Making Mission from the Model of Christ Internal and external mission of the Church

Transcription

1 Making Mission from the Model of Christ Internal and external mission of the Church

2 ISBN

3 Pr. Prof. Dr. Pavel Aurel Pr. Lect. Dr. Daniel Buda Lect. Dr. Ciprian Iulian Toroczkai Making Mission from the Model of Christ Internal and external mission of the Church Published with blessing of His Eminence Laurenţiu Streza, Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania ASTRA Museum Publishing Sibiu 2014

4 Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României PAVEL, AUREL Making Mission from the Model of Christ. Internal and external mission of the Church / pr. prof. dr. Aurel Pavel, pr. lect. dr. Daniel Buda, lect. dr. Ciprian Iulian Toroczkai. - Sibiu : Astra Museum, 2014 ISBN I. Buda, Daniel II. Toroczkai, Ciprian Iulian 23 Volume conducted in the Research Center for Theology and Research Center for Ecumenical Studies of Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania

5 Contents Foreword of editors Contributors list Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos Syrian Orthodox Church in India: Mission Within and Without Archim. Prof. Jack Khalil St Paul s Case Against Proselytism Andreas Heiser Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Rev. Prof. PhD Valer Bel The kenotic dimension of the Christian mission Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut et dans la Liturgie comme moyen missionnaire de l Eglise Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea Theology and Theologies. The Ambivalence and the Limitation of Language in History Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu The Menorah Lamp Ante-type of the Mind of Christ. A Cyrilian Exegesis with Mistagogical and Missiological Meanings Assist. Prof. PhD Ciprian Iulian Toroczkai The Mission of the Orthodox Church Today. A Model and Some Challenges

6 Revd. Prof. PhD Cristinel Ioja Ecclesial Experience a Missionary-Apologetical Principle in Apostolic Fathers and Apologists Thinking Revd. Prof. PhD Aurel Pavel Preaching the Gospel and Establishing Local Churches. Important Goals of the Mission Assoc. Prof. PhD Ioan Mircea Ielciu A Fourth-century Proto-Romanian Ecumenical Theologian. Saint John Cassian: the Synergism between Grace and Freedom of Will Assoc. Prof. PhD Nicolae Moşoiu Missio Dei Triunius some considerations on the Christian mission, the unity of the Church and the theological education PhD Dragoş Boicu Augustine and the Legitimisation of Violence in Christian Mission Assoc. Prof. PhD Daniel Buda New understandings of the Notion of internal and external Mission Assoc. Prof. PhD Sebastian Moldovan Christ is the Mission Revd. Assoc. Prof. PhD Constantin Necula Intergenerational Catechesis Present Time and the Perspective of a Pastoral Catechumenal Alternative

7 Foreword of editors This year as well the editors of this volume have continued their initiative to organize annually, within Andrei Şaguna Faculty of Orthodox Theology, from Sibiu, a series of missionary themed conferences held under the general theme Making Mission from the Model of Christ. For the second edition of the conference, which was held from June 20th to 21st, 2013, the sub-theme was Internal and external Mission of the Church. The title, deliberately formulated as a topical issue, allowed the referents to provide the most diverse approaches for this subject. This volume contains sixteen papers presented at the second edition of the conference. The conference was attended by Archimandrite Jack Khalil, Professor of New Testament Exegesis at St John of Damascus Institute of Theology, University of Balamand Lebanon, who presented a special introduction to this theme analysing St Paul s Case against Proselytism, and opening thus the debate over the legitimacy of the Christian mission. The list of authors includes fifteen other contributors, including Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos, who describes the way of making mission in the Syrian Orthodox Church in India, and Andreas Heiser, who remembers the mission created by John Chrysostom for those pagans living in Phoenicia. The Romanian contributors have approached the theme Internal and external Mission of the Church from very different perspectives and so some of them tried to present the theoretical aspects involved by the Christian Mission such as the unique relation between Christ and the Church s mission (Assoc. Prof. PhD Sebastian Moldovan), or the right understandings of the Notion of internal and external Mission (Assoc. Prof. PhD Daniel Buda). Others have had highlighted the limitations of the Mission (Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea), its important goals (Revd. Prof. PhD Aurel Pavel), and its challenges (Assist. Prof. PhD Ciprian Iulian Toroczkai). Four of the authors have regarded the Mission from a patristic perspective bringing forward the missionary principles found in the works of Saint Cyril of Alexandria (Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu), of the Apos- 7

8 tolic Fathers and Apologists (Revd. Prof. PhD Cristinel Ioja), of Saint John Cassian (Assoc. Prof. PhD Ioan Mircea Ielciu) and of Augustine of Hippo (PhD Dragoş Boicu). Aside from these points of view two of the contributions published here deal with the kenotic dimension of the Christian Mission (Rev. Prof. PhD Valer Bel) and the special role of the Liturgy for both Internal and external Mission of the Church (Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza), while other two papers present some considerations on the impact of Christian mission over the theological education (Assoc. Prof. PhD Nicolae Moşoiu) and on the needs for shaping a pastoral catechumenal alternative as an Intergenerational Catechesis (Revd. Assoc. Prof. PhD Constantin Necula) The mere listing of the topics approached reveals both their diversity and cohesion existing between the various papers submitted. The hope of the editors of this volume is that it will be useful equally to specialists in mission, to priests in their ministry, to students in theology and, why not, to believers; to all those who in one way or another, make mission after the model of Christ. The editorial team 8

9 Contributors list Valer Bel, Revd. Prof. PhD, is Professor for Systematic Theology at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of Babeş Bolyai University of Cluj- Napoca, Romania. Vasile Bîrzu, Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD, is Teaching Assistant for Orthodox Spirituality at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania. Dragoş Boicu, administrative assistant at the Research Center for Theology of Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania. Daniel Buda, Revd. Assist. Prof. PhD, is Assistant Professor for Church History at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania and Program Executive for Church and Ecumenical Relations in the World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland. Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, PhD is Metropolitan of the Niranam diocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India and also the Moderator of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Andreas Heiser, Prof. PhD, Professor for Church History at the Institute of Theology Ewersbach, Germany; Rector of the same Institute. Ioan Mircea Ileciu, Revd. Assoc. Prof. PhD, is Associated Professor for Patristics at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania. Cristinel Ioja, Revd. Prof. PhD, is Professor for Systematic Theology at the Orthodox Theological Faculty I. V. Felea» of «Aurel Vlaicu» University, Arad, Romania; President of the same University. Jack Khalil, Archim. Prof. PhD, Professor of New Testament Exegesis at St John of Damascus Institute of Theology, University of Balamand, Lebanon. 9

10 Sebastian Moldovan, Assoc. Prof. PhD, is Associated Professor for Ethics at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania. Nicolae Moşoiu, Revd. Assoc. Prof. PhD, is Associated Professor for Dogmatics at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania. Constantin Necula, Revd. Assoc. Prof. PhD, is Associated Professor for Homiletics at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania. Aurel Pavel, Revd. Prof. PhD, is Professor for Missiology and Ecumenism in the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania. David Pestroiu, Assoc. Prof. PhD, is Associated Professor for Missiology in the Orthodox Theological Faculty Patriarhul Justinian of Bucharest University. Evangelia Voulgaraki-Pissina, PhD, is Teacher for Religion in Athens, Greece, specialist in Missiology. Cristian Sonea, Revd. Teach. Assist. PhD, is Teaching Assistant for Missiology at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania; Vice-Dean of the same Faculty. Ciprian Streza, Assoc. Prof. PhD, is Associated Professor for Liturgical Studies at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of University Lucian Blaga, Sibiu, Romania. Ciprian Iulian Toroczkai, Assist. Prof. PhD, is Assistant Professor for Ethics at the Orthodox Theological Faculty Andrei Şaguna of University Lucian Blaga, Sibiu, Romania. 10

11 Syrian Orthodox Church in India: Mission Within and Without Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos Introduction The question whether Orthodoxy and Mission can go together continues to be a debate of much interest. The fact, though, is that mission and evangelism are essential aspects of Orthodoxy. In fact, ecclesiology and missiology are integrally intertwined in Orthodox theology. The Church is because there is a mission to be carried out. As Archbishop Anastasios puts it, Mission is the undoubted obligation of the Orthodox 1. However, the Orthodox understanding of mission and evangelism is different from the traditional Protestant views on mission. Orthodoxy views mission basically as an act of the Holy Trinity, itself the source and fountain of mission. Mission is the way the Church exists in its Trinitarian essence and nature. It is a process of inter-communion (perichoresis), a process of approximating the Trinitarian communion of love and interdependence among the whole creation. Mission is incarnational as the eternal Logos took the form of flesh. Mission therefore is the contextual expression and application of the embodiment of the word of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Church is essentially the extension of God s incarnation in Jesus Christ. God s Mission (Missio Dei) is also kenotic (self emptying), and necrosis (cross bearing) is the way mission is carried out. In Orthodox spirituality, this is often reflected in the way daily life is lived out by individuals and communities askesis. Mission in other words is not only what we do in mission, but also how we live out mission 2. The being mode of 1 Archbishop Anastasios, Mission in Christ s Way, Holy Cross Orthodox Press and WCC, Geneva, 2010, p See my Mission Towards Fulness of Life, an article to be published in International Review of Mission, WCC, Geneva,

12 Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos mission tends to take precedence in the Orthodox world, especially as it has been manifested in the monastic tradition and ascetic spirituality, themselves expressions of counter-cultural and alternate Christian witness. Liturgical life is part and parcel of this missionary ethos. Participation in the divine liturgy is then extended to daily life where it becomes the mission of the liturgy after the liturgy and where all of life must be transfigured into a liturgy 3. In a nutshell then, the Orthodox mission ethos is one that is characterized not so much by an aggressive going out approach as it is by a persuasive drawing in mode, particularly through it s distinct liturgical and ascetic spirituality. 12 Mission and the Syrian Orthodox Church in India The Syrian Orthodox Church in India is one of the ancient churches which traces its liturgical and theological roots from the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. In existence for centuries, the Syrian Orthodox Church in India has not been particularly known for it s emphasis on mission and evangelism. The reason for this apparent lack of accent on mission and evangelism is mainly two fold. Firstly, as has been already seen, Orthodoxy, on the whole, has maintained a low profile in mission and evangelism activities due to it s distinct mission ethos of staying in rather than going out in mission. Syrian Orthodox Church has not been an exception to this world wide Orthodox mission spirituality and ethos. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, this also has got to do with the caste system and mentality that the Syrian Orthodox Christianity in India has internalized from the Hindu caste system in India. Although the adjective Syrian in Syrian Christians originally referred to those Christians who came into contact and accepted the theological and liturgical tradition of the Syriac Orient, the term Syrian 4 gradually began to assume sociological connotations. Those Christians who embraced the Syrian theological and ecclesial tradition also embraced the Hindu cultural tradition of caste system. They constructed, 3 Archbishop Anastasios, op.cit., pp The adjective Syrian is used here not in its theological sense as it refers to the Syrian Orthodox liturgical tradition but in it s sociological sense as it refers to the ( upper ) caste status of a community. The main Church traditions that are almost exclusively Syrian ( in the sense of upper caste ) are the Syrian Orthodox, the Orthodox Syrian (also known as the Indian Orthodox), the Mar Thoma Syrian, the Chaldean Syrian, the Syro Malabar Catholic, the Malankara Catholic and the Thozhoyoor Independent Syrian Churches. Some of the major South Indian Protestant Churches as the Church of South India too have significant number of members hailing from the Syrian (caste) community.

13 Syrian Orthodox Church in India: Mission Within and Without albeit for their own convenience, a myth which would make the claim - one that is historically and theologically untenable- that they came to Christianity as converts from the highest social strata, the Brahmin Hindu caste group. Once constructed, they made sure that the myth survived and this was made possible by strictly enforcing caste system and values within their Christian fold. Thus, Syrian Christianity in India, by and large, has been and still continues to be a casteist and clannish dispensation, an exclusive caste community which has not welcomed, until recently, lower caste groups and Dalits into Syrian Christian churches. It is this aspect of Syrian Christianity, with a specific focus on Syrian Orthodox Church in India, that discriminates Dalits and other caste communities in the name of caste, that this essay strives to focus on. Whilst the article tries to see how the caste mentality effectively strangles the mission work of the Church in general, it also dwells on how the newly found interest and vigor in mission and evangelism within the Church has been able to challenge the Church both ecclesiologically and missiologically, internally and externally, leading to spiritual and social renewal within the Church. Traditional Mission activities of the Syrian Orthodox Church As a church which has not been attuned to outreach mission and evangelism, both due to historical as well as sociological reasons, as already seen, the Syrian Orthodox Church in India has felt content with traditional mission activities in the areas of education and health care. Here again, the Syrian Orthodox Church, unlike the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, did not contribute much as it probably did not want to upset the social (caste) make up and configuration of the Syrian Orthodox church. The Church knew quite well that the mission work in the fields of education and health care, if exercised with the gospel vision and commitment, had the potentials to challenge the social discrimination on the basis of caste. The schools and hospitals that were started by some among the Western missionaries of Protestant and Catholic persuasions took the gospel imperative of challenging the discriminatory and inhuman practice of caste system seriously. This was a revolutionary move in mission in that thousands of Dalits and other lower caste people were able to educate themselves and enjoy medical care without any discrimination. However, precisely because of this revolutionary potential and due to it s casteist orientation, the Syrian Orthodox Church in India did not bother to invest much mission energy in providing education and medi- 13

14 Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos cal care to the the most oppressed sections of the Indian society, the Dalits. Of course, there have been a few individual exceptions such as the late bishops Pathrose Mor Osthathios and Geevarghese Mor Gregorios (later canonized as a saint) who had made some important initiatives in starting educational institutions for Dalits and backward communities 5. Having said this, it must be noted that the Syrian Orthodox Church in India has tried to catch up with other churches in mission work through education and medical care in the recent past. However, this was at a time when almost all churches have clearly deviated from the original vision of empowering the poor and the needy through educational ministry. The churches today have effectively converted this arena of prophetic mission into a lucrative money making enterprise. As already indicated, the early mission of the Church in India especially vis-a-vis educating people had been done with it s main focus on providing literacy and quality education to the Dalits and the poorer sections of the society who have been deprived of their right to education for too long due to social discrimination on the basis of their caste identity. At a time when even literacy was an unimaginable dream for the Dalits, Church s mission in the field of educational sector helped them acquire quality education, especially modern education through English medium training. By providing education to Dalits and other marginalized communities, the missionary Church in India had also challenged, albeit indirectly, the unique system of social discrimination in India, namely casteism. The educational institutions that were run by churches in India (again mostly Protestant and Catholic) not only provided quality education, but also instilled Christian moral values among the taught. Today, though, Christian mission in the sphere of education and medical care, has by and large, betrayed it s missionary call and commitment to the gospel values of Jesus Christ. The educational and medical ministry of the Church in India today appears to be driven not so much by the gospel imperatives of equality and justice, but more by the market motives of generating undue monetary profit. As already noted, the Syrian Orthodox Church wasn t quite active in these mission fields when other churches exhibited the missionary zeal to challenge the unjust values of caste discrimination and inequality. Worse still is the fact that the Orthodox Church off late has shown enthusiastic interest in these sectors of education and hospital ministry with 5 See my New Beings and New Communities: Theological Reflections in a Postmodern Context, KCC, Tiruvalla, 1998, pp

15 Syrian Orthodox Church in India: Mission Within and Without the ulterior motive of accumulating undue wealth. Consequently, in the name of mission, the Church has started institutions of education and medical care that cater to the interests and needs of the upper caste and elite sections of the society. This lopsided vision of Christian witness by the Church in India is described by Mithra Augustine thus: The earlier distinct plus of service to the disadvantaged is no longer noticeable in these institutions. Along with most other institutions, Christian schools and colleges too have jumped the bandwagon seeking and serving with great zeal values as merit, efficiency, and success as against values of sacrifice, justice, service, relevance, common humanity etc. It is here that contemporary Christian education has come close to loosing it s precious moorings, the Gospel perspective and imperative 6. As already indicated, the Syrian Orthodox Church in India too seems to have developed considerable interest in running institutions of education and medical care that are not accessible to the Dalits and other economically and socially marginalized sections of society. The gospel vision of mission here is completely betrayed. Mor Osthatheos Geevarghese, the late Metropolitan of the Orthodox Syrian Church had made a strong and clarion call to the Church to reverse this direction and return to the gospel mandate by starting institutions for the sake of the poor and the marginalized, especially Dalits 7. St Paul s Mission of India: Mission of a double edged sword within the Syrian Orthodox Church in India The inclusive nature of the Body of Christ, the Church, is rooted in the very nature of Godhead- the Holy Trinity. The Triune God is a community of various identities, each with it s own particularity and individuality. They are a community characterized and bound by equality, collegiality, and interdependence. Within the Trinitarian vision, there is no room for subordination and discrimination. The Church is meant to be an icon of the Holy Trinity, a window of Godhead. In this sense, all believers, whether they are Dalits, tribals, Adivasis or Syrian Christians, are all equal and full members of the divine community of the Triune God. However, the reality of the 6 Quoted in New Beings and New Communities, op.cit., p See Mor Osthatheose Geevarghese, Raksha Christuvil Mathramo (Malayalam), St. Paul s Book Depot, Mavelikkara, 1980, p

16 Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos Indian Church in general and of the Syrian Orthodox Church in particular is far from this vision of a Trinitarian inclusive and egalitarian community. The caste system which has been given theological and religious grounding and credibility by the Brahminic Hinduism has been a missiological and ecclesiological challenge for the Being (Nature) and the Becoming (Mission) of the Church in India. Christianity which embodies essentially a counter cultural world view to that of Brahminic Caste system hasn t really lived up to it s missionary calling in India. As Deenabandhu Manchala opines, just the way people talk about two Indias- the rich and the poor- the same can be said about Indian Christianity too. There are those churches that are predominantly Dalit, yet dominated by the caste elite. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those churches that are almost exclusively non-dalit or Syrian that continue to exclude and discriminate Dalits. In both versions, caste plays a crucial role in perpetuating injustice and oppression. The divide between the Syrian and Dalit communities is so obvious. It is beyond comprehension that the Syrian Orthodox Church in India for whom the Holy Trinity constitutes the central theological paradigm, could betray it s inclusive vision through it s systematic exclusion and alienation of Dalits from their ecclesial fold and structures. The Syrian Orthodox Church along with other Syrian churches in India have consistently maintained their casteist and clannish existence. The following questions 8 therefore are crucial and ought to be answered by the Syrian Churches: How can they (Syrian churches) possibly claim to be a credible worshipping community if they are still far from being able to practice equality, justice and mutuality in their ecclesial and social engineering? How can they possibly call themselves a liturgical community if they continue to discriminate people on the bases of caste, gender, race and so on within their worship life? What would Holy Communion mean without social communion? The Syrian Orthodox Church in India has been particularly challenged by these questions for a long time. It is in this rather dismal and challenging context of the Church having lost it s missionary vision and vocation that in the recent past the Syrian Orthodox Church has experienced a sudden renewal in it s missionary calling and vocation through a missionary organiza- 8 I have raised these questions in my response to the Keynote Presentation at the Edinburgh 2010 Mission Conference. 16

17 Syrian Orthodox Church in India: Mission Within and Without tion called St. Paul s Mission of India 9. Founded in 1989 by a few committed members of the Syrian Orthodox Church, after years of prayerful preparation, St. Paul s Mission of India was launched as a mission organization with the specific objective of outreach evangelism which was a foreign concept for the Orthodox church. Therefore, the people who launched this initiative did not find much support initially from within the church. However, they persisted and continued their sincere efforts in reaching out to the hitherto untouchable and outcaste communities of Dalits and economically backward communities. Not many realized then that this was going to mark the genesis of a silent and a steady revolution within the Syrian Orthodox Church in India. Seeing the impact of the mission work, especially in terms of the large number of Dalits and Adivasis converting to Christ and Christianity, the Syrian Orthodox Church decided to own the work of St. Paul s Mission of India. Today it has been formally recognized as the official Missionary organization of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India 10. With almost 60 mission fields spread across as many as twenty States in India, St. Paul s Mission of India is actively engaged in outreach evangelism, especially among Dalits and Adivasi communities. Thousands of Dalits and Adivasis have joined the Syrian Orthodox Church as a result of this mission endeavor and they are in the process of getting fully integrated into the mother church. As the Bible reveals, outreach evangelism that results in conversion is a powerful tool to challenge systems of discrimination. Acts 10 is a classic case in point. Cornelius was an outcaste and wasn t included into the fellowship of Christ on account of his Gentile (Dalit) background. This ideology of exclusion was challenged through a vision that Peter beheld. The vision convinced Peter that what God had cleansed could not be deemed impure or unclean by human beings and that God had no partiality. Every human being was equal before the eyes of God. This is also the vision that St. Paul s Mission of India has beheld on behalf of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India and by approximating this vision it is transforming the Church. 9 Besides the outreach evangelical mission that it does among Dalits and Adivasi communities in various parts of India which also include running schools, medical clinics and programs of empowerment of women, St. Paul s Mission also organizes charismatic gospel conventions and meditations in the Syrian Orthodox Church, at parish and diocesan levels. 10 The author has been serving St. Paul s Mission of India as it s President since

