Danut Manastireanu
In May 2009, Professor of Theology Bradley Nassif from North Park University, Chicago, visited Romania for the launch of the Romanian translation of James Stamoolis, ed., Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), which took place at the University of Cluj. (Romanian edition: Ortodoxie si evanghelism. Trei perspective [Iasi: Adoramus, 2009].) The second edition, in preparation, will include an Orthodox introduction by Dr. Stelian Tofana and an evangelical introduction by Dr. Danut Manastireanu.) During the 2009 visit, Dr. Nassif described for me an Orthodox project that might benefit from any potential support I could provide through the budget I was managing as part of my World Vision responsibilities for the Middle East & Eastern Europe Region. The project, formally initiated in June 2004 at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS), in Cambridge, England, under the leadership of Professor David Frost, later principal of the college, was called THE WAY, taking its name from the earliest term by which followers of Christ referred to themselves. Its purpose is “to teach basic Orthodox Christianity as a journey of life, centered on Christ, in terms that communicate to a secular and largely pagan world.”
As Dr. Frost explains:
The need for this educational outreach program was established by consultation with the various Orthodox jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, whose bishops are concerned that the youth of their churches are drifting away because of ignorance, the challenge of western secularism, alienation from the cultures of the ethnic churches, and a desire for worship and instruction in the language of their adopted country.
THE WAY is basically an adult catechism, addressed initially to people 18 to 40 years old, though in practice it proved to appeal to anyone from 18 to 80. It uses the acclaimed methodology and structure used by the Alpha Course (an adult catechism program created by an Anglican charismatic church, Holy Trinity, Brompton Road, London), adapted to provide a specifically Orthodox perspective. Each meeting in the 12-session series ends with a much-appreciated innovation, a closing question-and-answer time. Dr. Frost has subsequently defined the relation between Alpha and THE WAY as a question of function: “Alpha breaks up the ground; THE WAY builds a church on it.”
I offer here a succinct presentation of the approach, from a document outlining the history of THE WAY:
Each session begins with a communal lunch, where the human contacts generated by eating together build up the gathering as a Christian fellowship. The meal is followed by a video or a live presentation of 45-55 minutes by one member of the team on a major aspect of the faith. Participants then divide into small groups, each with a leader trained to facilitate free discussion. No question is treated as foolish or improper and no position thought unworthy of consideration. No group is larger than 10 persons. The aim is to build up friendships so that Christianity is caught, in C.S. Lewis’ phrase, “by good infection.”
Danut Manastireanu, based in Romania, is Director for Faith and Development for the Middle East and Eastern Europe for World Vision International.