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, 3. Trinity and Mission, 4. Church’s Mission and Its Aspects: the Evangelizing or the Preaching of the Gospel, 5. The Witness. The Deacon and the Ministration, 6. The Pastoration, 7. The Mission’s Exigencies: The Preaching of the Gospel, 8. Transmitting the Right Faith: the Word of Truth, Conveying the Tradition, 9. Indigenizing and Cultural Identity, 10. The World and Its Situation. The Good News to the Poor, 11. The Mission as Building Up the “Body”- the Church. Mission and Liturgy, 12. The Mission and the Parish’s Community, 13. The Laymen’s Apostolate. The Quality of the Christians’ Life, 14. Liturgy after Liturgy.

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:

Pavel C. Constantin, Tragedia omului în cultura modernă, Anastasia Publishing House, București, 1997, x.
Ion Bria, Liturghia după Liturghie. O tipologie a misiunii apostolice și mărturiei creștine azi, Athena Publishing House, București, 1996, x.
Dumitru Radu, Îndrumări misionare, Institutul Biblic de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române Publishing House, București, 1986, x.
Ion Bria, Mergi în pace! Perspective ortodoxe în misiune, Reîntregirea Publishing House, Alba Iulia, 2015, x.
Nicolae Achimescu, Religie, modernitate și postmodernitate, Trinitas Publishing House, București, 2013, x.