18 Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos Here is one among many conversion stories of St. Paul s Mission of India 11 : Shivaji (not the actual name) is one among the several marginalized people who accepted Jesus Christ and joined the Syrian Orthodox Church in India through the mission work of St. Paul s Mission of India. My own encounter with Shivaji while I was on a visit to the mission field in the North Indian State of Bihar was a profoundly moving one. Shivaji before his conversion to Christ was a terror in his village. He was a criminal who had served a seven year imprisonment for having murdered a farmer in a village feud. The Hindu fundamentalists used Shivaji to terrorize the missionaries of St. Paul s Mission of India who were working among the Dalits and the most vulnerable people in the village. Under the leadership of Shivaji, several of the converts were severely persecuted. To my pleasant surprise I was told that Shivaji who used to persecute Christians had now become a Christian himself. His wife accepted Christ first and Shivaji followed suit. For the church people today Shivaji is the St.Paul of St. Paul s Mission. Like St. Paul who once was an enemy and persecutor of Christ and Christians, Shivaji is being used by God as a great source of missionary inspiration and challenge. Due to Shivaji s presence in the Church no one dares to come and disturb the converts any more. His participation in the Divine Liturgy of the Eucharist was a touching experience for me. It was a spiritually moving experience to share the Holy elements with Shivaji and other converts. The mission work of St. Paul s Mission of India which led to the conversion of people such as Shivaji may be called the liturgy before the liturgy which made the actual liturgy more meaningful. It wasn t Shivaji alone who was liberated through his conversion experience, but through him and other converts and the mission work, the Syrian Orthodox Church in India too was challenged to come out it s casteist mindset and power structures. The conversion of people like Shivaji is bringing about a mini-revolution as caste walls within the Church structures are beginning to crack due to the power of Christ s gospel. Thus, the mission work of St. Paul s Mission of India is proving to be a double edged sword in that it liberates not just the evangelized (Dalits and Adivasis who are being freed from the yokes of caste slavery and socio-economic discrimination) but also the evangelists (the Syrian Orthodox Church in India which is being challenged about its caste mentality and structures). St.Paul s Mission of India has been able to break the middle wall of partition that existed in many of 11 See Jooseop Keum (Ed), Together Towards Life, WCC, Geneva, 2013, pp

19 Syrian Orthodox Church in India: Mission Within and Without the Syrian Orthodox Churches, both in terms of structures within ecclesial contexts and also in terms of casteist mindsets of it s members. Jesus Christ, through his death on the Cross had dismantled the divisive walls of hostility that existed between Jews and Gentiles in the Jerusalem temple (Eph. 2:14) 12 and therefore discrimination of all sorts has been overcome once and for all. The rift between the two communities was intense and the divide was absolute. This was reflected in the Temple where walls separated clergy, Jewish men, Jewish women, and the Gentiles from one another. Josephus described the wall as follows: When you went through these first cloisters into the second court of the Temple, there was a partition made of stone all around, whose height was three cubits. It s construction was very elegant, upon it stood pillars at equal distance, from one another, declaring the law of purity, some in Greek and some in Roman letters that no foreigner should go within the sanctuary 13. Paul knew quite well the implications of breaking this wall of partition. In Acts 21: 28,29 we read that Paul brought into the Temple an Ephesian Gentile, Trophimus, who went beyond the barrier or the middle wall of partition. The Jews accused Paul of having brought a Gentile into the Temple and thus defiled it....he has actually brought Greeks into the Temple and has defiled the holy place (Acts. 21:27) The walls of separation and hostility that exclude Dalits still exist in many Syrian Orthodox churches. The death of Christ on the Cross broke this wall of discrimination and thus reconciliation has been brought about. Therefore to exclude people on the basis of caste from the body of Christ is to betray the Cross of Christ. This is the challenge that St. Paul s Mission of India has taken up within the Syrian Orthodox Church in India, albeit with a great sense of success and impact. The mission work of St. Paul s Mission of India has been able to break the middle walls that separated Dalits and Syrians for ages in many parts of India. This is nothing short of a spiritual and social revolution as common fellowship, joint worship and inter-communion with Dalits are still deemed unimaginable to several caste minded Syrian Christians within the Orthodox Church in India. 12 For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition... (Ephesians 2:14). 13 William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: Galatians and Ephesians, TPI, Bangalore, 1987, pp

20 Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos In Sum The Orthodox Churches worldwide have maintained a low profile approach to outreach mission and evangelism activities as they have not been part of the Orthodox mission ethos. However, this has changed in many parts of the world where Orthodox mission is engaged in charismatic and evangelization activities. St. Paul s Mission of India, the mission program of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India is one such example of this shift in Orthodox mission praxis. In a Church which has been largely lethargic when it comes to mission and evangelism, St. Paul s Mission of India has instilled a new sense of vigor and mission enthusiasm. Whilst it has resulted in a revival of interest in mission and evangelism in the Syrian Orthodox Church in India, it has also radically altered the ecclesial demography and landscape of the Church. It has concurrently challenged the caste mindset and system of discrimination and exclusion both within and outside the Church. The gospel of liberation and human dignity in Jesus Christ has given the Dalits and Adivasis who have joined the Church a new sense of worth and human dignity which was otherwise denied to them within the Hindu caste system. It has also liberated the Syrian Orthodox Church, to some extent, from it s casteist mentality and structures and has helped the Church to become a much more inclusive and egalitarian fellowship. It has yet again proved the fact that in the caste-ridden hierarchical context of India, outreach evangelical mission that results in conversion of Dalits and poorer sections of the society has a particular social pertinence. It liberates them from the clutches of caste slavery and gives them a new sense of dignity and equality. Syrian Orthodox Church in India, due to it s upper caste psyche and values that it inherited and internalized from within Brahminic Hinduism has until recently shied away from the mission challenge of proclaiming and actualizing the gospel values of equality, justice and Inclusivity. One of the fundamental ecclesiological and missiological challenges before the Syrian Orthodox Church in India, therefore, is to Dalitize the Church and this is precisely what St. Paul s Mission of India has managed to initiate through it s outreach evangelism work, although much more needs to be consciously attempted in this direction. 20

21 St Paul s Case Against Proselytism Archim. Prof. Jack Khalil Preaching the Gospel is essential at all times and in all places. The commandment of our Lord and God could not be clearer: Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). The Apostle Paul, whom God entrusted in preaching the Gospel, strongly felt the need to do so and uttered his famous words: Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! (1 Co 9:16). We may ask ourselves at this point: are there any principles or constraints to which the genuine missionaries should be held to? Are we to consider missionary activities in traditionally Christian countries and among Christians who have lived and witnessed from very early in the New Testament era, as they occur nowadays, a favorable observance of Christ s commandment to preach to all nations? Or does evangelizing in the interest of certain denominations contradict the commandment of brotherly love? Does it interfere, or at worst, prevent evangelization in those areas where God s Word has not yet been disseminated? The aim of this article is to help elucidate the difference between evangelism and proselytism, by attempting to compare the characteristics of each. St. Paul, who is second to none as missionary of God s Gospel in all nations, provides us with basic guidelines in this respect, starting with verses Rom 15: These verses emphasize St Paul s enduring principle of not preaching where others have labored to preach before, and not meddling in, or exploiting others work. St Paul reiterates this doctrine in many places elsewhere in his epistles as well. Examining the difference between evangelizing and proselytizing comes at a critical moment in inter-christian dialogue, and thus merits our full attention. This inter-christian dialogue initially stemmed from a point of mutual respect among the churches, whereby churches sought to exhibit restraint 21

22 Archim. Prof. Jack Khalil in their prospects for potential adherents within the flock of other churches. This practice of scouting for converts is commonly known as Sheep stealing. Today, however, the negative connotation of proselytism is being reconsidered on the basis of some verses from the New Testament that call on Christians to evangelize the world. It appears then that there is some confusion as to the distinctions between evangelizing and proselytizing. And indeed the issue is to be examined and clarified exegetically. Undoubtedly, fair-minded missionary work stems from the sole priority of glorifying Christ through proclaiming His name everywhere. The aim of authentic missionary work is for the Good News to reach everyone, as we all need forgiveness, reconciliation and the hope of glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Apostle Paul is a prime example of genuine evangelization as he did not rest despite the success God accomplished through him in various cities, nor did he seek or desire the comfort and earthly goods of those he preached. He did not pride himself in any form of earthly success, nor did he strive for stability or indulge in gratification or contentment among the faithful with whom he labored in preaching, teaching and in pastoral caring. He was satisfied with the power of Christ, a power that accompanied him (Rom 15:18) and was evident to all by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God (Rom 15:19). St Paul would experience no relief or gratification as long as he had not fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ (Rom 15:19). In fact, he reveals his aspirations in life by stating: And thus I aspire to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was already named (Rom 15:20a). I would like to add an exegetical note within this context. St Paul introduces his thought in Rom 15:20 with the expression οὕτως δὲ. The adverb οὕτως refers to the previous description of St Paul s missionary activity in vv 18-19, and the adversative δὲ stresses a principle that restricts it. St Paul assigns limits to his missionary zeal when he says that he intends to proclaim the Gospel only in those places where the Good News had not yet been heard or accepted. His intent to act within this particular constraint is unequivocally explained in v. 15:20b: so that I would not be building on someone else s foundation (Rom 15:20 NIV). The verb to build in this instance refers to laying the groundwork and fundaments of God s building, and to the hardships endured during its edification (1Co 3:9). This verb is part of missionary work terminology. In verse Rom 15:20, the Apostle Paul holds on to a fundamental principle which he alludes to in Corinthians 3. More precisely, he intimates that an authentic missionary is one who struggles to lay down a foundation while 22

23 St Paul s Case Against Proselytism facing all kinds of difficulties and obstacles, and never intrudes in other people s labor to spoil and steal. St Paul delivers similar ideology in 2 Co 10:5: Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others (2 Co 10:15 NIV). It is noteworthy that in 1 Corinthians 3, St Paul insists that his function as first builder, as one who has laid the foundation, is irreplaceable, and accordingly cannot be claimed by any of the builders after him. In Rom 15:20, he applies the same rule but now refers to himself. He refuses to meddle with other communities, especially because the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (Mat. 9:37 NIV), and many places around the world are still awaiting the word of Christ. Rivalry is inappropriate in those whom Christ our Lord has made adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the spirit (2Co 3:6 NAS). Rivalry and selfish ambition were at no point a spiritual fruit, i.e. a form of spiritual conduct; on the contrary, St Paul mentions these vices among the works of the flesh (Gal 5:20), and he forewarns, those who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal 5:21). How can such people then preach the Kingdom s Gospel to others and promise them salvation? To clarify his rule regarding preaching the Gospel as well as his godly ambition in his missionary activity, St Paul quotes Is 52:15: Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand (Rom 15:21 NIV). St Paul realized that he was invited to preach to those who neither knew Christ, nor called on His name or worshipped Him yet. More specifically, he aimed to reach those who needed Christ s salvation, not people that he himself needed for boasting and aggrandizing. He was not laboring for the sort of success that would increase his influence and power in society. It is very improbable that the Apostle Paul would boast of human achievements or of anything that is according to human standards; on the contrary, in the context we are examining he declares: So I can be proud, in Christ Jesus, in my service to God (Rom 15:17). In Rom 10:13-15, St Paul writes the following: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! (Rom 10: NIV). 23

24 Archim. Prof. Jack Khalil If we follow this rationale and look at it from a different angle, we can perhaps assume that carrying the good news is a privilege endowed to those whom God has sent to preach among unbelievers, who have not yet heard of The Lord s name. Thus Rom 10:13-15 indirectly provides another endorsement of St Paul s rule concerning preaching the Gospel not where Christ was already named, nor where we would build on someone else s foundation (Rom 15:20). In compliance with his regulation on preaching the good news, St Paul planned to go to Spain after having finished his work in the East. His sole ambition for this journey was to preach the Good News to those who needed to hear it. He chose the narrow gate, a way full of affliction, and proceeded into the unpredictable future, as opposed to taking the easier way which leads to destruction. His choices were well justified as he never sought after his own benefit, but rather he strove for the good of those nations who still ignored God s Gospel. St Paul s rules concerning the parameters of proper evangelization and his ideology in describing his Apostleship and missionary activity lead us to conclude that the real missionary is the one who rejoices in the completion of preaching the Gospel and spreading Christ s name in the entire world. Furthermore, the missionary serves God s word of reconciliation and justification, by proclaiming the Gospel, without any selfish or sectarian perspective, as it frequently happens today. In other words, the genuine missionary does not rejoice in achievements with sectarian interest, nor does he take pride in an overflow of increasing add-ons in one s sect or church group. He does not boast nor hope for wider privileges. When missionary work is performed under the direction of human calculations and interests, it ceases to be the work of God. A mission can only be God s work when human boasting is excluded, and when its sole ambition is to please God, not the self, or mortals. Nowadays, in certain cases, preaching Christ as Lord and God has become so distorted with selfish endeavors, foreign to the Bible s ideals. This is evident as we notice the systematic proselytizing activity, being programmed for encouraging breakaways from local churches in many countries of the Middle East, such as Iraq and Syria, in Ethiopia, and several countries in Eastern Europe. The sorrowful fact is that those blessed countries, where over the ages many saints had reached deification (sainthood) as promised by Christ, now witness invasive missionary activity that lacks innocence and transparency. The more regretful fact is that these invasions are carried out by 24

25 St Paul s Case Against Proselytism church groups that have been in dialogue with the Orthodox Churches for many decades, either within the framework of the World Council of Churches (WCC) or other instances of ecumenical forums. Some of these newly emerging groups are now negotiating to join the WCC. Their ambition is to establish a stronger ecclesial entity, with impressive numbers of adherents, and they use this to aggrandize whenever possible and claim more respective rights. Consequently, preaching the Gospel has warped into a disgraceful practice of proselytism. In its report Christian Witness, Proselytism, and Religious Liberty in the World Council of Churches the WCC has plainly warned against the vices of proselytism. The statement reads as follows: Proselytism is not something absolutely different from witness: it is the corruption of witness. Witness is corrupted when cajolery, bribery, undue pressure or intimidation is used subtly or openly to bring about seeming conversion; when we put the success of our church before the honour of Christ; when we commit the dishonesty of comparing the ideal of our own church with the actual achievement of another; when we seek to advance our own cause by bearing false witness against another church; when personal or corporate self-seeking replaces love for every individual soul with whom we are concerned. As the starting point of these activities is according to the flesh and not according to the spirit, they greatly diverge from St. Paul s principles concerning preaching the Gospel. In fact, they are more linked to the principles of the Judaizers, who were contesting the work of St Paul, and whose aim was to boast in human achievements. These Judaizers were not engaging in struggles to proclaim the Gospel of God, but to appropriate those churches that St Paul strove to establish. The Judaizers of the first century and the current proselytizers of Christians in Apostolic countries and elsewhere exhibit some significant similarities in their mission s purpose, namely to boast in the flesh (See Gal 6:13), as St Paul so accurately admonishes. Whatever the case may be, proselytism is contrary to the Biblical principle that St Paul greatly emphasized and includes forbidding the building upon someone else s foundation. This rejected form of proselytism becomes a stumbling block to inter-christian dialogue, as it replaces light with darkness and schism. 25

26 Archim. Prof. Jack Khalil In the nineteenth century, when the well-known phrase preaching the Gospel to the world in this generation became the motto of enthusiastic missionaries, Christians represented a third of the world s population. Today, this percentage remains the same. How are we to assess this fact? Where does our responsibility lie in relation to this truth? Isn t it regretful and wasteful to expand efforts and finances in order to proselytize some Christians from a certain confession to another, when we could be more effective by evangelizing not where Christ was already named? Are we that estranged from Christ s exhortation to His disciples of teaching all nations (Mt 28:19) and preaching the Gospel to all creation (Mk 16:15)? Proclaiming the Bible is of utmost holiness. God the Father sent us his only Son for our salvation in the same way that Christ sent forth his disciples to spread the word of God (Jn 17:18, 20:21). Therefore, mission should not be tainted by the blasphemy of using it for earthly gains. Proselytism is the corruption of evangelism, because it is moved by selfseeking love and egoism. It looks for the wide gate by prospecting among Christians who belong to other churches, and uses methods that are foreign to Christian Ethics and to Christ s example of preaching as well as that of the Apostles. On the other hand, evangelism aims at preaching to those who neither know Christ, nor call on His name or worship Him yet. Evangelism occurs when God entrusts proclaiming the Gospel to those whom He sent, and this proclamation is directed by God s love to the world, a love that became manifest when He sent His beloved Son so that people may have everlasting life (Jn 16:3). A mission can only be God s work when human boasting is excluded and when its sole ambition and motivation is to please God and not humans. When one properly evangelizes the Gospel of Christ, all things are of God (2 Cor 5:18), the proclamation is God s work, the Gospel is the Gospel of God, and the sole purpose is God s glory. 26

27 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Andreas Heiser Einleitung Liest man die Biografien des Johannes Chrysostomus, fällt auf, dass unter dem Stichwort Mission mindestens dreierlei, sehr unterschiedliche Aktivitäten verhandelt werden: Zum einen die Etablierung einer bestimmten Form von Christentum in seinen eigenen Gemeinden 1, zum anderen der Kampf gegen (christliche) Irrlehren wie Marcioniten, Arianer, Manichäer u.a., sodann aber auch die Gewinnung von Gruppen für den christlichen Glauben, die bislang vom Christentum unberührt geblieben sind. Ich möchte auf diesen dritten Aspekt herausnehmen und vier historische Fragen stellen. Ich frage zunächst 1) nach den Grundlagen und 2) nach den Motivationen chrysostomischer Mission. In einem zweiten Teil versuche ich 3) seine historisch verlässlichen Missionsaktivitäten nachzuzeichnen, um aus ihnen 4) eine Missionsstrategie des Chrysostomus abzuleiten. In einem kurzen Schlussteil wird diese Strategie auf heutige christliche Mission bezogen. 1. Was bedeutete Mission für Chrysostomus? Eigentlich wäre Mission nach Chrysostomus gar nicht nötig. Die Apostel hatten seiner Ansicht nach bereits allen Völkern das Evangelium verkündigt 2. Dennoch waren in seiner Gegenwart nicht alle Menschen Christen in seinem Sinne. Der Grund dafür lag darin, dass sich nicht alle Menschen auf 1 Phyllis Rodgerson Pleasants, Making Christian the Christians: The Baptismal Instructions of St. John Chrysostom, Greek Orthodox Theological Review 34, 1989, S und Johannes Chrysostomus, Catecheses baptismales. Taufkatechesen, übersetzt u. eingeleitet v. Rainer Kaczynski, FC 6/1 2, Freiburg u.a. 1992; meiner Hilfskraft, Herrn Moritz Groos, danke ich für allerlei Hilfe bei der Erstellung des Manuskripts. 2 Belege bei Ivo Auf der Maur, Mönchtum und Glaubensverkündigung in den Schriften des hl. Johannes Chrysostomus, Paradosis 14, Freiburg/Schweiz 1959, S. 124 Anm

28 Andreas Heiser das Wort der Apostel hin bekehrt hatten 3. Die Frage, warum die Mission der Apostel nicht umfassend gewirkt hatte, nötigte zu einer theologischen Begründung. Sie bestand darin, dass der Glaube eine Gnade sei, zu der Gott keinen Menschen zwinge 4. Gott senkte lediglich einen Keim der Empfänglichkeit für seine Botschaft in die Seele des Menschen 5. Gleichzeitig formulierte Chrysostomus die Gründe, die diesen Kern überlagerten, seine Entfaltung verhinderten und Menschen vom Glauben abhielten: Stolz, Schlechtigkeit, Einflüsse des Teufels 6, aber noch wirkungsvoller der üble Einfluss und das schlechte Vorbild anderer Christen 7. Die Begriffe, die Chrysostomus für Mission verwendet, deuten auf die Art und die Kontexte der Mission 8 : Seelen retten, gewinnen, bekehren, heilen; sodann das Himmelreich verkündigen; auch aus der Finsternis, dem Irrtum losreißen; dann säen; ferner die Herde Christi sammeln, die Kirche aus Seelen auferbauen und nicht zuletzt die Kirche einpflanzen (was er hauptsächlich im Kontext der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Judentum verwendete) 9. Was konnte aber nach Chrysostomus ein Missionar dazu tun, damit solche vielfältige Mission zu ihrem Ziel kam? Er konnte zumindest die Voraussetzungen schaffen. Dazu gehörte, dass er das Evangelium verkündigte 10. Vom Missionar war dazu sunkata/basij gefragt, wie sie auch Christus und Paulus an den Tag gelegt hatten 11. Man senkte sich auf das Niveau des Hörers herunter. Dazu gehörte auch die Verkündigung in der Landessprache 12. Zuerst wurden die Verstehensvoraussetzungen geschaffen, dann erklärte der Missionar die Grundüberzeugungen des Christseins 13. Aber schon hier ging es nicht um 3 Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), S. 124 Anm Ebd., 124 Anm. 5. Ähnlich beschreibt Theo Sundermeier das Wesen von Mission. Es erfordert eine Vorstellung von Monotheismus, eine die Wahlfreiheit des Menschen, eine inkludierende Anthropologie und eine Religionsfreiheit; vgl. Theo Sundermeier, Art. Mission. Systematisch, in: RGG 4 5, Tübingen 2002, 1272f. 5 Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), S. 138 Anm Ebd., S. 125 Anm. 1 und 3. 7 Ebd., S. 125 Anm Vgl. Ebd., S. 124 Anm Belege ebd. 10 Ebd., S. 138 Anm Ebd., S. 138 Anm. 8; zur sugkata/basij s. Andreas Heiser, Die Paulusinszenierung des Johannes Chrysostomus. Epitheta und ihre Vorgeschichte, STAC 70, Tübingen 2012, 25-28; S Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), S. 139 Anm Ebd., 138 Anm. 7; das Verstehen durch Verwendung der Landessprache schilderte auch Vasile Gh. Sibiescu, Activitatea misionară a sfântului Ioan Hrisostom printer Goți, 28

