Mark R. Elliott
At this meeting the material and spiritual recovery underway in the Albanian Orthodox Church, following the utter devastation inflicted upon it by the Hoxha regime, was palpable. Archbishop Anastasios, with able assistance from Bishop Nikola and missionary Nathan Hoppe, proved gracious and capable hosts.
- Anglican Canon Mark Oxbrow, consultation program organizer, secured the participation of a diverse and articulate group of Orthodox and Evangelical spokespersons.
- Future Lausanne Orthodox Initiative gatherings would do well to include Russian Orthodox clerical and Russian Pentecostal participation.
- Even the most irenic Orthodox presentations at the consultation were, nevertheless, bedeviled by off-putting triumphalism, reckoning Evangelical faith, at best, as a splintered reflection of God’s purposes for His church – but with no mention of the dozen-plus overlapping Orthodox jurisdictions in the U.S. Admittedly, too many Protestants are also guilty of spiritual hubris born of a triumphalist mentality, but fortunately, none appeared to be in attendance in this instance.
- Past and present persecution of Christians proved to be the sobering backdrop for the consultation, with Archbishop Anastasios recounting the tribulation endured by Christians in Communist Albania and Coptic Bishop Angaelos relating the current trial by fire being loosed on Christians in Egypt today.
Mark R. Elliott is editor of the East-West Church and Ministry Report.