Tim Grass
Background
Readers of the East-West Church and Ministry Report will be aware that over the last two decades various initiatives have sought to bring Evangelicals and Orthodox closer together. One could be forgiven for wondering whether any of them has made much practical difference, and what is the point of all this talking. I have been involved in promoting better relations between these two traditions for many years, both in the United Kingdom and abroad, and I love meeting old friends and making new ones at joint gatherings, but I too am prey to the same doubt. However, a recent consultation on “The Mission of God” organized by the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative (LOI) offers hope for the future. Although I was part of the organizing committee, before the consultation I did not want to go; at the end of the week I did not want to come back!
Albanian Orthodox Hosts
Participants gathered 2-6 September 2013 to enjoy the warm hospitality of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania at the Monastery of St. Vlash, near the port of Durrës, Albania. The week was efficiently and unobtrusively facilitated by Canon Mark Oxbrow, an Anglican who heads up Faith2Share (an international network of mission agencies), in collaboration with Bishop Nikola, the rector of the seminary based at the monastery, and Nathan Hoppe, a missionary with the Orthodox Christian Mission Center who lives in nearby Tirana.
A Diverse Gathering
The gathering brought together by invitation over 45 mission workers, church leaders, ecumenists, and theologians from all over the world, including an Orthodox archbishop from Tanzania and Evangelical leaders from Brazil and Australia. Oriental and Eastern Orthodox were present from many different jurisdictions; Evangelicals, too, were drawn from a worldwide range of denominational traditions. The aim of the week was to explore Orthodox and Evangelical understandings of the church’s missionary task and to seek ways in which to foster cooperation between two Christian traditions that are committed to the historic Christian faith which is expressed in the early creeds.
Getting to Know “the Other Side” in Person
I am not sure that the specifically theological presentations broke any new ground for me, nor that they were necessarily expected to do so. Indeed, it might be argued that brief presentations could only introduce the issues and that such intractable problems as proselytism and canonical territory will take longer than a week to resolve. However, it is important to have honest expressions of what the issues are and how each side views them, which can then be referred to in subsequent reflection and discussion. For some, too, the issues may have been new, and the immense value of this gathering was the unique mix of participants bringing their minds and hearts to bear on these issues. If that sense of fellowship in Christ can be maintained, then future consultations could bring real benefit. At the very least, such gatherings enable people to build personal relationships with representatives of “the other side.” We have to move beyond seeing each other as theological constructs if dialogue is to be effective and make a difference. And it was illuminating to hear accounts of the faith journeys of others in our small groups and to learn about joint mission ventures which have been undertaken. For a number of participants, a session in which an Evangelical and an Oriental Orthodox reported honestly and graciously on the successes and failures of a mission trip they had led together was one of the most moving of the whole consultation. Studying the Bible together in small groups each day also enabled us to sense the heart of participants from other Christian traditions.
Albanian Resurrection
Those of us able to stay on past the consultation’s Friday conclusion spent the weekend exploring Albania’s rich heritage and the revival of faith against great odds. What impressed me most was the vigorous resurrection of the Albanian Orthodox Church, being rebuilt from the ground up. When Communist rule ended in 1990 in the world’s only officially godless state, virtually nothing had survived in the way of faith. No wonder that the new Orthodox cathedral in Tirana, opened in 2012, is named the Cathedral of the Resurrection. The church is headed by Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos), a well-known mission theologian and veteran of African missionary service, whose name in English means resurrection. Illustrative of Orthodoxy’s renewed vitality was a baptism we attended of two children at a village church--best described as joyful, liturgically focused mayhem-- and fellowship with an Orthodox family in a Tirana suburb who use the ground floor of their home to host weekly teaching sessions for up to 80 children, a ministry which is bearing fruit because neighbors had seen how the father had faced terminal illness with firm Christian faith and confidence. Consultation participants attended worship both in an Evangelical church in the center of Tirana (in a building home to no less than five different congregations) and Orthodox vespers at Tabor Orthodox Retreat Center, on the edge of Tirana. The latter for me was a highlight: I confess that as a committed Evangelical, it felt like “home.” For information on planned publication of consultation presentations, and on the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative in general, consult the LOI website: http://www.LOImission.org. Please keep this initiative in your prayers. We are conscious that it needs them.
Church historian Tim Grass serves the church on the Isle of Man as an Anglican Reader and a Methodist Local Preacher.