29 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission eine reine Wortverkündigung, sondern Menschen sollten zuerst durch Liebe und Güte gewonnen werden 14. Die diakonische Arbeit ging der Verkündigung voran oder zumindest mit ihr Hand in Hand 15. Es überrascht vielleicht wenig. Der Inhalt der Mission ist bei Chrysostomus nicht lediglich durch eine angemessene Verkündigung des Evangeliums beschrieben 16. Seine Botschaft zielte auf die Konversion zu einem Christentum in asketischer Form: Christus, Kreuz, Jungfräulichkeit, Armut, Fasten 17. Diese Form des Christentums sah Chrysostomus bereits bei den Aposteln 18. Der Benediktinerabt Ivo Auf der Maur war vor allem durch Theodorets Schilderung der Auffassung, das Missionsziel des Chrysostomus sei die asketische Lebensweise. Die apostolische Philosophie bedeute: radikale Entsagung Was motivierte nach Chrysostomus zur Mission? Der Missiologe Romuald Heiss wollte den Missionsgedanken aus dem Leben des Chrysostomus, besonders aus einem Sinneswandel begründen. Zunächst sei Chrysostomus ganz zurückgezogener Asket gewesen, dann erst habe er sich der Welt zugewandt 20. Wir wissen heute, dass das Asketentum in Antiochien immer engste Kontakte mit den Menschen der Stadt pflegte 21, so dass es keines Sinneswandels oder biografischen Bruchs zur Motivati- Glasul Biserici 32. Jahrgang, Nr. 3 4, 1973, S. ( ) 378 als wichtigen Grundsatz der chrysostomischen Mission. 14 Ebd., S. 138 Anm Ebd., S. 138 Anm So beispielsweise in Hom. in Mt. 1,1 (57, 15). 17 Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 138 Anm Ebd., S. 139 Anm Thdt., h.e. 5,29,1 (Theodoret, Kirchengeschichte, hg. v. Léon Parmentier, 3., durchgesehene Auflage v. Günther Christian Hansen, GCS, Berlin 1998, 329,19 330,9) = 5,30 (Des Bischofs Theodoret von Cyrus Kirchengeschichte aus dem Griechischen übersetzt und mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen versehen von Andreas Seider, Des heiligen Bischofs Theodoret von Cyrus ausgewählte Schriften Bd. 2, BKV 51, Kempten/München 1926, S. 313). 20 Romuald Heiss, Mönchtum, Seelsorge und Mission nach dem heiligen Johannes Chrysostomus, in: Lumen caecis. Festschrift zum silbernen Abts-Jubiläum des Dr. Norbert Weber O.S.B., Erzabtes v. St. Ottilien , St. Ottilien 1928, S. 1 23; Chrysostomus war also in seiner Jugend ein Mönch, und zwar einer von echtester Sorte. (S. 3) mona/ zwn kat ) e)coxh/n er war Einsiedler. Und doch fand er den Weg von seiner Einsiedelei zurück in die Welt und den Trubel der Großstadtseelsorge. (S. 3) 21 Vgl. Martin Illert, Johannes Chrysostomus und das antiochenisch-syrische Mönchtum. Studien zu Theologie, Rhetorik und Kirchenpolitik im antiochenischen Schrifttum des Johannes 29

30 Andreas Heiser on der Heidenmission bedurfte. Auch Ivo auf der Maur betonte die genuin weltzugewandte Seite des Asketentums bei Chrysostomus. Paul Andres sah die Mission bei Chrysostomus durch eine ganze Reihe von Gründen motiviert 22 : Durch den Missionsbefehl, die Güte und Barmherzigkeit Gottes, den Predigtauftrag aus Jer 15,19, das eigene Heil der Seele, die menschliche Gemeinschaft, die Tugend der Liebe, die Verpflichtung, Licht zu sein und die Nachahmung der Apostel. Ivo Auf der Maur differenzierte die Gründe und erweiterte die Liste der Motivationen des Chrysostomus. Zunächst beschrieb er den Auftrag jedes Christen, als Licht in die Welt zu scheinen 23. Vor allem der Schöpfungsauftrag, der den Menschen als geschaffenes Wesen dazu bestimmte, anderen zu nützen, habe die Mission motiviert 24. Da alle Menschen gleich geschaffen seien, sei es ihr Auftrag, sich gegenseitig um sich zu kümmern 25. Der Missionar ahme aber nur Gott, Christus und die Apostel nach, die sich alle dem Menschen zugewandt hätten 26. Gott selbst legte dabei aber den größten Wert auf das Heil der Seele. Und nun hinge das Heil der eigenen Seele davon ab, weitere Seelen zu gewinnen 27. Die Mission würde zudem von Gott mit Lohn für den Missionar vergolten werden 28. Chrysostomus betonte die Liebe zu Christus und die Verherrlichung Gottes, die die Mission motivierte 29. Er habe Mission aber auch einfach als Pflicht jedes Christen beschreiben können 30. Diese Motive stammten meistens aus der Bibel 31. Bei der Analyse der biblischen Bezüge fällt aber auf, dass Chrysostomus heute geläufige Begründungen der Mission wie beispielsweise den Missionsbefehl (Mt 28,19) 32 Chrysostomus, Zürich 2000, S und Heiser, Paulusinszenierung (wie Anm. 11), 533f.; auch Wendy Mayer, What Does It Mean to Say that John Chrysostom Was a Monk?, StPatr 41, 2006, S Paul Andres, Der Missionsgedanke in den Schriften des hl. Chrysostomus, Missionswissenschaftliche Studien 8, Hünfeld Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), S. 145 Anm Ebd., S. 145 Anm Ebd., S. 145 Anm. 8f. und 146 Anm Ebd., S. 147 Anm Ebd., S. 146 Anm Ebd., S. 146 Anm. 11f. und 147 Anm Ebd., S. 148 Anm Ebd., S. 148 Anm. 8 zum kato/rqwma. 31 Ebd., S. 150f. 32 Freilich folgt Chrysostomus einer breiten Auslegungstradition, die den Missionsbefehl ausschließlich an die Apostel ausgerichtet sieht: Hom. in Mt. 25,2 (57, 330); 33,1. 3 (57, 389; 391); Hom. in Eph. 4,3 (62, 34; Sancti patris nostri Joannis Chrysostomi interpre-

31 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission nur selten oder das Wort von der großen Ernte (Mt 9,36ff.) 33 gar nicht heranzog. Die Missionsaktivitäten des Chrysostomus ließen sich also nicht monokausal auf eine Motivation zurückführen. Die Diversität der Begründungen bot den Anlass für Jean-Marie Leroux 34, die vielen Motivationen der Mission in einer Grundlinie zusammenzuführen. Er zeigte, dass die missionarische Verkündigung bei Chrysostomus aus der Antwort des Menschen auf die Inkarnation des Christus zu verstehen sei 35. Dabei hob er die Rolle des heiligen Geistes hervor. Der Geist erinnere an die Wohltaten des Erlösers in der Inkarnation 36. Weil mit der Inkarnation Versöhnung geschehen sei, sei der Geist als Erinnerer an die Versöhnung auch der Geist der Versöhnung 37. Indem er tatio omnium epistolarum Paulinarum per homilias facta, Tomus 6: continens commentaria in epistolas ad Galatas et Ephesios, Bibliotheca patrum ecclesiae catholicae qui ante orientis et occidentis schisma floruerunt, Oxford 1852, 29AB) und Hom. in Jo. 80,1 (59, 433f.). Aber in Hom. in 2Thess. 5,4 (62, 498; Sancti patris nostri Joannis Chrysostomi interpretatio omnium epistolarum Paulinarum per homilias facta, Tomus 5: continens homilias in epistolas ad Philippenses, Colossenses et Thessalonicenses, Bibliotheca patrum ecclesiae catholicae qui ante orientis et occidentis schisma floruerunt, Oxford 1855, 542E 543A) bezieht er den Befehl auch auf die Hörer, wenn er sagt, dass ihn selbst ein Kind durch einen guten Lebenswandel erfüllen könne. Der präzise Satz Dies ist nicht allein zu jenen gesagt, sondern auch zu uns ou) mo/mon tau=ta pro\j e)kei/nouj ei)/rhtai, a)lla\ kai\ pro\j h(ma=j (PG 62, 498) ist sekundär (vgl. Field 5, 492 Anm. t). Aber auch nach Fields Edition ist der Missionsbefehl bei Chrysostomus an alle gerichtet und ist aktuelle Motivation missionarischen Handelns: Denn dass es nicht allein jenen aufgetragen ist, wird auch daran deutlich, dass er sagt: bis zur Vollendung der Ewigkeit (/Oti ga\r e)kei/noij ou)k e)ph/ggeltai mo/non, dh=lon e)k tou= ei)pei=n, e(/ wj th=j suntelei/aj tou= ai)w=noj. (5, 542F Field) So leitet er auch in Hom. in Mt. 90,3 (58, 790) aus dem Befehl eine Pflicht für alle Christen ab; s. dazu auch Andreas Seumois, Vers une définition de l activité missionaire, Schriftenreihe der Neuen Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft = Auf dem Wege zu einer Definition der Missionstätigkeit, übersetzt v. Joseph Peters, hg. v. Generalsekretariat des Priester-Missionsbundes in Aachen, Gladbach Hom. in illud: Messis quidem multa (63, ). 34 Jean-Marie Leroux, Saint Jean Chrysostome. Mission de l esprit dans le salut du monde, Spiritus 19, 1964, S. ( ) Leroux, Mission (wie Anm. 34), S In Pent. 2,1 (50, ). 37 So beschrieb Chrysostomus die Aufgabe von Pfingsten in hom. in Ac. 4,1 (60, 41 44); vgl. Leroux, Mission (wie Anm. 34), S Sodann diene alle missionarische Aktivität der Auferbauung des Leibes Christi (hom. in 1Cor. 36,3; 25,3 [61, ; Sancti patris nostri Joannis Chrysostomi interpretatio omnium epistolarum Paulinarum per homilias facta, Tomus 2: continens homilias in epistolam ad Corinthios priorem, Bibliotheca patrum ecclesiae catholicae qui ante orientis et occidentis schisma floruerunt, Oxford 1857, 336B 337E]). Als Motivation der Mission führt Leroux an: a) Nachahmung der Apostel und Christi (Philogon. = anom. 6,3 [PG 48, 752]), b) Biblische Bilder: Zehn Jungfrauen; Gleichnis vom Sauerteig 31

32 Andreas Heiser die Rolle des Geistes betonte, markierte Leroux zugleich, wie unverfügbar die Heidenmission für Menschen sei. Zuletzt fokussierte Chris L. de Wet auf die spezielle Rhetorik der Mission des Chrysostomus zu den Goten 38. Er zeichnete präzise nach, dass die hier angewandte Terminologie ihr Spiegelbild in eben derjenigen Rhetorik hatte, die die Bewohner des Imperium Romanum gegenüber den Barbaren pflegten. So wie beispielsweise der Historiker Ammianus Marcellinus über die Barbaren sprach, dass sie eben roh, ungezügelt und ungebildet seien, so habe Chryostomus über die rohe, ungezügelte und ungebildete Art der heidnischen Religion gesprochen. Nun habe nach Ammianus das Imperium zur Bewahrung von Einheit und Ordnung die Barbaren friedlich integrieren müssen. Ganz analog habe die Etablierung der christlichen Mission in der nachkonstantinischen Zeit durch Chrysostomus, die durch Überlegenheitsrhetorik gegenüber den Heiden geprägt sei, der Ordnung und gesellschaftlichen Stabilisierung des Reichs gedient. Die von de Wet vorgetragene Stabilisierungsfunktion der Mission ist evident. Man sollte allerdings diese reichsstabilisierenden Elemente nicht als primäre Motivation der christlichen Mission deuten, auch wenn Chrysostomus später zum Repräsentanten einer byzantinischen Reichsideologie geworden ist 39. Dazu stand Chrysostomus dem Kaiserhaus viel zu kritisch gegenüber 40 (hom. in Mt. 46,2; [58, ), c) nicht nur Rückgriff auf Motive aus den Evangelien: vielmehr mystische Erbauung des Leibes Christi: Er ist der Arzt schlechthin, der alle heilt. Gegen individuelle Erlösung. Das Heil liegt in der Gemeinschaft (Jud. 1,1 [48, ), d) Mystische Erlösung: Christus ist das Haupt und die Leiter (= Weg) der Gemeinde; ist ausgebildet in dem Zentralmotiv der Nachahmung Christi (Jud. 8,9 [48, 941f.]); vgl. Leroux, Mission (wie Anm. 34), S Chris L. de Wet, John Chrysostom and the Mission to the Goths. Rhetorical and Ethical Perspectives, HTS Theological Studies 68, 2012 ( HTS/article/view/1220/2260, letzter Zugriff: ). 39 Stephan Verosta, Johannes Chrysostomus. Staatsphilosoph und Geschichtstheologe, Graz u.a. 1960; in dessen Tradition steht Konstantinos Bosinis, Johannes Chrysostomus über das Imperium Romanum. Studie zum politischen Denken der Alten Kirche, Texts and Studies in the History of Theology 10, Mandelbachtal/Cambridge 2005 und ders., Nachwirkungen der Kanzelreden des Johannes Chrysostomos in der byzantinischen politischen Philosophie, in: Chrysostomosbilder in Jahren. Facetten der Wirkungsgeschichte eines Kirchenvaters, hg. v. Martin Wallraff/Rudolf Brändle, AKG 105, Berlin/New York 2008, S ; Martin Wallraff, Sonnenkönig der Spätantike. Die Religionspolitik Konstantins des Großen, Freiburg u.a. 2013, S Claudia Tiersch, Johannes Chrysostomus in Kontantinopel ( ). Weltsicht und Wirken eines Bischofs in der Hauptstadt des Oströmischen Reiches, STAC 6, Tübingen 2002, ( )

33 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission als sich zum Lakaien kaiserlicher Ordnungspolitik instrumentalisieren zu lassen. Zudem ist die Überlegenheitsrhetorik unsicherer als de Wet annimmt, denn Chrysostomus, der als kleiner Junge die heidnische Restauration Kaiser Julians erlebt hatte, war sich der unsicheren Christianisierung des Imperiums durchaus bewusst Welche Missionsaktivitäten des Chrysostomus sind historisch verlässlich bezeugt? Wenn man ausschließlich nach der Heidenmission des Chrysostomus fragt, dann fallen die Lebensbeschreibungen des Palladius, Sokrates und Sozomenus als Quelle aus, denn sie sagen gar nichts über die Mission des Chrysostomus unter den Heiden. Erst Theodoret von Cyrus berichtete von einer Missionstätigkeit in Skythien (dem Land der Goten), in Phoenizien und in Syrien 42. Dabei unterschied er sehr genau die Reformmaßnahmen von den missionarischen Aktivitäten. Warum sollte Chrysostomus auch in Gebieten missionieren, in denen wie Theodoret 43 aufführte ebenso berühmte Lehrer wie er selbst arbeiteten. Die angebliche Heidenmission bei den Goten ( skythischem Volk ) war zwar nach Theodoret breit angelegt 44. Hier arbeiteten Priester, Diakone und Vorleser in einer bereits konsolidierten Kirche. Auch Chrysostomus selbst predigte beizeiten dort und ließ sich dolmetschen. Zudem sendete er andere begabte Prediger. Aber diese Mission fand innerhalb der Stadt statt. Sie richtete sich auch nicht an Heiden, sondern an Christen mit einem arianischen Gottesverständnis. Sie sollten von der Wahrheit der apostolischen Predigt überzeugt werden Robert L. Wilkens, John Chrysostom and the Jews. Rhetoric and Reality in the late 4 th Century, The Transformation of the Classical Heritage 4, Berkeley 1983 = ND Eugene, OR 2004, Thdt, h.e. 5,27 30 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 328,11 330,19 Parmentier/ Hansen); 5,28 31 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], Seider). 43 Thdt., h.e. 5,27,1 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 328, Parmentier/Hansen); 5,28 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 311f. Seider). 44 Thdt., h.e. 5,30,1f. (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,9 18 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,31 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], S. 313 Seider). 45 Thdt., h.e. 5,30,2 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,17f. Parmentier/Hansen); 5,31 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], S. 313 Seider). Die Bekehrung der Goten, von der Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 126 spricht, sollte demnach auf einen Wechsel von der einen christlichen Auffassung zur anderen verstanden werden. Dafür, dass Chrysostomus 33

34 Andreas Heiser Alle weiteren Quellen, die von dieser Mission bei den Goten zeugen, bringen gegenüber Theodoret nichts Neues Die Mission unter skythischen Nomaden Missionsaktivitäten unter Menschen, die bislang in keinem oder nur geringen Kontakt mit dem Christentum standen kann sind unter den skythischen Nomaden belegt 47. Diese Nomaden hatten, wie Theodoret berichtete, ihre Zelte am Ister ( )/Istroj) aufgeschlagen. Der Name war in der Antike verbreitet für den Unterlauf der Donau und wurde auch noch benutzt, als längst der ganze Fluss Da/nubij genannt wurde 48. Ein Streifgebiet von mehr als 500 Kilometern erscheint für solche Nomaden durchaus als wahrscheinlich. Leider bleibt offen, über welche Kanäle Chrysostomus von ihnen hörte und wie er erfuhr, dass sie nach dem Heil dürsteten. Da es aber im eigentlichen Skythien bereits einen Bischof, nämlich den hochgeachteten Theotimus in Tomi gab, ist auch hier anzunehmen, dass Chrysostomus keine Pionierarbeit leistete, sondern mit ihm zusammenarbeitete 49. Baur, Der Heilige Johannes Chrysostomus und seine Zeit, Bd. 2: Konstantinopel, München 1930, S. 69 annimmt, dass alle diese Goten katholisch waren, besteht kein Grund. Zur Bekehrung s. auch ebd., S Cassiodor, Historia ecclesia tripartita 10,5 (Cassiodori Epiphanii, Historia ecclesiastica tripartite. Historiae ecclesiasticae ex Socrate, Sozomeno et Theodorito in unum collectae et nuper de Graeco in Latinum translatae libri numero duodecim, recensuit Waltarivs Jacob, edidit curavit Rudolphus Hanslik, CSEL 71, Wien 1952, 588f.), Symeon, Vita s. Joannis Chrysostomi 20 (PG 114, 1096f.) und Nicephor, h.e. 13,3 (146, 936). 47 Thdt., h.e. 5,31,1 3 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,19 331,10 Parmentier/ Hansen); 5,32 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 313 Seider). 48 Wohl seit Strabo, Geografica 8,3; vgl. Walter Spoerri, Art. Istros 2., KlP 2, München 1979, S. 1477; sowie Karl Georg Brandis, Art. Istros, PRE 4, Stuttgart 1901, S Soz., h.e. 7,26,6 (Sozomenus, Historia ecclesiastica. Kirchengeschichte, dritter Teilband, übersetzt und eingeleitet v. Günther Christian Hansen, FC 73/3, Turnhout 2004, 934f.): In dieser Zeit leitete die Kirche von Tomis und ganz Skythia (minor) der Skythe Theotimus, ein Mann, der mit Philosophie aufgewachsen war. Sozomenus verwandte sonst nicht die archaisierende Redeweise, in der Skythe mit Gote gleichzusetzen war. Darum könnte er Theotimus als einheimischen Bewohner der Provinz Scythia auffassen. Er war dort seit mindestens 392 Bischof. Hieronymus schrieb, er habe ihn selbst gehört (Hier., vir. ill. 131 [Gerolamo, Gli uomi illustri. De viris illustribus a cura di Aldo Ceresa-Gastaldo, Biblioteca Patristica 12, Florenz 1988, 228f.]). Palladius, Dial. 13 (Palladios, Dialogue sur la vie de Jean Chrysostome, Synode du Chêne, Chrysostome, Lettre 1 au pape Innocent, vol. 1: Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par Anne-Marie Malingrey avec le collaboration de Philippe Leclercq, SC 341, Paris 1988, S. 272, ,162; Das Leben des heiligen Johannes Chrysostomus, hg. und übers. v. Lothar Schläpfer, Heilige der ungeteilten Christenheit, dargestellt

