%

Recommended reading:

Valer Bel (coordonator), Misiologie Ortodoxă, vol. I, Manual pentru Facultățile de Teologie din Patriarhia Română, Basilica Publishing House, București, 2021, x.
Emilianos Simonopetritul, Cuvântări mistagogice la sărbatori, Sfântul Nectarie Publishing House, Arad, 2016, x.
Răzvan Brudiu, Mireniii sau laicii în Biserică, în Dreptul canonic în viața Bisericii. In memoriam Preot profesor Liviu Stan (1910-1973), Reîntregirea Publishing House, Alba Iulia, 2013, x.
Ion Bria, Mergi în pace! Perspective ortodoxe în misiune, Reîntregirea Publishing House, Alba Iulia, 2015, x.
N. T. Wright, Pavel, Apostolul lui Mesia. O biografie, Deisis Publishing House, Sibiu, 2020, x.
Gheorghe Petraru, Dimensiunea sapiențială și euharistică a vieții creștine, Doxologia Publishing House, Iași, 2015, x.