There are plenty of Orthodox Christians who are not at all sure that we need missionaries or should be concerned about mission. When I was engaged in my own personal journey towards the Orthodox Faith from am evangelical background I met several Orthodox Christians who could not even imagine how a British person could become Orthodox. As far as their understanding allowed it was necessary to be born into an Orthodox culture to be an Orthodox Christian. Orthodoxy just wasn't the faith for British people.
But if this had been the view of the Apostles then the Christian Faith would have been reserved for the Jews, and none of the Gentile believers would have been able to unite themselves to the Church. The Feast of Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit moved the Apostles to speak the glories of God in all the various languages of the world. And of course the Great Commission commands the followers of Christ to..
Go into all the world and make disciples, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all the things I have commanded you. Matthew 28-19-20
In the 21st century a great opportunity has been opened up for the Orthodox Churches. Not only are Orthodox immigrants able to emigrate to the Europe and America, but they are able to reach out to those Western people around them and share the Gospel of the Orthodox Faith without fear or hindrance. The vast majority of British people still consider themselves Christian in some sense. According to a recent poll, and even with the evident decline in British society, over 70% of people still want to identify with Christianity rather than with any other religion or with atheism.
The Orthodox Churches have been given an implicit permission to reach out to the British people. They want to know more about the Christian Faith. If they are not properly Christian it is because they have not been properly taught. not because they are necessarily antagonistic to the Faith. At the present time we need MORE Orthodox missionaries rather than questioning whether we need any at all. A nation is frustrated and un-moved by many of the non-Orthodox versions of Christianity. They do not satisfy the deep and abiding need of British people in the 21st century to truly experience God for themselves.
Do pray for THIS missionary. The fields are white, but where are the labourers in this vineyard? They are few and far between. Pray then, that God will send more Orthodox missionaries, and consider how you can support Orthodox missionary activity in Britain yourself.
Fr Peter,
ReplyDeletewith due respect it is important to go back to the greek of this verse. The imperative, i.e. the must do, is not on the going but on the making of disciples i.e. learners. A better translation would be something like this; "As you go about your business in the world make fellow learners of Jesus . . ."
Fr Paul
I think that you are not entirely reflecting the sense that this is the command of the Lord in relation to the growth and development of the Church. The Greek is undoubtedly as you say, but the Church has never understood the passage in the sense of 'as you go about your business', indeed the command was given to the Apostles who are those who were 'sent out'. The early Fathers all point out that the Lord spoke this word to the Apostles rebuking their hardness of heart and lack of faith, and they seem equally clear that this word 'Go' is said in relation to sending out preachers, and not in the sense of simply 'as you go about your business'.
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