35 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Chrysostomus missionierte nun auch nicht selbst, sondern suchte geeignete Männer, die er als Missionare aussandte 50. Theodoret berichtete, er habe einen Brief des Chrysostomus an Leontius von Ancyra gelesen, in dem Chrysostomus die Bekehrung der Skythen (wohl dieser Nomaden am Ister) mitteilte und um Männer für die Leitung der Gruppe gebeten habe 51. Aus diesen Gruppen entwickelte sich eine blühende Arbeit. Chrysostomus unterstellte sie dem Bischof Unilas. Der 14. Brief an Olympias unterrichtet uns über die Regelung der Nachfolge 52. Chrysostomus erfuhr im Exil von den marischen Mönchen, eben Goten, dass der Diakon Moduarius den Tod des Bischofs Unilas angezeigt hätte. Jetzt baten die Goten um einen neuen Bischof. Chrysostomus sah darin eine doppelte Gefahr: Die schismatischen Konstantinopolitaner hätten einen Kandidaten senden können (was sie seiner Auffassung nach weder nach göttlichem noch nach kirchlichen Recht gedurft hätten) 53. Oder die Goten hätten ohne Wahl und Prüfung irgendwen zum Bischof bestimmen können. Chrysostomus spekulierte darauf, die Wahl zu verzögern, rechnete er doch mit seiner baldigen Rückkehr. Darum bat er Olympias, sie solle den Diakon Moduarius in dieser Angelegenheit zu ihm senden. Was dann jedoch aus der Gotenmission nach Unilas Tod wurde, wissen wir nicht 54. von den Zeugen ihres Lebens, hg. v. Walter Nigg/Wilhelm Schamoni, Düsseldorf 1966, 148f.) schildert den Kontakt zwischen Chrysostomus und Theotimus; Theodoret beschreibt nur die organisatorische Tätigkeit: Thdt., h.e. 5,30,1f. (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,9 18 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,31 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], S. 313 Seider); die Vermutung äußerte bereits Sibiescu, Activitatea (wie Anm. 13), S Thdt., h.e. 5,30,1 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,11f. Parmentier/Hansen); 5,31 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 313 Seider) bietet keinen eigenen Begriff für die Missionare. Es handelt sich lediglich um Bischöfe, Diakone und Vorleser (presbu/teroi, dia/ konoi und oi( ta\ qei=a u(panagignw/skontaj lo/gia). 51 Thdt., h.e. 5,30,1f. (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,9 18 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,31 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 313 Seider) , Die Furcht erschien als berechtigt, denn Chrysostomus sprach von a)nabolh/. Auch mahnte er in ep. 206 ad Theodulum (52, 726) umgehend den ihm noch treuen Klerus in der Hauptstadt, besonders wachsam zu sein. 54 Vgl. Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 127 sowie Thdt., h.e. 5,29,1 30,2 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 329,19 330,18 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,30f. (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 313 Seider); Jacques Zeiller, Les origenes chrétiennes dans les provinces Danubiennes de l Empire Romain. Bibliothèque des écoles françaises d Athénes et de Rome, series 1, fasc. 112, 1918, S = Studia historica 48, Rom ²1967; Kurt Dietrich Schmidt, Die Bekehrung der Germanen zum Christentum, Heft 3, Göttingen 1936, S. 215; Joseph Mansion, Les origenes du christianisme chez des Gots, AnBoll 33, 35

36 Andreas Heiser 3.2. Die Mission in Phönikien und Gaza Sicher belegt sind die Missionsaktivitäten in Phönikien, besonders in der Provinzhauptstadt Gaza. Eine untrügliche Quelle für diese Vorgänge sind die Briefe des Chrysostomus, die er um 406/407 aus seinem Exil schrieb 55. Wesentlich vorsichtiger ist die Vita Porphyrii des Marcus Diaconus zu behandeln. Sie beinhaltet zwar einen historischen Kern, nämlich die Zerstörung eines heidnischen Tempels in Gaza und dessen Umwandlung zur Kirche. Auch die behandelten Personen sind sicher historisch: Arcadius, Eudoxia, Theodosius II., Chrysostomus und Eutropius (nur in griechischer Version erwähnt) 56. Etliches darüber hinaus ist dem Erfindungsgeist des Diakons zuzuschreiben Das Heidentum in Gaza Versuchen wir, eine Skizze des Missionsfeldes herzustellen. Das Heidentum in Gaza hatte einen kultischen Mittelpunkt: das Marneion, den Tempel des Marnas, des kretischen Zeus, in Gaza 57. Es war kreisförmig und mit einer hohen Kuppel gekrönt. Zwei konzentrische Portiken überwölbten es 58. Marcus Diaconus berichtet von einem polyreligiösen Setting in Gaza. Es habe außer dem Marneion noch weitere öffentliche Heiligtümer des Helios, des Apollo gegeben 59. Zudem bestanden Kultstätten der Aphrodite, der Kore, der Hekate, ein Heroon und ein Tychaion. Dazu eine hohe Dunkelziffer von Statuen und Heiligtümern in Privathäusern , S. (5 31) 5 Anm. 2; Cassiodor, h.e. trip. 10,5 (CSEL 71, 1952 [wie Anm. 49], 588f. Hanslik). 55 Warum John N.D. Kelly, Golden Mouth. The Story of John Chrysostom. Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop, London 1995, 264, von der Mission in den Libanon spricht, bleibt rätselhaft, da Gaza viel weiter südlich liegt. Die spätere Überlieferung bei Symeon, Vita s. Joannis Chrysostomi 20 (PG 114, 1097) ist ganz von Theodoret abhängig. 56 Marcus Diaconus, Vita Sancti Porphyrii. Leben des Heiligen Porphyrius, eingeleitet und übersetzt v. Adelheid Hübner, FC 53, Freiburg u.a So Karl Preisendanz, Art. Marna, Marnas, PRE 14/2, Stuttgart 1930, ; dieses heidnische Hauptheiligtum der Stadt erscheint auf einer Münze Hadrians (George F. Hill, Catalogue of the Greek coins of Palestine, London 1914, S. ( ) 146 Tafel 15 Nr. 10f. Das lässt vermuten, dass der Tempel von Hadrian anlässlich eines Besuchs in Gaza gebaut worden ist. 58 Earl Baldwin Smith, The Dome. A Study in the History of Ideas, Princeton-Monographs in Art and Archeology 25, Princeton 1950, S Jos., AJ 13, 364 (Flavius Josephus, Antiquitatum Iudaicarum libri 1 20, ed. et apparatu critico instruxit Benedictus Niese, vol. 3, Berlin 1892 = , 218,18 20). 60 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 64 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 174,17 176,7; Übers Hübner). 36

37 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Schon die hier erwähnten Monumente lassen auf ein hohes kulturelles Niveau der Stadt schließen, das durch den antiochenischen Stadtrhetor Libanius bezeugt wird. Er sprach voller Hochachtung von dem rhetorischen Unterricht, den man in Gaza besuchen konnte 61. Die Pflege der Rhetorik setzt voraus, dass es in Gaza eine Schicht von griechisch sprechenden Gebildeten gab Das Christentum in Gaza Was ist über das Christentum auf diesem Missionsfeld bekannt? Adolf von Harnack hielt nach der Lektüre der Briefe des Chrysostomus von 406/7 und aus den rekonstruierten Zuständen, wie sie noch in der zweiten Hälfte des 6. Jahrhunderts in Gaza bestanden haben fest, dass es ganz klar sei, daß das Christentum nur an der Küste festeren Fuß gefaßt hat; das Innere Phöniziens blieb ganz wesentlich heidnisch. 63 Von Harnack bemerkte zudem 64, dass man für das innere Phöniziens ausrüstete wie heute (= Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts) für rein heidnische Länder. Es musste dort volkreiche Städte und Gebiete gegeben haben, in denen das Christentum noch völlig unbekannt war oder von der Bevölkerung nicht geduldet wurde 65. Von Harnack sah die Gräzisierung und die Christianisierung sich gegenseitig bedingen. Die Gräzisierung auch Gazas nahm er für das zweite Jahrhundert an 66. Aber von einer Christianisierung Palästinas vor Constantin hätte man nicht sprechen können 67. Christen waren überhaupt nur in hellenisierten Städten zu finden, aber auch hier nicht sehr zahlreich. Große alte heidnische Städte an der philistäischen Küste setzten ihnen erheblichen Widerstand entgegen und duldeten die Christen nicht. Nach Gaza wurde das Christentum zuerst durch den Diakon Philippus gebracht. Er war an der Straße von Jerusalem nach Gaza mit dem Eunuchen der Königin von Aethiopien zusammengetroffen. Nach seiner Taufe hatte er 61 Libanius, Oratio 55, 33f. (Libanii opera, recensuit Richard Foerster, vol. 4: Orationes 51 64, BSGRT, Stuttgart/Leipzig 1908 = ND Hildesheim 1963, S. 125,16 127,3). 62 Vgl. Glanville Downey, Art. Gaza, RAC 8, Stuttgart 1972, S Adolf von Harnack, Die Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums in den ersten drei Jahrhunderten, vierte verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage mit elf Karten, Band 2: Die Verbreitung, Leipzig 1924, S Ebd., S. 659 Anm Ebd. 66 Ebd., Ebd.,

38 Andreas Heiser an weiteren Orten des philistäischen Küstenstreifen von Askalon nach Gaza missioniert 68. Wenn das Christentum in Gaza damals seine ersten Anhänger gefunden haben sollte, so blieb es jedoch lange Zeit ohne Einfluss. So gab es nachweislich keine christlichen Bauten in der Zeit vor Das wird daran deutlich, dass die Kirche in Gaza, die Asclepas zur Zeit der Diocletianschen Verfolgung und zur Zeit Konstantins gebaut hat (bald nach 325), als alte Kirche bezeichnet wurde 70. Sie lag wie auch ein erwähnter Gebetsplatz außerhalb der Stadtmauern. Dort befanden sich auch die Gräber des Märtyrers Timotheus, der unter Diocletian in Gaza hingerichtet worden war 71, sowie des Maior und der Thea 72. Eine kleine, vielleicht geheime christliche Gemeinschaft ist schon für die Verfolgungszeit unter Diokletian bezeugt 73. Aber in Gaza residierte kein christlicher Bischof. Den Beleg bietet Eusebius in seiner Kirchengeschichte (h.e. 8,13), wo ein Bischof Silvanus zur Zeit der großen Verfolgung als Bischof der Kirchen um Gaza bezeichnet wird 74. Auch in Nicaea 325 war ein Bischof von Gaza anwesend 75. Aber dieser Asclepas 76 ist auch nur Bischof der Kirchen um Gaza herum gewesen. Zu ihnen gehörte die Hafenstadt Gaza Maiuma. Andere Städte um Gaza herum waren noch ganz heidnisch. Nach Sozomenus war sein eigener Großvater nebst Familie der erste, der in Bethelia (= Bathylion) zum Christentum übergetreten war Apg 8, Harnack, Mission (wie Anm. 63), Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 18,6 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 120,19 29; Übers. 121 Hübner). 71 Eus., Mart. Pal. 3,1 (Eusebius Werke, Zweiter Band/Zweiter Teil: Die Kirchengeschichte, hg. v. Eduard Schwartz/Theodor Mommsen, zweite, unveränderte Auflage v. Friedrich Winkelmann, GCS, Berlin 1999, 910,1 10). 72 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 20 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 122,27 124,4; Übers. 123f. Hübner); weitere Sakralbauten verzeichnet Downey, Gaza (wie Ann. 62), 1131f. 73 Nach Eus., Mart. Pal. 8,4 und 3,1 (GCS Eusebius 2/2 [wie Anm. 71], 925,21 926,1 Schwartz/Mommsen und s.o. Anm. 71) in der Stadt selbst anzunehmen. Eusebius berichtet von einer Christin aus dem Land(?) Gaza th=j Gazai/wn xw/raj. (Mart. Pal. 8,8 [GCS Eusebius 2/2 [wie Anm. 71], 926 (20 29) 27 Schwartz/Mommsen]); vgl. Harnack, Mission (wie Anm. 63), S. auch Eus., Mart. Pal. 13,4 [GCS Eusebius 2/2 [wie Anm. 71], 948,2f. Schwartz/ Mommsen]): e)k th=j Gazai/wn e)pi/skopoj o(((rw/menoj Silbano/j; vgl. Harnack, Mission (wie Anm. 63), Ebd., So Epiph., haer. 69,4,3 (Epiphanius 3: Panarion haer De fide, hg. v. Karl Holl, 2., bearbeitete Auflage, hg. v. Jürgen Dummer, GCS, Berlin 1985, 155,29). 77 Soz., h.e. 5,14 (Sozomenos, Historia Ecclesiastica. Kirchengeschichte, zweiter Teilband, übersetzt und eingeleitet v. Günther Christian Hansen, FC 73/2, Turnhoult 2004, 38

39 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Nebenbei erfährt man auch, dass neben den Heiden auch noch Juden an dem Ort waren. Aus der Geschichte der Christen in Gaza bekommen wir auch Aufschluss über die fehlgeschlagenen Versuche Konstantins, das Christentum an der philistäischen Küste heimisch zu machen. Dazu genügt ein Blick in den Reisebericht der reichen Pilgerin Egeria aus dem späten vierten Jahrhundert 78 und in die Kirchengeschichte des Sozomenus 79. Lediglich von Kirchen und Kapellen an heiligen Stätten berichtet Harnack, von der Ansiedelung von Mönchen und dem Durchzug von Wallfahrern. aber eine wirkliche Christianisierung wurde nicht erreicht 80. Die Dörfer bei der Stadt waren noch ganz heidnisch 81. So war Gaza noch um 400 eine wesentlich heidnische Stadt 82. Bevor Porphyrius Bischof wurde, waren nur wenige Christen zu verzeichnen, nämlich nur 127, wie Marcus Diaconus schrieb Die Mission des Chrysostomus Welche Rolle spielt Chrysostomus für die christliche Mission in diesem Gebiet? Seine Rolle lässt sich in zwei Schritten beschreiben, indem zuerst die a) politische und dann die b) christlich missionarische Komponente der Mission dargestellt wird. Nehmen wir den historischen Kern der Lebensbeschreibung des Bischofs Porphyrius von Gaza Vita Porphyrii (Episkopat ,21 24, Übers.: 625): bei Gaza, einer dicht bewohnten Siedlung mit Heiligtümern, die den Einwohnern durch ihr Alter und ihre Bauweise ehrwürdig sind, besonders mit einem Pantheon kw/m$ Gazai/# poluanqrw/p% te ou)/s$ kai\ i(era\ e)xou/s$ a)rxaio/thti kai\ kataskeu$= semna\ toi=j katoikou=si, kai ma/lista to\ Pa/nqeon. 78 Etheria, Peregrinatio. Petrus Diaconus (ca ca. 1153), De locis sanctis V7 Y3 (Egeria, Itineraruium. Reisebericht mit Auszügen aus Petrus Diaconus, De Locis sanctis. Die heiligen Stätten, übersetzt und eingeleitet v. Georg Röwekamp unter Mitarbeit v. Dietmar Thönnes, FC 20, Freiburg u.a. 1995, 312) bezeugt die Reise der Egeria durch Gaza. 79 Soz., h.e. 7,15,11 (FC 73/3 [wie Anm. 49], 884,1 5; Übers.: 885 Hansen): Noch aber verteidigten in einigen Städten die Hellenisten mit Nachdruck ihre Tempel, in Palästina die von Rhaphea [sc. Hafenstadt südwestlich von Gaza] und Gaza,. 80 Harnack, Mission (wie Anm. 63), Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 16 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 120,4 18; Übers. 121 Hübner); Harnack, Mission (wie Anm. 63), Band 2, Soz., h.e. 7,15,11 (FC 73/3, [wie Anm. 49], 884,1 5; Übers. 885 Hansen) und Marc. Diac., v. Proph. (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], ; Übers Hübner). Die Lage in Gaza ist mit der in Emesa zu vergleichen: Starkes Heidentum in der Stadt; im Randbereich Christen (Harnack, Mission [wie Anm. 63], Band 2, 658). 83 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 12 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 124,21 23; Übers. 125 Hübner). 39

40 Andreas Heiser 420) ernst, dann hat Chrysostomus mit Auftrag und Hilfe der Regierung die Schließung der heidnischen Tempel an der palästinischen Küste vorangetrieben und später ihre vollständige Zerstörung gefördert. Zudem wissen wir, aus seinen Briefen, dass er Missionare in dieses Gebiet aussandte. a) Schauen wir zunächst auf die politische Komponente der Mission in Gaza. In Kapitel 26 der Vita Porphyrii schildert Marcus Diaconus seine eigene Reise nach Konstantinopel im Jahr Er sei von seinem Bischof Porphyrius mit einem Brief an Chrysostomus, den Bischof der Hauptstadt, ausgestattet worden. Darin sei die Bitte um staatliche Hilfe bei der Schließung der heidnischen Tempel formuliert gewesen. Chrysostomus habe nun den praepositus sacri cubiculi Eutropius informiert und dieser habe bei Arcadius die Schließung der Tempel erwirkt. Tatsächlich ist das Edikt vom 10. Juli 399 im Codex Theodosianus erhalten 85. Es wurde jedoch schon knapp über einen Monat später, am 20. August 399 widerrufen 86. Diese Gesetzeslage scheint für den Diaconus der Grund zu sein, von einem Hilarius zu erzählen, der nach Gaza geschickt worden sei, aber dort nur mäßigen Erfolg gehabt hätte. Hilarius habe zwar mit Hilfe von Soldaten die kleineren Tempel geschlossen. Aber er sei bestochen worden und darum nicht weiter gegen den Haupttempel des Gottes Marnas vorgegangen 87. Einige Jahre später hörte Chrysostomus, dass das Marneion immer noch in Betrieb gewesen sei und die Heiden aufmüpfig geworden seien. Eine Andeutung darauf liegt in ep. 126 vor, in der Chrysostomus von einer erneuten Verfolgung der Christen in Gaza sprach Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 26 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 132,11 134,3; Übers. 133f. Hübner). 85 Cod. Theod. 16,10,16 (Theodosiani libri 16 cum constitutionibus Sirmondianis et leges novella ad Theodosianum pertinentes consilio et auctoritate Academiae litterarum Regiae Borussicae ediderunt Theodor Mommsen/Paulus M. Meyer, Vol. 1/pars 2, Berlin 1905, 902): Si qua in agris templa sunt, sine turba ac tumult diruantur. His enim deiectis atque sublatis omnis superstition material consumetur. 86 Cod. Theod. 16,10,18 (ebd., 902): Aedes inlicitis rebus vacuas nostrarum beneficio sanctionum ne quis conetur evertere. Decernimus enim, ut aedificiorum quidem sit integer status, si quis vero in sacrificio fuerit deprehensus, in eum legibus vindicetur, depositis sub officio idolis disceptatione habita, quibus etiam nunc patuerit cultum vanae superstitionis inpendi.. 87 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 26f. (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 132,11 134,21; Übers 133f. Hübner); Kelly hält diese Passage für vertrauenswürdig: Although doubt has been thrown on large portions of Mark s narrative, there is no reason to suspect the authenticity of this section. (Golden Mouth [wie Anm. 55], 142; wiederholt S. 168) 88 Chrys., ep. 126 (52, 685). 40

41 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Wie Chrysostomus nun im Februar/März 401 seinen Einfluss am Hof nutzte, um die endgültige Schließung des heidnischen Kultzentrums zu veranlassen 89, ist nur durch Marcus Diaconus, Vita Porphyrii bekannt 90. Porphyrius soll zusammen mit dem Metropoliten Johannes von Caesarea (Palästina) nach Konstantinopel gereist sein. Der Weg führte über Rhodos, wo sie den prophetisch begabten Procop trafen. Dieser prophezeite, dass sie die Unterstützung des Hofs gewinnen könnten, wenn Sie Eudoxia die Geburt ihres Sohnes vorhersagten. Sie reisten nach Konstantinopel, zunächst zum Bischof 91. Chrysostomus sah kaum Chancen für eine Eingabe bei Hof. Er delegierte den Fall an den Christen Amantius, einen Eunuchen Eudoxias, der großen Einfluss auf sie hatte. Amantius trug die Prophetie vor. Doch Eudoxia mochte nicht eingreifen. Ihr Mann Arcadius wollte sich die Steuereinnahmen bei den Heiden in Gaza nicht durch Schließung ihrer Tempel verderben 92. Wenige Tage darauf am 10. April 401 gebar Eudoxia ihren Sohn: Theodosius II. 93. Die Prophetie war erfüllt, und die Kaiserin war von der Integrität der beiden reisenden Bischöfe überzeugt. Sie schmiedete neue Pläne. Die Bischöfe sollten ihr Anliegen schriftlich formulieren. Am Tauftag des Kindes (an Epiphanias 402) 94 sollten sie die Schrift dem überreichen, der das Kind trug. Der sollte dann den Kopf des Kindes so bewegen, als würde es bejahend nicken. Auf diese Weise sollte der kleine Theodosius seinen ersten Befehl geben. Und der Vater Arcadius fühlte sich verpflichtet, ihm zu folgen. Eudoxia ließ ein Dekret aufsetzen und von Arcadius unterschreiben. Es regelte die Zerstörung der heidnischen Tempel sowie die Rechte und Einkünfte der Kirche von 89 Vgl. Kelly, Golden Mouth (wie Anm. 55), Freilich beinhaltet die Vita strongly fictional elements (Kelly, Golden Mouth [wie Anm. 55], 168). Dennoch rät er, sie als Quelle für die Chrysostomusvita heranzuziehen: Although scepticism about it has deterred scholars from drawing on its evidence, there can be little doubt that, used with discrimination, it remains a valuable historical source, and that it is astonishingly accurate about contemporary institutions and practices, and in particular recaptures much of the atmosphere and style of the Byzantine court. (168) 91 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 37 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 146,6 28; Übers. 147 Hübner). 92 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 41 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 150, 20 31; Übers. 141 Hübner); Kelly, Golden Mouth (wie Anm. 55), Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 39 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 148,25 33; Übers. 149 Hübner); Kelly, Golden Mouth (wie Anm. 55), Bis dahin mussten Porphyrius und Johannes von Caesarea warten. Sie konnten ohnehin im Herbst nicht über Rhodos zurückreisen: Vom 24. September bis 10. November empfand man die Schifffahrt als gefährlich, vom 11. November bis 10. März wurde gar nicht geschifft; vgl. Kelly, Golden Mouth (wie Anm. 55),

42 Andreas Heiser Gaza und Caesarea. Ein Mann namens Cynegius wurde mit der Durchführung beauftragt. Nach dem Winter brachen die Bischöfe auf. Sie bekamen Geld 95. Porphyrius baute davon eine Kirche, die zu Ehren der Kaiserin Eudoxiana genannt wurde, und eine Fremdenherberge in Gaza 96. Freilich mutet der eigenartigen Trick, der die Mission in Gaza begünstigen sollte, äußerst fiktional an, und wir besitzen keine verlässlichen Daten für die Hauptstadtreise der beiden Bischöfe. John N.D. Kelly sah aber dennoch keinen Grund, das historische Faktum der Intervention der beiden Bischöfe bei Chrysostomus in Frage zu stellen 97. Verlässlich ist zumindest die Zerstörung der Tempel in Palästina, die Privilegien für die dortigen Christen und der Bau der Eudoxiana in Die Schilderung von Arcadius und Eudoxia erscheint nicht überzogen. Und gerade das Verhalten des Chrysostomus wird so dargestellt, wie man es von ihm erwarten würde 99. Das Argument, die von Marcus geschilderte Spannung zwischen Chrysostomus und Eudoxia sei Fiktion, denn Chrysostomus sei doch eben noch in Asien mit der Autorität des Hofes aufgetreten und jetzt in unüberwindbarem Streit mit dem Hof, ist nicht haltbar. Kelly argumentiert mit Eudoxias unstetem und aufbrausendem Temperament, das auch Zosimus bezeugt 100. Zudem mag es bereits zuvor Konflikte zwischen dem censorious bishop und der hot-tempered Augusta gegeben haben 101. b) Neben dieser politischen Komponente hatte die Mission des Chrysostomus eine christlich missionarische Komponente. Diese besteht darin, dass er Missionare nach Gaza aussandte. Es ging eben nicht nur darum, 95 Eudoxia spendete nach Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 53 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 164,18 24; Übers. 165 Hübner) zwei centenaria, zudem 32 Marmorsäulen aus Karystos (ebd., [FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 196,16 19; Übers. 197 Hübner]). 96 Marc. Diac., v. Porph (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 43,21 25; Übers. 153 Hübner) ist die Absicht des Baus der Eudoxia belegt; die Kirche wurde nach fünfjähriger Bauzeit an Ostern 407 eingeweiht (92f. [204,11 206,9; Übers. 205f. Hübner]) berichtet. 97 Kelly, Golden Mouth (wie Anm. 55), Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 92 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 204,11 26; Übers. 205 Hübner); Downey, Gaza (wie Anm. 62), 1131 zur Eudoxiana. 99 Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 37 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 146,6 28; Übers. 147 Hübner). 100 Zos., h.e. 5.24,1f. (Zosime, Histoire nouvelle, Tome 3: 1 re partie, livre 5, texte établi et traduit par François Paschoud, CUFr 307, Paris 1986, 35,26 36,12) bezeugt (Kelly, Golden Mouth [wie Anm. 55], 170). 101 Kelly, Golden Mouth (wie Anm. 55), 171; vgl. Tiersch, Chrysostomus (wie Anm. 40), und Wendy Mayer, Constantinopolitan Women in Chrysostom s Circle, Vigiliae Christianae 53, ( )

43 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission dass Handwerker das Marneion rückbauen sollten, sondern es ging zugleich darum, die Heiden von ihrer falschen Gottesverehrung zum Christentum zu führen 102. Über die weiteren, meist nur Theodoret ausschreibenden, byzantinischen Quellen ist es nicht nötig zu schreiben. Sie verfolgen mit der bunten Schilderung von weiteren Missionsgebieten die Tendenz, die Berechtigung der kirchlichen Vorherrschaft von Konstantinopel im Interesse von Byzanz möglichst weit zurückzudatieren Welche Missionsstrategie verfolgte Chrysostomus? Um die Strategie der Mission zu beschreiben, lassen sich Informationen aus allen geschilderten Missionsgebieten ziehen: Es ist das Verdienst Ivos auf der Maur, gezeigt zu haben, dass Chryostomus beim Personal in der Heidenmission weniger auf den meist verheirateten Weltklerus setzte, sondern vielmehr auf Asketen Marc. Diac., v. Porph. 65 (FC 53 [wie Anm. 56], 176,8 27; Übers. 177 Hübner); Thdt., h.e. 5,29 (GCS Theodoret, 329f. Parmentier); Cassiodor, h. e. trip. 10,4 (CSEL 71, 1952, 588 Hanslik); Symeon, Vita Jo. Chrys. 20 (PG 114, 1096); Nicephorus, h.e. 13,3 (PG 146, 936) spricht von der Aussendung zh/l% qei/% purpoloume/nouj a)/ndraj nach Phönizien. 103 Der wahrscheinlich in die zweite Hälfte des fünften Jahrhunderts zu datierende Pseudo Martyrius von Antiochien weitete die Missionstätigkeit des Chrysostomus in seiner Oratio in funebris in laudem sancti Iohannis Chrysostomi auf Persien aus (Mart. Ant. 25 [Oratio funebris in laudem Sancti Iohannis Chrysostomi. Epitaffio attributo a Martirio di Antiochia (BHG 871, CPG 6517), edizione critica di Martin Wallraff, traduzione di Cristina Ricci, Quaderni della rivista di Bizantinistica 12, Spoleto 2007, 74,32 76,5). Die Angaben von Georg Alexandrinus, Kap. 23 (Tou en hagiois patros hemon Ioannou archiepiskopou Konstantinoupoleos tou Chrysostomou ton heuriskomenon tomos (a h) Di epimeleias kai analomaton Henrikou tou Sabiliou ek palaion antigraphon ekdotheis, Bd. 8, Eton 1613, 189; Mikrofiche-Ausgabe: Munchen u.a. 1993) beruhten auf Theodoret. Er ergänzte, dass Chrysostomus von Kukusus aus ganz Armenien zum Christentum bekehrt und die Übersetzung des Neuen Testament und der Psalmen ins Armenische veranlasst (Kap. 59 [Savile 8, 235f.]); Leo Imperator, Kap. 13 (8, 276 Savile) schrieb den Alexandrinus ab, ebenso der um die Mitte des zehnten Jahrhunderts schreibende Anonymus, Kap (8, 320ff. Savile). Er ergänzte genaue Angaben der Städte und Völker, die Chrysostomus missioniert habe: Tyrus und Sidon, Beryt, Heliopolis und Damaskus, Emesa und Cyzikus, dazu die Perser, Iberer, Alanen und Abasgen. Und nicht zuletzt hat Simeon Metaphrastes, Kap. 18 am (8, 390f. Savile) am Ende des zehnten Jahrhunderts Georg Alexandrinus abgeschrieben und um Missionsgebiete erweitert, die historisch nicht verlässlich sind; vgl. Baur, Chrysostomus (wie Anm. 45), Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), mit Anmerkungen. 43

44 Andreas Heiser Für die Goten forderte er von Leontius von Ancyra Männer, die von Eifer für die apostolische Philosophie beseelt waren. 105 Und gerade der Begriff apostolische Philosophie hat bei Theodoret eine stark asketische Färbung und entspricht der radikalen Entsagung 106. Die Freiheit der Asketen von sozialer Bindung 107 und auch die günstigen Kosten prädestinierten sie für den Missionsdienst, gerade bei den in Zelten wohnenden Nomaden. Wir wissen nicht, wie weit sich das Missionsgebiet erstreckte, von der unteren Donau bis vielleicht zur Krim, sicher ist nur, dass es mehr Missionare brauchte, als diejenigen, die uns namentlich bekannt sind. Ihre Arbeit war erfolgreich. Dafür spricht, dass schnell einheimische Diakone, wie Unilas und Moduarius, die zuvor möglicherweise in der Gotenkirche in Konstantinopel gearbeitet hatten, eingesetzt werden konnten 108. Dass Chrysostomus in der Mission maßgeblich auf Asketen setzt, sieht man auch bei der Mission in Phönizien. Diejenigen, die Chrysostomus dem Bischof Porphyrius zur Hilfe bei der Zerstörung der Tempel nach Gaza sandte, waren Asketen. Sie heißen bei Theodoret vom göttlichen Eifer glühende Asketen 109. Namentlich bekannt sind Constantius 110, der Leiter des Missionsunternehmens, und Gerontius 111 sowie ein Priester na- 105 Thdt., h.e. 5,31,1 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 331,1 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,32 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 314 Seider): a)/ndraj th\n a)postolikh\n filosofi/aj e)zhlwko/taj; Heiss, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 20), 16 und Zeiller, origenes (wie Anm. 54), 546f. sind in der Bestimmung der Gruppe noch unentschieden. 106 Vgl. Thdt., h.e. 4,28,1 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 268,7f. Parmentier/Hansen); 4,28 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 254 Seider); 5,34,9 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 336,7 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,36 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 318 Seider): oi( tw=n th\n a)skhtikh\n filosofi/an h)gaphko/twn; s.a. 5,35,3 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 337,16f. Parmentier/Hansen); 5,37 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 319 Seider) 107 Vgl. Daniel Caner, Wandering, Begging Monks. Spiritual Authority and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity, Berkeley 2002, ; Heiser, Paulusinszenierung (wie Anm. 11), f Vgl. Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), Thdt. h.e. 5,29,1 5,34,9 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 330,1 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,30 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 313 Seider): a)skhta\j zh/l% qei/% purpoloume/nouj. 110 Ep. 221 an Konstantius (PG 52, 732f.; Übers. in Teilen Auf der Maur, Mönchtum [wie Anm. 2] 51f.). Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 133 unterschied diesen Constantius von dem Empfänger der ep. 225 (52, 735f.), dem Chrysostomus aus Kukusus vorwarf, er habe noch nie geschrieben. 111 Ep. 54 an Gerontius (52, 638f.; Übers. Auf der Maur, Mönchtum [wie Anm. 2], 53). Er sollte eigentlich in Phönizien sein, war aber wegen der Unruhen in 405 geflüchtet und daher per Brief nicht zu erreichen; der Brief begründet deutlich den Nutzen der Mis- 44

45 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission mens Johannes 112. Auch in Phönizien arbeiteten freilich mehr Missionare, als uns namentlich bekannt sind. Denn weitere hatte der Presbyter Nikolaus abgesandt 113. Und nicht zuletzt hatte Chrysostomus selbst in Nicaea einen Reklusen überzeugt, nach Phönikien zu gehen 114. Ferner richtete sich Rundschreiben aus den Jahren 404/405 an eine namenlose Gruppe von Missionaren 115. In Phönikien waren Missionare verletzt und getötet worden und etliche waren zurück in die Einsamkeit geflohen. Chrysostomus ermahnte sie zur Standhaftigkeit. Zudem bat er die Priester Symeon und Maris in Apamea, weitere Missionare zur Unterstützung nach Phönizien zu senden 116. sion gegenüber dem Daheimbleiben (Heiss, Mönchtum [wie Anm. 20], 20; Auf der Maur, Mönchtum [wie Anm. 2], 133). 112 Er war von Apamea aus nach Phönizien gereist. ep. 55 (52, 639f.; Übers. in Teilen Auf der Maur, Mönchtum [wie Anm. 2], 54); weiter identifizieren lässt er sich nicht; vgl. Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 132f. 113 Ep. 53 (52, 637f.); Nikolaus machte gute Arbeit und hatte schon früher Mönche nach Phönizien geschickt (Monaxou\j e)/pemyaj). Jetzt in schwieriger Situation wurde ihm befohlen, zu bleiben. Was dort vorgefallen ist, wird wieder nur als ta\ pra/gmata bezeichnet. Nikolaus wurde aufgefordert, den Priester Johannes und einen eben erst genesenden Priester namens Gerontius nach Phönizien zu schicken. Denn ich weiß nur zu gut, dass du nicht aufhörst, alles zu tun und in die Wege zu leiten, um Phönizien mit tapferen Männern zu füllen. (52, 638); Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 133 vermutete sogar, dass Nikolaus eventuell Klostervorsteher gewesen sei, da er mehr als einmal Asketen in die Mission sandte und ihnen auch später Befehle gegeben habe. 114 Ep. 221 (52, 733). 115 Ep. 123 (52, ); Chrysostomus erwähnte von Kukusus aus die Fortschritte, die die Mission gemacht habe. Nachdem ihr einen so großen Teil der Gottlosigkeit aufgelöst habt (52, 677) und die Angelegenheiten in Phönizien zu einem Fortschritt prokoph/ kamen (52, 677). Chrysostomus verglich sich mit Paulus: er erduldete qli/yij und perista/ sij in der Einöde. Sodann wurden die Peristasen der Apostel und des Paulus als Vorbild inszeniert (52, 677f.). Ebenso wurde der Presbyter Constantius als Vorbild dargestellt (677). Ein weiterer Presbyter namens Johannes (678) sollte gesandt werden. Der Brief zeugt vom Austausch in beide Richtungen: Kukusus nach Phönizien und umgekehrt; so auch Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), Ep. 55 (52, 639f.; Übers. in Teilen Auf der Maur, Mönchtum [wie Anm. 2], 54) an Simeon und Maris. Beide sind Priester aus Apamea, die Chrysostomus noch aus seiner Zeit in Antiochien kannte; vgl. Heiss, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 20), 18f. Simeon ist auch durch Thdt., h.r. 3 (PG 82, 1325; Des Bischofs Theodoret von Cyrus Mönchsgeschichte, aus dem Griechischen übersetzt v. Konstantin Gutberlet, BKV 50, München 1926, 51) bekannt; vgl. Stephan Schiwietz, Das morgenländische Mönchtum, Bd. 3: Das Mönchtum in Syrien und Mesopotamien und das Aszetentum in Persien, Mödling bei Wien 1938, 229f. 45

46 Andreas Heiser Hier kommt hinzu, dass in Phönizien auch Personen, die in kirchlichem Dienst standen, missionierten. Das trifft auf Basilius 117, Aphraates 118 und Rufinus 119 zu. Zu solcher Außenmission in ferne Gebiete wurden jedoch nie Laien aufgefordert. Chrysostomus sah sie für die Christianisierung der Städte und Dörfer in der Heimat vor 120. Schon diese Auswahl des Personals zeigt, dass Chrysostomus weniger selbst Heidenmissionar war als vielmehr Organisator von Mission. Seine Organisation bestand darin, dass er Aufträge an geeignete Personen delegierte 121. Dazu schrieb er Briefe an Einzelpersonen, Rundschreiben an Gruppen und instruierte Boten, wie den Priester Theodul 122. Das erhaltene Briefwerk spiegelt jedoch weniger die Korrespondenz zwischen Chrysostomus und den Missionaren vor Ort 123, sondern mit den örtlichen Leitern, die er mit der oi)konomi/a 124 betraute. So beauftragte er beispielswiese die Priester Rufinus und Johannes und Nikolaus in 405 als Visitatoren die Missionsarbeit in Phönizien zu begutachten 125. Um die Leitung der Mission effizient umsetzen zu können, brauchte Chrysostosmus laufend aktuelle Informationen aus den Missionsgebieten. 117 Ep. 28 (52, 627). 118 Ep. 50f. (52, 636f.). 119 Nach ep. 126 (52, ) war Rufinus Presbyter; vgl. Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), Belege bei Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 134 f. Anm Pseudo Martyrius von Antiochien beschreibt diese Methode. Chrysostomus habe in Persien und im Land der Goten Gemeinden gepflanzt, indem er Diakonen dazu gebrauchte, die ihm die Gnade des Geistes an die Hand gab: Wsper de\ ou)de\ th=j oi)koume/nhj a(pa/shj th=j kaq ) u(ma=j a)rkou/menoj t$= e)pistasi/#, kai\ e)pi\ th\n tw=n barba/ rwn die/baine, kai\ nu=n me\n e)n Persi/di, nu=n de\ e)n t$= tw=n Go/qen g$= katefu/ teusen e)kklhsi/aj diako/noij pro\j tou=to xrw/menoj, oi(=j a)\n au)t%= tou= pneu/ matoj u(pe/ballen h( xa/rij. (Quaderni della rivista di Bizantinistica 12, Spoleto 2007, 74,32 76,5 Wallraff/Ricci) 122 Vgl. Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), 135; Kelly bewunderte das Organisationstalent des Chrysostomus: With all these local preoccupations it seems remarkable that he found time and energy to organise campaigns, outside Constantinople and in areas remote from its jurisdiction, both to eradicate the lingering remains of paganism and near-pagan heresy, and to promote missionary work among barbarians. (Kelly, Golden Mouth [wie Anm. 55], 142) 123 Eine Ausnahme bilden die Rundschrieben an alle Missionare wie ep. 123 (52, ) an die Missionare in Phönizien. 124 Ep. 221, (52, 732f.). 125 diorqwsome/nwn in ep. 126 (52, ); ferner Nikolaus in ep. 53 (52, 637f.). 46

47 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission So forderte er den Leiter der Phönizienmission auf: Schreibe uns nun, wie viele Kirchen pro Jahr gegründet worden sind, und wie viele heilige Männer nach Phönizien gegangen sind und ob irgendein größerer Fortschritt zu verzeichnen ist. 126 Und auch von Rufinus forderte er präzise Angaben über den Fortschritt, die möglichen Hindernisse und den Stand bzw. den Bedarf an Personal 127. Die Werbung neuer Mitarbeiter, die wie Gerontius auch zeitlich befristet arbeiteten, delegierte er ebenfalls an seine Bereichsleiter vor Ort 128. Über die Ausbildung und Qualifikation der Missionare erfahren wir wenig. Jedenfalls ist die von Paul Andres vorgebrachte Vermutung, Chrysostomus habe in Antiochien eine Ausbildungsstätte eigens für den Missionsdienst gegründet und betrieben, nicht haltbar 129. Auch wenn die ausgesandten Asketen recht wenig finanzielle Mittel bedurften, so brauchten die missionarischen Unternehmungen doch finanzielle und ideelle Förderung. Chrysostomus hatte dazu einen Freundeskreis etabliert. Aus Konstantinopel förderten Olympias, der Diakon Theodul, die Priester Constantius und Helladius, die Bischöfe Cyriacus und Hilarius seine Missionsarbeit 130. In Antiochien kontaktierte er häufiger die Priester Castus, Valerius, Diophantes und Cyriacus, etwa mit dem Anliegen Constantius in der Phönizienmission zu fördern 131. Was die Finanzierung der unterschiedlichen Projekte anging, so hat Chrysostomus sowohl staatliche Förderung als auch private Mittel aus dem 126 Ep. 221 (52, 753). 127 Ep. 126 (52, ). 128 e)kpe/mpw in ep. 54 (52, 638f.); ep. 53 (52, 637f.). 129 Andres, Missionsgedanke (wie Anm. 22), 7; die Gründung hätte vor 398 erfolgt sein müssen, da ein späterer Aufenthalt des Chrysostomus in Antiochien nicht bezeugt ist. Zudem fehlt jede äußere Bezeugung einer solchen Schule. Wahrscheinlich hat jedoch Constantius von Antiochien aus gearbeitet. 130 Ep. 221 (52, 753); ep. 13, (52, 611); ep. 14,5 = 9,5 ad Olympiam (Jean Chrysostome, Lettres à Olympias, augmentée de la Vie anonyme d Olympias, introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par Anne-Marie Malingrey, SC 13 bis, Paris 1968, 236,1 240,54); ep. 206 (52, 726). 131 Ep. 62 (52, 643); ep. 66 (52, 644f.) sowie epp. 22 (52, 624f.); 107 (52, ); 130 (52, 689f.); 22 (52, 733f.); 239 (52, 740f.); 240 (52, 746); zu Diophantes und Cyriacus s. Pall., Dial. 16 (Pallade, Dialogue sur la vie de Jean Chrysostome, introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par Anne-Marie Malingrey, pars 1, SC 341, Paris 1988, 310,90 312,109; Das Leben des heiligen Johannes Chrysostomus, hg. und übersetzt v. Lothar Schläpfer, Heilige der ungeteilten Christenheit, dargestellt von den Zeugen ihres Lebens, hg. v. Walter Nigg/ Wilhelm Schamoni, Düsseldorf 1966, 164). 47

48 Andreas Heiser Kreis seiner Förderer in Anspruch genommen 132. Die kirchlichen Mittel, die Chrysostomus Aphraates zukommen lassen wollte, sandte dieser zurück, indem er angab, sie seien in Phönizien besser zu gebrauchen 133. Ebenfalls zur besseren Organisation der Projekte, ließ Chrysostomus Missionsstationen errichten. Verlässlich belegt ist, dass er auf dem Feld des Promotus ein Kloster für Goten und Marsen gründete. Sie standen in regen Beziehungen zu diesem Missionsland 134. Dass bei aller organisatorischen Umsicht, Mission in den Augen des Chrysostomus eine geistliche Angelegenheit war, zeigen die zahlreichen Aufforderungen, für die Mission zu beten. Das Gebet betrachtet Chrysostomus als das eigentliche Mittel, mit dem der Diakon Theodulus gegen die Schwierigkeiten in der Gotenmission angehen kann 135. Und als die Auseinandersetzung mit den Heiden in Phönizien stärker wurde, riet er dem Presbyter Rufin, dass die Gegner nur durch Gebet zu besiegen seien 136. Nicht zuletzt zeigt ein Schreiben an den Organisator der Phönizienmission, Constantius, dass Chrysostomus gerade dem Gebet der Asketen eine große Kraft beimaß, weil sie in einem besonderen Verhältnis zu Gott (parrhsi/a) standen Thdt., h.e. 29 (GCS Theodoret [wie Anm. 19], 329,19 330,8 Parmentier/Hansen); 5,30 (BKV 51, 1926 [wie Anm. 19], 313 Seider) berichtet von der staatlichen Förderung der heidnischen Tempelzerstörung in Gaza. Ep. 14,5 = 9,5 ad Olympiam (SC 13 bis, 1968 [wie Anm. 130], 238,36 240,54 Malingrey) und ep. 126 (52, 686) belegen den Rückgriff auf private Fördermittel. 133 Ep. 50 (52, 636); 51 (52, 636f.); 144 (52, 697f.). 134 Ep. 207 (52, 726f.); ansonsten ergeht sich der Brief in Topoi: Peristasen und Standhaftigkeit und apostolischer Lohn. Dennoch scheint irgendein Vorkommenis vorzuliegen, das Chrysostomus nur mit to\ pra/gma, beschreibt, für dessen Aufhebung er sich eingesetzt habe, damit kein qo/rubon eingetreten sei. Auch ep. 14,5 = 9,5 ad Olympiam (SC 13 bis, 1968 [wie Anm. 130], 236,14 238,21) zeugt von der engen Verbindung. 135 Ep. 206 (52, 726). Vor allem Gebet soll das vorliegende Übel bekämpfen, damit nicht taraxa/j und qoru/bouj entstehen. Wieder ist der Konflikt unbestimmt. Theodulos sollte alles tun, damit t%= pra/gmati aufgehoben werden. 136 Ep. 126 (52, ) Chrysostomus hatte von erneutem Übel in Phönizien gehört. Der Wahnsinn der Hellenen sei gewachsen. Viele Missionare seien geschlagen, teils sogar getötet worden. 137 Ep. 221 (52, 732f.); G.J.M. Bartelink, Parrhesia dans les oeuvres de Jean Chrysostome, StPatr 16, 1985, und ders., Die Parrhesia des Menschen vor Gott bei Johannes Chrysostomus, VigChr 51, 1997, stellte das umfassende semantische Spektrum von parrhsi/a bei Chrysostomus dar. Hier ist der besondere Zugang zu Gott, den der 48

49 Johannes Chrysostomus und die (Heiden-)Mission Zu einem gewissen Abschluss kommt die Heidenmission durch den Bau einer Kirche vor Ort 138. Chrysostomus lag viel an der baulichen Repräsentation des Christentums. Dafür erbettelte er Geld, darum trieb er seine Bereichsleiter zur Bautätigkeit an 139. Im Kirchengebäude wurde unterrichtet, dort sammelten sich die Leute zum Gebet vor Beginn des Arbeitstags, da trat der Priester vor Gott hin und opferte 140. Und erst mit der Installation eines einheimischen Klerus sah Chrysostomus seinen Missionsauftrag als abgeschlossen an 141. Schluss Wenn wir abschließend versuchen, zugegeben thesenartig die Heidenmission des Chrysostomus als Impuls für christliche Mission zu verstehen, dann bin ich mir darüber im Klaren, dass hier 1600 Jahre Missionsgeschichte nicht einlinig zu überbrücken sind. Dennoch stehen missionarische Unternehmungen heute unter den gleichen theologischen Voraussetzungen wie damals. Mission geschieht in einer bereits versöhnten Welt. Es ist darum im Anschluss an Chrysostomus auch heute theologisch notwendig, die Rolle des Geistes in der Mission zu betonen. Der Geist erinnert an die in Christus geschehene Versöhnung der Menschen mit dem Vater. Er führt Menschen zum Glauben an den drei-einen Gott und in die Gemeinschaft seiner Kinder. Wie im ausgehenden vierten Jahrhundert arbeiten Missionare heute an den Bedingungen, dass Menschen für die Verkündigung des Evangeliums und das Wirken des Geistes empfänglich werden. Mission zielte auch bei Chrysostomus auf ein verstehendes Einwilligen in die Versöhnung mit Asket wie herausragende biblische Gestalten (das Urmenschenpaar, Mose u.a.) hat, gemeint; s. dazu vgl. Heiser, Paulusinszenierung (wie Anm. 11), f Auf der Maur, Mönchtum (wie Anm. 2), Ep. 221 (52, 732f.) ermahnte Constanius zum Bau von Kirchen ; Rufinus wurde angetrieben, damit die Dacharbeiten der Kirchen noch vor dem Winter fertiggestellt würden (ep. 126 [52, 687]). Gerontius wurden Mittel zum Kirchenbau in Aussicht gestellt (ep. 54 [52, 639]). 140 Vgl. Hom. in Ac. 18,4f. (60, 147f.). 141 Die beiden Priester Unilas und Moduarius waren gotischer Abstammung. In hom. in Mt. 8,1 (57, 83f.) zeigte Chrysostomus am Beispiel der Weisen aus dem Morgenland wie sie als einheimische Missionare im persischen Gebiet arbeiteten. Niemand soll glauben, dass es eine Schande für die Kirche ist, dass wir Barbaren darauf vorbereiten, öffentlich aufzutreten und zu sprechen. Das ist der Schmuck und die Zierde der Kirche, das ist der Beweis für die Kraft, die im Glauben steckt. (Hom. habita postquam presbyter Gothus 1 = Undecim novae homiliae 9 1 [63, 501]). 49

50 Andreas Heiser Gott 142. Das zeigt sich an dem für damalige Zeiten sehr modernen Konzept der Liturgie und Predigt in Landessprache. Es setze sich durch in der syrischen, armenischen, koptischen, georgischen und auch rumänischen orthodoxen Kirche. Das Ziel der Mission ist, eine den Menschen vor Ort angemessene Form von christlicher Kirche auszubilden, mit eigenen Gebäuden, eigenem Klerus und eigener Liturgie. Die genuin asketische Ausformung der chrysostomischen Vorstellung vom Christentum könnte heute zu einer schärferen Konturierung der Inhalte des Christentums anleiten. Die Gebiete der Heidenmission sind bei Chrysostomus relativ beschränkt. Hier bietet das 21. Jahrhundert in einer globalisierten Welt vor weiteren geografischen und kommunikativen Herausforderungen 143. Chrysostomus organisierte Missionare, er informierte sich laufend über deren Arbeit, er etabliert ein System des fundraising, indem er einen Kreis von Freunden und Förderer für die Heidenmission interessiert. Auch wenn unsere Quellen nur einen überschaubaren Kreis von Mitarbeitern namentlich nennen und Chrysostomus für die Außenmission auf einen Kreis von asketischen Spezialisten setzt, macht er doch klar: Mission ist Sache der Kirche als ganzer 144. Ein letztes: Chrysostomus saß in Gefangenschaft, während er den Großteil seiner Missionsarbeit organisierte. In seiner eigenen Beschränkung ist das Gebet, der Geist möge an die Versöhnung des Menschen erinnern und Glauben wecken, wo immer das Evangelium verkündigt wird, das wirksame Mittel. 142 Freilich müssen auch die Unterschiede betont werden: Die Orthodoxie teilt nicht das augustinische Menschenbild, noch die im Westen einflusseiche Erlösungslehre des Anselm von Canterbury, noch die philosophisch-theologische Methodik des Thomas von Aquin; vgl. James J. Stamoolis, Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today, American Society of Missiology Series 10, Maryknoll, NY Vgl. z.b. Michael J. Oleska, Orthodox Alaska Orthodox Alaska. A Theology of Mission, Crestwood, NY 1992 oder Hans-Dieter Döpmann, Die orthodoxen Kirchen in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Trierer Abhandlungen zur Slavistik 9, Frankfurt a.m. 2010, 260f. 144 So heute: Ross Langmead, The Word Made Flesh. Towards an Incarnational Missiology, Lanham 2004, 7. 50

51 The kenotic dimension of the Christian mission Revd. Prof. PhD Valer Bel 1. Synthesis of mission theology 1 The Christian mission is sending the Church in the world towards universal spread of the Gospel and integration of men in to the Kingdom of God, founded by Jesus Christ`s work of redemption, initiated as anticipation of it in the Church through Pentecost, a kingdom that will be manifested in its fullness at the second coming of Christ in His glory. The Christian mission has its deep foundation and the starting point in eternal communion of Holy Trinity itself, in the movement of Father s love towards the Son in Holy Spirit and towards entire world. In this way the mission means participation at the sending of the Son (John 20, 21-23) and of the Holy Spirit (John 14, 26) into the world, which reveals the life of communion of God for making partakers of it. Sending of the Son and of the Holy Spirit for the redemption and perfection of the whole world becomes permanent in sending of the apostles (John 20, 21-23; Matthew 28, 18-20) and the apostolic Church. Therefore, the mission is part of God s plan for redemption of the world itself. It is based on the universality of redemption and perfection in Christ and participation at the sending of Christ into the world. Missionary vocation of the Church consists in its apostolic character. Christian Church is an apostolic one not only because it avails itself of an apostolic origin, namely of the historical continuity from the time of the 1 You can see also: Valer Bel, The mission of Church in contemporary world, second edition, Renaşterea Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2010 and Synthesis of orthodox Christian mission theology and practice, in: Orthodox Theology in 20 th century an at the beginning of 21 st century, coord. Viorel Ioniţă, Basilica Publishing House of the The Romanian Patriarchate, Bucharest, 2011, p

52 Revd. Prof. PhD Valer Bel Apostles, possessing institutions and apostolic ministry, without which it cannot identify itself, but also because it has a messianic reference, as Son was sent by the Father, and the apostles by Christ (John 20, 21-22, Matthew 10, 5-40, 28, 18-20). The mission is, therefore, an aspect and an essential component of the Church. The church is in a continuously state of mission. It cannot cease to be a missionary Church. If, visibly, the Church was founded as a concrete historical community in which it is realized the communion of God with men or as the sacrament of the Kingdom of God, through the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, other people partake at the redemption offered by God in Christ through the missionary activity of Church, in which becomes permanent the sending of Christ into the world. As an act of the will and the redemption work of God, the Christian mission is the activity that unifies the work of God and man, in proportion to each one potentiality, activity through which God awakens and calls the fallen creation to redemption and its perfection in Christ. In this regard, the Christian mission is a part of God s plan of redemption and perfection of the world and so it constitutes that part which is realized in history by the Church through its members. Christian mission is a redemption call addressed the people outside the Church and aims towards liturgical and philokalic transformation of the human existence in the Church; transposing it into a liturgical-sacramental, baptismal-eucharistic and paschal rhythm; change and renewal of man and world in active expectancy of the last renewal in the Kingdom of God, a foretaste of which we have now in the Church. Fulfilling the mission has a triple actuality: liturgical-sacramental, mystical-ascetical and communal-social. It identifies with the authentically communication of life, holiness, love and supreme unity existing in the Holy Trinity, the ultimate foundation of existence and the model par excellence of the Church s life. The role of mission differs depending on the stages that we must go through to attain redemption and perfection. If the mission is part of God s plan for redemption of the world that began with the Incarnation of his Son, it does not mean that the mission has exclusive action in that it leads to redemption. For it is God who calls, leads and offers redemption. But the mission of the Church is the work that God uses to call and lead people to redemption and perfection in Christ. 52

53 The kenotic dimension of the Christian mission From these brief theological considerations arises with clear evidence the role, the necessity and the crucial importance of Christian mission for the Church. Essential coordinates of the Christian mission, as revealed in the great mission commandment from the end of the Gospel according to Matthew (28, 19-20), are: the evangelism: go therefore, and teach all nations, the sacramental incorporation into the ecclesiastical body of Christ, in which we participate at the life of communion of the Holy Trinity: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and the urge to persevere in the true faith (1 Timothy 1, 10), in holiness, testimony and service: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. The mission of the apostles and the apostolic Church is essentially related to the sending of the Son and of the Holy Spirit into the world by the Father and also to the mission of the Son and of the Holy Spirit for the life of the world. The purpose of sending and mission of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit into the world, which is perpetuated by the mission of the Apostles and the Church, is revealed in its cosmic and ecclesiological dimensions by the Saint Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Ephesians, which consists of: recapitulation and union of all creation in the body of Christ - the Church through the unity of the faith, the holy sacraments, and the increasing in the life of Christ. In the mission of the apostolic Church becomes permanent the sending or the mission of Christ. Therefore, He gave some to be, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4, 11-13). This Pauline mission program, which is nothing but development for mission and pastoral needs of theology outlined in Acts regarding Pentecost and the foundation of the Church, was and is applicable for all times and against all forms of individualism and sectarianism. Unity of humanity and all creation in the same faith in the Holy Trinity, in the same baptism and the same Eucharist, in the same body of Christ and the growth in perfection in the eschatological horizon of the Kingdom of God constitutes the fundamental coordinates for the Church s mission. From the beginning, the mission of the Church has assumed these two important directions: the mission ad extra, or external, the preaching of 53

54 Revd. Prof. PhD Valer Bel Gospel towards conversion of nations and the mission ad intra, or internal, through which the Church is concerned regarding the baptized ones, organizing the internal, liturgical and social life of Christian community. In this way, the Church appears from its beginnings as a Eucharistic community -already redeemed people of God who gathers to commemorate the deeds of God from the history of redemption and lives a new life in the Holy Spirit- but also as a missionary apostolic community that is aware of its special reference among unbelievers. Early Church history is a worthy of imitation testimony in this regard. Consequently, by specifying more concrete, we can distinguish several aspects regarding the missionary activity of the Church, aspects that are strongly linked and interrelated. Those are: evangelism which means direct and public proclamation of the Gospel, declaring through word and action the plan or dispensation of God which He has towards the world and that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ; testimony (or martyria) which constitutes in serving the Gospel through word and action, through the way of life lived in the spirit of the Gospel of Christ - as the Gospel message means more than simply proclaiming the word, it includes the entire life of the Church in the Holy Spirit; and diakonia which embraces the solidarity of the Church with all people, especially the poor, the needy and suffering, in their struggle for the common good, for transforming society. Evangelism, the Christian testimony and diakonia are inextricably linked because the Church is at the service of all trying to establish the spirit of the Gospel of Christ among men, in other words, an order of peace, justice and freedom. The mission is inseparable from the pastoral work, namely the building of the Church (Ephesians 4, 11-15). The pastoral work (from pasco, -ere = feed) refers to the action of sustaining life with food, providing spiritual food. Jesus Christ calls Himself the Good Shepherd for He gives His life for the sheep (John 10, 11) in two ways: devotion towards the sheep with which He is intimately united (14-15) and sacrifice of His life for them. He truly gives His life, not forced by anyone, but of His own will, in absolute obedience to the Father (17-18). In this is fulfilled His activity as a Shepherd. Through His Sacrifice and Resurrection, Jesus Christ as the Shepherd gives life, communion and love. So the priest is shepherd in his authority of celebrating the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, that revives the act in which Christ gave Himself for the life of the world. It is pastoral work what the priest does when he celebrates the Holy Sacraments, the nourishment of 54

55 The kenotic dimension of the Christian mission the Church, and when he fulfills his spiritual guiding activity that rises from the self-sacrificing devotion to his mission. 2. Kenotic nature of Christian mission The work of redemption has its Trinitarian character, but it involves a well defined Christological dimension and not a Christomonistic one. That is why the mission of the Son and its fulfillment represents the foundation and model of any authentic Christian mission, which is and must be mission in Christ s pattern. The key feature of the Son`s mission is its kenotic character, from perfect love of God and people, emphasized by the Apostle Paul: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name (Philippians 2, 7-9). Jesus was born among a poor and oppressed people, not in one who ruled over other nations. Even more, in this nation He preferred the modest family of a carpenter and not a noble, rich or scholar one. He lived among the people of the land where He was born. Not as a stranger among strangers, but as the one who approached at maximum intimacy with us. He lived among the people, He spoke their language and He was happy and sad as them. At the age of thirty (Luke 3, 23) Jesus left His anonymous life from Nazareth of Galilee and comes to Jerusalem where allows to be baptized by John the Baptist with the baptism of repentance (Matthew 1, 4) although He did not need it because, not being part of the law of Moses, was not a binding duty for Jews, and moreover Jesus had neither original sin (John 1, 13) nor personal ones (John 8, 46; 2 Corinthians 5, 21; 1 John 3, 5). Baptized by John, Jesus willingly takes upon Himself the sins of mankind, so that, through His culminated on sacrifice of the Cross obedience and perfect love for the Father, to liberate us from the chains of sin and death and to restore eternal life in communion with God. This is testified by John the Baptist when he says: Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world (John 1, 29; 3, 16-17, Matthew 20, 28). Then retreats into the wilderness of Judaean Desert where He prepares Himself in fasting and prayer, meanwhile being tempted by the devil. Jesus was always tempted during His life (Luke 22, 28). He rejected the enticement of Apostle Peter when he was acting on Satan`s behalf trying to divert Him from his mission to be the Messiah who suffers 55

56 Revd. Prof. PhD Valer Bel (Luke 16, 21-23). Through the story of the temptation of Jesus it is showed for what kind of Messiah He decided at the very beginning of His work. Jesus was faced with the alternative of choice to be either the Messiah in His contemporary vision or the Messiah of God. His contemporaries were expecting a glorious Messiah, who brings in bread for Him and for his people, who fulfills shallow and miraculous the desires of masses (Psalm 90, 11 to 13), who subdues the kingdoms of the world and provides for His people global control. This image of the Messiah is nothing but the devil offer. God requires of Jesus fulfilling His will, even in suffering and death, through the ministry of life sacrifice through which opens the world to God s rule, already announced in the Law (Deuteronomy 8, 3; 6, 16; 32, 43). In His complete intimacy with the people, Jesus passes beyond social and moral established boundaries. He approached the poor not only to help but to be with them; to eat the poor`s bread with the poor, to enter into communion with them and thus to recognize and restore their identity and dignity of images of God. Because He transcended predetermined borders and by His presence in their midst made alive nearness of the Kingdom of God, Jesus` incarnation brought deliverance and redemption. The Savior Jesus Christ reverses the established forms of authority, wisdom, glory, piety and success, the principles and traditional values and reveals that the living center of all is God-Love. Through this, He reveals that God does not forget the poor and the suffering ones and the promises from the Old Testament were fulfilled; He reveals that God sees the rights of the poor, the widows and the sick and that He is their upholder (Psalm 146, Amos, Isaiah and so on). Through His ultimate intimacy with all men, Jesus showed that love is not a theoretic and vague principle, but a communion of Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is love because it is the eternal Trinity, a communion of living, equal and distinct Persons. Incarnate Son reveals that communion of love (koinonia agapês) into the world. In this regard, He is not only the one who invites but also the path: No man come unto the Father, but by me (John 14, 6). Closely related to love are liberty, justice, liberation and brotherhood of all mankind in the truth, the harmony, the joy and the fullness of life in communion with God and with others. Jesus did not make a vague and philosophical speech about these values, but he revealed them in power, through clear signs and word, but above all through His life itself. 56

57 The kenotic dimension of the Christian mission Among the many surprises called forth by Jesus Christ is also the fact that He identifies Himself with the most simple and humble people. Of them He chose disciples and apostles. And in His well-known speech about last judgment He identifies Himself utterly with the despised, infirm, poor, strangers and needy ones from around the world. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25, 40), He says, having all nations gathered before Him (Matthew 25, 31-46). Jesus has never left out those materially rich, but took care of all, poor and rich, to be together at the table (as in Proverbs 22, 2), in communion. One of the fundamental principles of Jesus life is continuous transcendence, towards people, of the boundaries established by law, moral, social differences and religion. Jesus interprets the Mosaic law taking into account the man and his communion with God and with others. The law is given for people; also, from people`s perspective are interpreted the regulations and common points of view regarding clean and unclean, the Sabbath (Mark 2, 27-28, Mark 7, 15-16). Although, regarding the mission, to conclude from all this aspects that Jesus was interested only on humanization of man means to wrongly understand intention and the path of Christ the Savior. On the contrary, for Jesus Christ is undoubtedly that those who seek something in life for that something itself, even if that thing is life, they will lose it: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it (Matthew 16, 25; Matthew 10, 39). Jesus not only wants confirmation of what He is, of status quo, but He aims for human ascension towards its fulfillment and perfection in communion of life and love with God and with others. Therefore, in the same way, Jesus` cause is wrongly understood when in the mission activity someone does not act for freedom, dignity and human perfection (whether for racial, nationalist, civilization, religious or social reasons). The mission is intended to restore man, to regain his estranged from God and himself life. This means that Christian mission brings in human life change, transformation, orientation towards life that comes from God. Mission aims for the liberation of man based on the exultation brought by the One who comes. That is why whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel s, the same shall save it (Mark 8, 35, Luke 17, 33). The life of Jesus is lived and His death accepted with a conscience and a pure will to be a life and death for us, humans, and for our communion with 57

58 Revd. Prof. PhD Valer Bel God. 2 He humbled more than all; walking with publicans and sinners, the oppressed and mocked ones from society, but He was not diverted aside from perfect love, not envied, not murmured, although He reproved the wicked ones, the hypocritical on the sly ones, the cunning ones, the violently ones but without closing on them the way to salvation, the way to return to true humanity. 3 He prayed for all even for those who crucified Him, bringing comfort and healing to all. Only in the perfect humility and purity of intentions and deeds of Jesus as a man it could have been showed the greatness of His divinity. Only in this humility, purity, god-heartedness, that could not have been reached by any of us, could He firmly announce His deity so as not to appear as a haughty claim or the imagination of a person with no sense of reality. 4 The originality of Jesus consists in living the life and enduring the death uniformly and perfectly for God and for people. 5 The whole existence of Jesus before death, in death, after the resurrection, is marked by the communication of God`s full love towards us, but also of our love towards God, so that under His love rain that as God He showed towards us and under the power of His love that as man He showed towards God, to germinate and grow into us the love towards God, as a sign of salvation condition began into us through the love of God. 6 From the mission of the Son arises the mission of the Son`s missionaries; it is participation at the mission of the Son (John 13, 8), a mission carried out by the missionaries of the Son in communion with the Son. The mission of the disciples, as participation at the mission of the Son, consists in acts and words which are acts and words of God (see John 14, 10-13; Luke 10, 16). Therefore, authentic Christian mission, according to the mission model of the Son, has par excellence a kenotic character: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3, 16-17). The kenotic character of the mission must be manifested in external and internal mission as in the coordination and all aspects of the mission. If love for God and people is the reason of mission, it is also the absolute criteri- 2 Dumitru Stăniloae, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, Volume 2, Biblical and Mission Establishment of Romanian Orthodox Church Publishing House, Bucharest, 1978, p.25 3 Dumitru Stăniloae, op.cit.,p.28 4 Dumitru Stăniloae, op.cit.,p.28 5 Dumitru Stăniloae, op.cit.,p.26 6 Dumitru Stăniloae, op.cit.,p.26 58

59 The kenotic dimension of the Christian mission on of any mission action. Any mission activity that lacks its love criterion and does not express according to the pattern of incarnation (kenosis-acceptance) -the only authentic expression of love in practice- does not serve the purpose of the mission and is an expression of doubtful forms of mission. Such forms of mission have always existed in the history of Christianity. They start with Simon Magus (Acts 8, 9-24) and extend to the mixture of mission and politics in modern and contemporary world. The premise of mission activity for those engaged in it is the love expressed concretely in practice conformable to the model of Incarnation kenosis acceptance love which determines the principles and practical methods of mission work. In accordance and subsequent to the pattern of kenosis, the missionary must discard worldly conceptions and secularist bonds, so as he could preach only Christ. Christian missionary must show in word and act that his teachings are nothing but - as the Apostle Paul said - a word from Christ and about Christ: For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake (2 Corinthians 4, 5). However, the mission is more successful when the good news of redemption is also animated by a life in Christ whose main components are asceticism and eschatological expectation. As voluntary seclusion from a hedonistic, delightful and consumerism attitude regarding material goods, together with the desire to give and offer these goods to the poor and destitute, the asceticism makes more vividly in the life of the Christians the Passion and the Cross of Christ. The Christian life means a continuous assimilation of the mystery of the Cross, in the asceticism against individual and group selfishness. This holy humility, ready to receive the last sacrifice, remains the mysterious power of Christian mission. The mission will always be the ministry that combines the acceptance of troubles, tests, humiliation, with sacrifice, uncertainty, rejection because of His grace, and only those who are willingly to accept - with bravery and trust in Christ - can bear. One of the greatest dangers of Christian mission is to really forget about Cross and to create for ourselves a painless Christian typology, comfortable, who wants the cross only as decoration, a typology that would crucify others instead of crucifying herself. 7 Faith and power of the Church always relied on the certainty that the Cross and Resurrection are inextricably linked. To conform one s life to the 7 Anastasios Yannoulatos, Mission in Christ`s Way. Your will be done, Introductory report to the 10 th World Conference of Mission and Evangelism, San Antonio, 1989, Romanian translation by Rev. Prof. Ioan Ică Ph. D., in Theological Revue, I, 1991, no.3, p

60 Revd. Prof. PhD Valer Bel crucified life of Christ means having hidden inside the power of the Resurrection. The mystery and power of the Cross is unveiled in the Resurrection, in the victory over selfishness and death. Authentic Christian Mission assumes, therefore, the Cross, following Christ into the light of the Resurrection and the eschatological fulfilled hope. In this sense, the Apostle Paul said: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1, 23-25). 60

61 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut et dans la Liturgie comme moyen missionnaire de l Eglise Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza Dieu, n ayant ni commencement, ni fin, a créé le monde par son amour à partir du néant, et Il a créé l homme comme un être doué de la parole, et donc pensant et libre de choisir entre le bien et le mal. Par la création ex nihilo, Dieu a posé à cote de lui-même un être absolument autre, un zoon logikon semblable à lui, portant son image. Il a imprimé à la fois dans l âme humaine la soif de connaître et de s abreuver de l infinité de l amour du Dieu. Dans la Genèse il est affirmé qu au commencement le Seigneur Dieu créa les cieux et la terre et tous leurs éléments. Il est sous-entendu que c est par l intermédiaire de Son Verbe qu Il le fit. Puis, il est dit que chaque jour Il a fait quelque chose de nouveau par la parole: Dieu dit: «Que la lumière soit!»(gen 1,3), «Que la terre se couvre de verdure!» (Gen 1,11), «Qu il y ait des luminaires au firmament du ciel!» (Gen 1,14). Tout ce qui existe a été fait par «la parole» de Dieu. Mais quant à l homme, Il l a créé par un acte absolument spécial, où Sa parole se concrétise. Le Logos divin est entré Lui-même en tant que Sujet en dialogue avec un sujet créé qui est Son image visible et qui a reçu la vocation de parvenir à Sa ressemblance. Le Verbe de Dieu S est mis à S entretenir avec Son image créée, en l invitant à une relation consciente avec Soi, à une conversation remplie d amour, et en lui conférant tout le pouvoir d approfondir cet amour de sorte qu il avance de l image à la parfaite ressemblance selon la grâce 1. Apres la chute, l homme n a pas perdu sa vocation d être appelé à la communion avec Dieu, mais dans l Ancien Testament le Verbe de Dieu lui 1 Pr. Prof. D. Stăniloae, Teologia Dogmatică Ortodoxă, vol. I, Bucureşti, 2003, p

62 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza parle en fonction de sa capacité de Le recevoir et pour cela Il S est révélé trop peu dans les profondeurs spirituelles de celui-ci, à cause du niveau réduit de sa sensibilité spirituelle. C est pourquoi la puissance de Dieu s est manifestée par la parole elle-même, aussi bien que par des actes accompagnateurs extérieurs à la parole, car ils impressionnaient davantage le peuple situé à un niveau spirituel assez bas. 2 Le Saint Esprit, dans l Ancien Testament, n irradiait visiblement que rarement, par les paroles des prophètes et par les actions prodigieuses de la Providence de Dieu envers Son peuple élu. Le Verbe œuvrait sur les sujets humains, insuffisamment préparés du point de vue spirituel, sous le voile de la Loi. Aussi le Verbe les touchait-il, parallèlement, par des actes de puissance. Les gens de ce temps-là étaient beaucoup plus impressionnés par l éclat des choses extérieures. Ce n est pas uniquement l Esprit Saint qui préparait les personnes vétérotestamentaires pour l accueil du Verbe dans la chair, mais aussi le Verbe préparait par l Esprit Son Incarnation: Tout comme avant Son avènement visible et dans la chair, le Verbe de Dieu venait spirituellement aux patriarches et aux prophètes, tout en anticipant les mystères de Son avènement, de même, après cette venue, Il descend non seulement en ceux qui sont des nourrissons, en les repaissant spirituellement et les emmenant vers la vie de l achèvement selon Dieu, mais aussi en ceux qui sont parfaits, en leur désignant d avance et mystiquement la forme de Son avènement ultime, comme dans une icône 3. On voit que dans l Ancien Testament la parole de Dieu a été proférée au «Sinaï» comme la parole qui établissait et manifestait l Alliance, chez «les prophètes» elle rappelait que l Alliance était un guide et une promesse. C est à partir d une telle expérience qu Israël a pris conscience de la parole créatrice de Dieu. 4 Durant l Ancienne Alliance, au fur et à mesure qu apparaissaient des gens aptes à recevoir l Esprit à la suite de la préparation par la Loi, Son œuvre irradiait du Verbe divin plus intensément en eux. C est particulièrement le cas des prophètes. Le Verbe Lui-même qui Se communiquait à eux était plus plein de l Esprit ou d une spiritualité 2 Idem, «Cuvântul Creator şi mântuitor şi veşnic înnoitor», Mitropolia Olteniei 1 (1991), p Saint Maxime le Confesseur, «Capete gnostice», 11, 28, dans Filoc. Rom., vol. II, p H. Schlier, La Parole de Dieu, Encyclopedie de la foi, Paris, 1966, p

63 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut intrinsèque. Par cela les gens étaient rendus prêts à l installation totale de l Esprit du Fils dans l être humain, une fois Son Incarnation accomplie. Dans le Nouveau Testament les références à la parole de Dieu abondent là où sa manifestation se réfléchit dans la personne de Jésus-Christ, c est-à-dire avant tout dans les écrits johanniques et là où l on a une vive conscience que cette parole de Dieu s exprime dans la parole humaine des témoins apostoliques, c est-à-dire avant tout dans les écrits de Luc et de Paul. Dans le Nouveau Testament la parole créatrice de Dieu a reçu un «nom», c est à dire que le Christ est la parole éternelle est venu dans une proximité maximale avec l homme. C est qu on reconnaît alors que la parole de Dieu a manifesté en Jésus-Christ qu elle était Dieu. Dans le prologue de l évangile de Jean, la parole éternelle de Dieu, qui est Dieu, qui est auprès de Dieu et qui est devenue chair en Jésus-Christ, est appelé la parole «par laquelle tout a été fait», «par laquelle le monde a été fait» (Jn ), dans laquelle est donnée «la vie» qui est la lumière des hommes (Jn 1, 4. Jésus-Christ est la parole de Dieu incarne. C est dans l incarnation du Verbe que la parole de Dieu se manifeste définitivement dans son fondement et sa plénitude. Car maintenant elle advient dans la personne historique de Jésus de Nazareth et se révèle en même temps comme la parole, non seulement que Dieu dit, mais aussi qu il est. La formulation expresse de ce fait, nous ne la trouvons que dans l évangile de Jean, car l Apôtre Bien Aimé révèle que si Dieu a pu nous parler de façon définitive «par le Fils», c est que le Verbe s est fait chair et qu alors cette parole dévoile que la parole de Dieu est une parole qui est Dieu même, c est-à-dire le Verbe. Par le fait même que la parole de Dieu s est incarnée en Jésus dans l histoire et qu en lui on peut l entendre, la voir et la toucher, cette parole s est manifestée et s est fait connaître comme la parole qui était «au commencement» et donc comme Dieu auprès de Dieu, c est-à-dire comme le Verbe qui fait naître dans la lumière la vie d un univers et d un monde. Ainsi c est lorsque le Verbe s est fait chair que s est manifestée pleinement et définitivement dans l histoire (c est-à-dire pour nous) la réalité de la parole de Dieu, qui agissait déjà depuis longtemps dans la parole par laquelle Dieu faisait connaître à Israël ses préceptes et ses promesses. C est dans le Verbe que Dieu a proféré sa parole dans le monde et s est exprimé lui-même. 63

64 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza Par l Incarnation du Verbe de Dieu, la nature humaine a été unie à la nature divine à tel point qu elle a pu recevoir le Saint Esprit, qui a établi Son centre d action et de rayonnement, de pair avec le Verbe de Dieu, dans l être humain. Le parfait retour du Saint Esprit dans l être humain s opère dans le Christ, puisqu en Lui, même l hypostase divine du Verbe devient l hypostase de la nature humaine, tout en rendant cette dernière capable de l union suprême à Dieu. L Esprit Saint a désormais Son centre de rayonnement dans le Verbe fait homme ou dans l Homme qui est en même temps Dieu. Cela représente la spiritualisation au plus haut degré de l être humain. Par la Résurrection l Esprit Saint pneumatise le corps de Christ et depuis la Pentecôte tous ceux qui croient en Christ sentent la puissance entière de l Esprit irradiant du Christ. La Révélation atteint l apogée dans la descente du Saint Esprit sur les Apôtres, parce que cette descente relève de la Résurrection et de l Ascension du Christ, comme spiritualisation suprême de Son corps. C est ainsi que débute l application de l effet de la Révélation à nous, c est-à-dire notre orientation vers la résurrection et l Ascension avec le corps par L Esprit du Christ, ressuscité et élevé, plus précisément non seulement par l Esprit, mais aussi par le Christ même. Dans la Résurrection du Christ ou dans Son corps devenu transparent par l Esprit et pour l Esprit, il nous est montré dans quel but est créé le monde; et dans notre résurrection finale, quand nos corps aussi seront pleinement pneumatisés par l Esprit, par l union parfaite au Christ, cet état sera réalisé pour toute la création. Cela prouve que la Révélation, la découverte du Verbe ne consiste pas tant dans la révélation d une somme de connaissances théoriques sur un Dieu fermé dans Sa transcendance, que dans Son action de condescendance pour l homme, dans l appel des créatures raisonnables à la joie de la communion avec Soi. Le but de la révélation c est la communion d amour entre Dieu et l homme. Les connaissances offertes dans la Révélation mettent en évidence cette action de descente de Dieu et d ascension de l homme qui y croit. Les paroles traduisent cette œuvre divine, étant à la fois des exhortations afin de coopérer, pour que cette union se fasse entre chacun de nous 64

65 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut et Dieu. Car l union suprême de Dieu à l homme croyant ne se réalise pas sans la participation libre de celui-ci. 5 La Révélation s accomplit donc par des actes et des paroles, par la lumière et la puissance; elle est action resplendissante et splendeur transfiguratrice du croyant. Elle dévoile ce qui fait Dieu pour l homme, aussi bien que ce qu il deviendra par l œuvre de Dieu et par sa synergie; elle dévoile aussi le sens et le but final de l existence humaine, ou la finalité à laquelle nous sommes destinés et qui constitue notre parachèvement même. Voilà pourquoi le Verbe de Dieu n est pas une somme de préceptes et d actes réalisés par Dieu dans l histoire, mais l anticipation du but ultime de la création, dont Il a jeté les bases par les actes accomplis. La Révélation a encore un caractère prophétique, eschatologique. Mais Dieu prophétise par la Révélation la finalité de la création, non par une science qui prévoit, d une manière objective et passive, où arrivera la création par elle-même, mais par le témoignage qu Il y va diriger Lui-même la création, avec sa libre collaboration, par tous les actes de puissance accomplis. Le Fils de Dieu, l accomplissement de la Révélation, est venu par l Incarnation tout près de nous, en devenant par la Résurrection la raison d être et la destination intérieure de toutes les choses, le sens et le but qui montre non seulement ce que seront ces choses, mais aussi Il les conduit par l Esprit vers ce qu elles doivent être, tout en révélant en Lui le sens réalisé de la création et de la Révélation. En outre, le Christ révélé dans cette acception-là demeure et continue d œuvrer dans la création, ou Il rend permanente la Révélation, plénière dans son efficience, afin d emmener Ses fidèles à l union avec Lui et à la divinisation par leur spiritualisation progressive par l Esprit Saint, en se servant de trois moyens concrets et inséparables: la Sainte Église, la Sainte Écriture et la Sainte Tradition. Dans l Église se maintient dans son efficience perpétuelle l œuvre du Verbe de Dieu dans l humanité, puisque l Église est le milieu du dialogue 5 Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, «Dumnezeu Cuvântul cel întrupat sfinţeşte creaţia prin cuvântul şi fapta omenească a sa şi a omului şi în special a preotului», Mitropolia Olteniei 4 (1991), p

66 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza vivant entre l homme et Dieu, le milieu de la découverte par la grâce de Sa volonté et de Sa miséricorde active, le milieu de la louange et de la glorification du Créateur. Ainsi, infère le grand théologien Dumitru Stăniloae, l Église est la Révélation surnaturelle achevée dans le Christ, dans son efficience sur nous, au cours des temps, par le Saint Esprit; c est la Révélation surnaturelle arrivée à son parachèvement dans le Christ dans Son action d extension et de fécondation totale dans ceux qui y croient 6. Dans le culte de l Église le Verbe de Dieu est toujours vivant et agissant. Après la Résurrection et l Ascension, notre Sauveur Jésus Christ ne cesse pas d annoncer Sa vérité, par l entremise de la hiérarchie sacramentale. Le Verbe de Dieu dans le culte de l Église a pour but non seulement la communication ininterrompue de la bonne nouvelle au monde, mais notamment l exhortation à l accomplissement de la volonté de Dieu. Les paroles du Christ proférées dans le culte expriment le Christ et elles invitent et insufflent aux auditeurs, par le Saint Esprit, la vie et la sainteté et la pureté de la vie dans le Christ 7. Par les Saints Mystères chaque croyant réitère la vie du Christ, à savoir la vie qui est annoncée par les Saintes Évangiles et avec laquelle les chrétiens communient par le moyen de chaque œuvre sacramentale de l Église. La Parole de Dieu dans la Liturgie La Sainte Ecriture est ne dans le culte chrétien, dans la tradition de la prière de l Eglise, mais aussi dans son tour, la Bible a été transpose en liturgie dans la vie sacramentaire. L ensemble des offices est composé de passages des Saintes Ecritures, de leurs paraphrases et commentaires. La liturgie parcourt la Bible dans sa totalité et interprète en perspective trinitaire et christologique les étapes majeures de l économie du salut. L ensemble des offices constitue ainsi une véritable «théologie liturgique» d une inégalable richesse et qui remonte à la prédication et à la vie apostolique. On y trouve tous les événements privilégiés de l histoire du salut et ce qu il y a de plus vigoureux, et de plus clair dans la doctrine des Pères et la didascalie de l Eglise, leur sève même. Cet avènement-parousie de la Vérité divine fait de la liturgie le «lieu théologique» par excellence et conditionne le principe lex orandi - lex cndendi. Comme jadis par les prophètes, l Esprit-Saint parle par la liturgie, manifeste le Christ présent et fait comprendre que la Tradition, surtout liturgique, 6 Pr. Prof. D. Stăniloae, Teologia Dogmatică Ortodoxă, vol. I, Bucureşti, 2003, p Idem, Spiritualitate şi comuniune în Liturghia ortodoxă, Craiova, 1986, p

67 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut c est le Verbe qui commente sans cesse ses propres paroles évangéliques au moyen de tous les éléments de la Tradition. La liturgie c est l Eglise en Parole et en Mystère eucharistique. 8 La Liturgie est le milieu de la rencontre, de la communion de l homme avec Dieu ou le Tout Puissant est présent par le chant, par la parole divine et par la Eucharistie. On parle de deux grandes parties de la Liturgie: la Liturgie de la Parole, et la Liturgie eucharistique. Dans la première, la lecture de l Evangile apporte un premier sommet de la communion: On consomme «eucharistiquement» la «parole mystérieusement rompue» 9 on se nourrit de la Parole divine en vue de la communion planaire avec le Christ dans l Eucharistie. 10 Dans la Bible et aussi dans la Liturgie connaître Dieu signifie connaître par la communion. En effet l Evangile dit: «Celui qui mange ma chair et boit mon sang a la vie éternelle» (Jn 6, 54), mais aussi : «Celui qui écoute ma parole... a la vie éternelle» (Jn 5, 24) et : «La vie éternelle c est qu ils te connaissent, toi, le seul vrai Dieu, et celui que tu as envoye, Jésus Christ.» (Jn 17,3). On voit que dans l Eglise Orthodoxe la Parole de Dieu est inséparable du Sacrement de la Présence de Dieu dans l Eucharistie. On n a pas une interprétation rationnelle de la Sainte Écriture, détachée de l Eucharistie, à savoir, en réalité, de l Église elle-même comme expérience et réalité spirituelle, mais on a la parole vivante de Dieu, la présence de Dieu parlant à la communauté qui va Le recevoir dans l Eucharistie. Pour cela, selon la tradition ecclésiale liturgique et spirituelle, c est la liaison insécable de la Parole et du Sacrement qui fait que l être de l Église se réalise comme incarnation du Verbe, comme devenir de l Inhumanation dans le temps et dans l espace. 11 Par l Eucharistie, nous communions avec Celui qui vient et qui demeure parmi nous dans sa Parole; et la mission de l Église consiste à l annoncer. Le Verbe pose le Sacrement en tant que son accomplissement, car le Christ-Verbe devient notre vie par le Sacrement. Le Verbe rassemble l Église afin de s y incarner. Séparé du Verbe, le Sacrement risque d être conçu comme une opération magique; et, privée du Sacrement, la Parole risque d être réduite à une «doctrine» Paul Evdokimov, La prière de l Eglise d Orient, Paris, 1985, p Origene, Hom. in Exod, 13, 3, PG 13, Saint Jérôme dit de même dans la Homelie sur l Ecclesiaste 3, 13: «Nous mangeons sa chair et nous buvons son sang dans la divine eucharistie, mais aussi dans la lecture des Ecritures». 11 Alexandre Schmemann, L Eucharistie, Sacrament du Royaume, Paris, 1985, p Ibidem. 67

68 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza Enfin, c est par le Sacrement que le Verbe s interprète, car l interprétation de la Parole est toujours le témoignage de la façon dont le Verbe devient notre vie. «Et le Verbe fut chair et il a habité avec nous... plein de grâce et de vérité» (Jn. I, 14). Le Sacrement est ce témoignage. Aussi contient-il le principe et la base de l interprétation et de la compréhension de la Parole, la source et le critère de la théologie. Ce n est que grâce à cette indivisible union de la Parole et du Sacrement que l on peut saisir la portée réelle de l affirmation; seule l Église garde le vrai sens de l Écriture. Aussi la première partie de la liturgie eucharistique, commencement nécessaire de la «théurgie», est-elle le Sacrement de la Parole, qui s achèvera par l oblation, la sanctification et la distribution des Saints Dons. 13 Pour voir la structure «eucharistique» de la Liturgie de la Parole on va ici analyser les actes principaux de cette première partie de la Liturgie. 1. La petite entrée Dans la Liturgie orthodoxe l entrée avec l Évangile est nomme comme «petite entrée. Sous sa forme actuelle, l accent porte en effet sur l Évangile: le diacre, tenant le Livre devant sa face, le fait solennellement sortir du sanctuaire par la porte diaconale de l iconostase et, par les Portes Royales, il vient le déposer sur l autel. Il faut souligner pour la dernière fois l étroit parallélisme : comme la «grande Entrée» de la liturgie des fidèles transfère les oblats et précède la communion eucharistique, de même la «petite Entrée» traverse le temple en portant l Evangile et précède ce qui pour les catéchumènes tient lieu de l eucharistie, la lecture de la Parole de Dieu. Dans l ancien temps, après l entrée, les célébrants montaient à «leur place» pour écouter l Écriture. La célébration devant l autel n intervenait qu à la Liturgie des fidèles, c est-à-dire lors de l anaphore, de l Eucharistie proprement dite. L officiant n accédait à l autel qu au moment de l oblation. Le reste du temps, de même qu aux offices du jour et du cycle annuel, les célébrants se tenaient sur le bèma, à savoir: parmi le peuple. Aujourd hui encore, d ailleurs, les parties les plus importantes des offices, par exemple le polyeleos à matines, sont célébrées au milieu de l église et non pas dans le sanctuaire. L autel représentait exclusivement la table de la cène du Seigneur, l Autel du sacrifice non sanglant. Il y avait comme deux pôles de la liturgie ; l un dans l assemblée, l autre devant l autel. Aussi la première partie, «l assemblée en Église», l écoute de 13 Ibidem. 68

69 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut l Écriture et de l homélie, avait-elle lieu non pas dans le sanctuaire, mais dans la nef, à partir de la bèma, réservée aux célébrants. 14 Il y avait d abord l entrée dans le temple (sens premier de la «petite entrée»), puis la procession du clergé à «sa place» pour y célébrer la liturgie de la Parole (deuxième sens de la «petite entrée») ; ensuite, les célébrants se rendaient dans le sanctuaire, devant l autel, pour l oblation et la sanctification des dons («grande entrée» actuelle. Ces trois processions exprimaient le symbolisme fondamental de l assemblée ecclésiale : sa montée vers le Royaume de Dieu La «petite entrée» a progressivement combiné trois «dimensions» essentielles: le début de l Eucharistie comme entrée dans l assemblée ; l achèvement de cette première entrée comme accession de l Église au sanctuaire céleste (prière et chant du Trisagion, montée vers l autel) ; enfin, l accomplissement de ce commencement de la Liturgie par le sacrement de la Parole. Dans la tradition de l Orthodoxie, l Évangile fait partie de la liturgie non seulement comme chose lue, mais encore comme une chose vivante, comme quelque chose a vivre. Lorsque Dieu parle, Il agit. Sa Parole n est pas une mode de communication intellectuelle, mais elle est un acte d engagement dans l histoire, elle est une intervention directe de Dieu dans l âme du croyant. L homme, c est à dire la totalité de la personne, ainsi interpelle par l acte de Dieu, est mis en demeure de répondre par un acte d engagement d appliquer en pratique les divins commandements. 16 L entrée avec l Évangile, n est pas un simple «figuration», une mise en scène sacrée d un événement du passé : la sortie du Christ dans le monde pour y prêcher, mais elle signifie la manifestation du Seigneur ressuscité selon sa promesse : «Là où deux ou trois se trouvent réunis en mon nom, je suis au milieu d eux» (Mt. XVIII, 20). De même que la sanctification des dons est précédée de leur apport à l autel, de même la lecture et la proclamation de la Parole sont précédées de sa manifestation. «l entrée avec l Évangile» est notre rencontre, rencontre joyeuse, avec le Christ : ce Livre de tous les livres procède vers nous, et toujours il devient puissance, vie et sanctification Dans la Liturgie la lecture de la Parole de Dieu ne comporte pas un simple caractère auditif. Elle exprime avant toute l intervention de Dieu dans 14 Karl Christian Felmy, De la Cina de Taină la Dumnezeiasca Liturghie a Bisericii Ortodoxe, Sibiu, 2004, p Alexander Schmemann, L Eucharistie, p Jean-Philippe Ramseyer, La parole et l image. Liturgie, Architecture et art sacre, Neuchatel, 1963, p Alexander Schmemann, L Eucharistie, p

70 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza l histoire et elle a la puissance de l acte créateur, parce que les mots se trouvent être lies à des événements, qui dans la Liturgie deviennent à leur tour des manifestations de la Parole en les faisant actuelles par l action de l Esprit Saint. 18 La Parole est vivante par l Esprit Vivifiant qui s y repose. Dieu a voulu que le Christ forme le Corps où ses paroles viennent résonner comme paroles de vie ; Dieu a voulu que l Eglise forme ce lieu où le Christ parle et commente ses propres paroles au moyen de tous les éléments de la Tradition. C est donc au-dedans de lui, dans l Eglise, qu il faut lire et écouter. Seule l Eglise garde la Parole et la clef pour l ouvrir, car elle écoute l Esprit qui l a dictée, et l Eglise est l Esprit. Ainsi, en plaçant la lecture de la Parole au cœur de la liturgie des catéchumènes, l ensemble liturgique veut suggérer, par analogie avec l eucharistie, que toute lecture lors du culte conduit à la présence réelle, à la rencontre du Verbe, à la communion, consommation substantielle de la Parole. C est pourquoi l avertissement retentit: «Soyons attentifs. Sagesse!» 19 «Paix à tous!» annonce l officiant à l assemblée. Elle lui répond ; «Et à ton esprit». La Paix était le Nom du Christ, que c était Lui-même, la paix est aussi le royaume de Dieu selon Nicolas Cabasilas, qui est annonce pendant toute la Liturgie. 20 Précédant chaque nouvelle partie de la liturgie eucharistique : la lecture de la Parole de Dieu, le baiser de paix, la distribution des espèces, cette invocation rappelle à chaque fois que le Christ est notre Paix, Il est «au milieu de nous», et Il préside lui-même notre Eucharistie, et pour sentir sa présence il faut avoir sa paix dans notre âme Le Prokimenon L on proclame ensuite le prokimène (ou prokimenon). Ce terme, qui signifie en grec «ce qui se trouve avant», désigne aujourd hui deux ou trois versets des Psaumes, que le chantre et le peuple (ou le chœur) exécutent sur le mode antiphonique. Dans l antiquité, le prokimène était composé d un psaume entier dont le chant «précédait» la lecture de la Sainte Écriture. Pour comprendre le rôle spécial et sans doute important qu il continue de jouer dans la liturgie orthodoxe, il faut rappeler la valeur éminente des Psaumes dans l Église primitive. Le Psautier représentait non seulement l un des «som- 18 Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, Spiritualitate şi comuniune în liturghia ortodoxă, Craiova, 1986, p Paul Evdokimov, La prière de l Eglise..., p Nicolae Cabasila, Explicarea Sfintei Liturghii, Bucureşti, 1989, p Ibidem, p

71 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut mets» de la prophétie et de la prière de l Ancien Testament, mais un don de Dieu, une révélation de Dieu a son peuple. Dans le culte judaïque, Dieu n était jamais conçu de manière abstraite, de manière générale, mais toujours avec en corrélation avec un fait fondamental: Son Alliance avec Son peuple. Ainsi, la bénédiction, le remerciement et la louange dans les psaumes ne sont que la réponse de l homme à la Parole de Dieu. 22 La parole de Dieu est la découverte de Dieu dans ce qu Il désire pour Son peuple. La connaissance et l accomplissement des commandements divins scellent le peuple choisi. La parole révélée définit le cadre de la vie de communion entre Dieu et ses élus, la bénédiction cultique étant sa forme d expression privilégiée. La Parole de Dieu est le don qui engage. Elle définit les cadres de l existence heureuse de l homme avec Dieu, et sa connaissance et son accomplissement scellent le peuple élu, créent une communion d une telle manière que la même parole inspirée devient révélation de Dieu et, en même temps, louange et remerciement de l homme. La complémentarité entre la découverte de Dieu dans ce qu Il désire pour Son peuple et la louange et le remerciement qui lui sont adressés par Ses élus trouve son expression de manière plénière dans le livre des psaumes. La Parole de Dieu dans le chant inspiré est une Parole créatrice de communion: les Psaumes, le chant du peuple élu, ont nourri progressivement et ont préparé l épanouissement de la bénédiction cultique dans laquelle cette communion entre Dieu et l homme trouve une nouvelle forme d expression. 23 En donnant la bénédiction pour tout ce qu il a reçu et consacrant à travers la bénédiction chaque action, l homme transforme le profane en sacré, les objets en dons, les choses en paroles d amour. A travers la bénédiction, le monde devient un immense sanctuaire où l on apporte sans cesse à Dieu l offrande pure dont parle le Saint Prophète Malachie (Malachie 1, 10-12). Le prokimène, «psaume qui précède», introduit au sacrement de la Parole. Celle-ci, en effet, ne s adresse pas à la seule raison, mais à l homme intégral, à ce qu il a de plus profond, à son cœur, comme disent les Pères, organe de la connaissance religieuse, par opposition à la connaissance incomplète, discursive et rationnelle de «ce monde». «L ouverture de l intelligence» précède l écoute et la compréhension de la Parole ; «Alors il leur ouvrit l intelligence pour comprendre les Écritures» (Lc. XXIV, 45). L on peut dire que la proclamation joyeuse et répétée du prokimène, sa «communication» à l assemblée 22 Louis Bouyer, Eucharistie:Théologie et spiritualité de la prière eucharistique, p Louis Bouyer, Eucharistie:Théologie et spiritualité.., p

72 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza et sa réception par celle-ci correspondent au moment où l intelligence «s ouvre» et rejoint le cœur pour que nous entendions les paroles de l Écriture comme celles du Seigneur. 3. La lecture de l Epître Après le prokimène, on lit l Apôtre (l Épître), une leçon de la deuxième partie, «apostolique», du Nouveau Testament. Dans l antiquité la lecture de la Sainte Écriture comprenait une ou plusieurs leçons vétérotestamentaires. La lecture de l Apôtre précède celle de l Evangile parce que l enseignement apostolique prépare l âme du chrétien pour comprendre la parole du Seigneur. 24 Ce nom d Apôtre veut dire que pendant la lecture liturgique, c est réellement l apôtre, auteur de la préricope lue, qui prononce sa lecture, c est sa voix réelle qu on entend. C est la voix de la tradition toujours vivante de l Eglise. C est le besoin propre de la foi de reconnaître la succession orante ininterrompue et de relier ainsi sa liturgie à la tradition apostolique. 4. L Alléluia Après l Epître, on chante trois fois Alléluia. La leçon de l Evangile est précédée de ce chant et d un encensement. L Alléluia a une semnification unique. Il constituait jadis une partie importante de toute la liturgie chrétienne. Hérité de la prière judaïque, il relève du type des chants «mélismatiques». A la différence de la psalmodie, la mélodie l y emporte sur la parole. L on peut penser qu avant l apparition d une hymnologie plus «savante» (tropaires, kontakia, stichères), où texte et mélisme se déterminent mutuellement, l Église ne connaissait que deux genres de chant, selon les deux conceptions essentielles de la liturgie chrétienne. La psalmodie, c est-à-dire l exécution sur un rythme musical d un texte scripturaire ou d une prière, exprimait le caractère verbal de la liturgie : la parole y était première, qu elle fût celle de l Écriture, du témoignage apostolique ou de la tradition de la foi. Le chant mélismatique, pour sa part, véhiculait l expérience liturgique comme contact réel avec le transcendant, comme entrée dans la réalité sur mondiale du Royaume. Le terme Alléluia même n est pas un simple mot, c est une sorte de proclamation mélodique. On peut certes le traduire par «Dieu soit loué!», mais ce contenu sémantique ne l épuisé ni ne l exprime complètement, car il est par lui- 24 Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, Spiritualitate şi comuniune în liturghia ortodoxă, p

73 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut même un élan de joie et de louange, suscité par la manifestation du Seigneur ; il est une «réaction» à sa venue. 25 L Alléluia est effectivement une salutation, au sens le plus profond du terme. Or une salutation, qui suppose une manifestation, à laquelle elle réagit. Le chant de l Alléluia précède la lecture de l Évangile parce que la manifestation du Seigneur à «l assemblée ecclésiale», dont il ouvre l intelligence, vient avant l audition de la Parole. Nous avons conservé des mélodies antiques de l Alléluia par le son, par le mélisme, elles expriment la joie, la louange et l expérience de la Présence ; elles sont plus réelles que ne le seraient des explications verbales... L officiant lit la prière avant l Évangile, par laquelle il demande à Dieu d envoyer «la lumière incorruptible de son intelligence divine et d ouvrir nos yeux spirituels pour la compréhension des prédications évangéliques». Lue aujourd hui à voix basse, comme nous l avons rappelé, cette prière occupe dans le sacrement de la Parole la même place que l épiclèse dans l anaphore, la prière pour que le Père envoie son Saint Esprit. De même que la sanctification des dons, la compréhension et la réception de la Parole ne dépendent pas de notre seul désir: la condition essentielle en est que nos «yeux spirituels» soient mystérieusement transformés, que l Esprit Saint vienne sur nous. C est ce dont témoigne aussi la bénédiction donnée au diacre pour lire la Parole : l «annoncer avec grande puissance pour l accomplissement de l Évangile» La lecture de l Evangile La lecture de l Evangile pendant les dimanches de l âne liturgique a comme but de présenter le Christ comme Dieu vivant, comme Parole de Dieu qui intervient dans l histoire, comme Dieu aimant qui enseigne, qui attire l homme a sa communion d amour. Les mots de la révélation biblique ne sont pas une simple description de l intervention de Dieu dans l histoire. Ils sont liés à des évènements de la vie de Jésus Christ qui par l action de l Esprit Saint sont actualisé dans la vie du chaque chrétien. 6. La prédication La prédication vient témoigner de ce que 1a Parole de Dieu est entendue, comprise et reçue. L homélie est organiquement liée à la lecture de l Écriture. Dans l Église primitive, elle faisait partie intégrante de la «synaxe», acte liturgique essentiel de l Église, témoignage permanent de l Esprit Saint qui vit 25 Alexandre Schmemann, L Eucharistie, Sacrament du Royaume, Paris, 1985, p

74 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza dans l Église et qui la fait accéder à la vérité entière (Jn. XVI, 13). Grâce à l Esprit de la Vérité, l Église a entendu et elle a reconnu dans ces textes la Parole de Dieu; et elle continue de la reconnaître, de l entendre et de l annoncer. La prédication témoigne que la Parole a été proclamée, écoutée et reçue. Elle n est point une simple explication d un passage des Ecritures, elle n est pas la prédication sur l Evangile mais la prédication de l Evangile luimême donc du Christ total. Il y a lieu de le dire : ce n est pas la parole humaine mais la parole de Dieu, c est la lecture de l Evangile dans la réunion de l Eglise sur laquelle le charisme de l Esprit repose. Témoigner de Jésus-Christ par l Esprit Saint : tel est le contenu de la Parole de Dieu et c est l unique substance de la prédication : «Et c est l Esprit qui rend témoignage, parce que l Esprit est la Vérité» (I Jn. V, 6). L ambon de l église est le lieu où le sacrement de la Parole s accomplit. 26 Voilà pourquoi toute la tradition et la théologie ecclésiales sont nées précisément de «l assemblée en Église», de ce sacrement de l annonce évangélique. Voilà pourquoi celle-ci nous permet de saisir le sens profond, vivant, et non pas abstrait, de l affirmation orthodoxe classique : la garde de l Écriture et son interprétation ne sont confiées qu à l Église. En effet, la tradition n est nullement une autre source de la foi, qui viendrait «compléter» l Écriture ; elle est cette même source : la vivante Parole de Dieu, entendue et reçue par l Eglise. La tradition consiste à interpréter l Écriture comme source de la Vie même, et non pas à commenter telle péricope selon une thèse donnée, conduisant à telle «conclusion». Si seule l Église connaît et garde le sens de l Écriture, c est uniquement parce que, dans le sacrement de la Parole, accompli par l assemblée ecclésiale, le Saint Esprit ne cesse de rendre vivante la «chair» de l Écriture pour la transformer en «Esprit et Vie» 27. La théologie authentique et ecclésiale est enracinée dans ce sacrement, dans cette assemblée, où l Esprit de Dieu instruit l Église même, et non pas tels de ses membres individuels, en toute vérité. Aussi chaque lecture «personnelle» de l Écriture doit-elle se fonder sur celle de l Église. En dehors de 1 intelligence de l Église et de sa vie théanthropique, on ne peut ni entendre ni comprendre correctement l Écriture. Par le double acte de la lecture et de l annonce, le sacrement de la Parole en assemblée est la source de la croissance de chacun et de tous ensemble vers la plénitude de la connaissance de la Vérité. 26 Alexandre Schmemann, L Eucharistie, p Ibidem, p

75 La parole de Dieu dans l histoire du salut Enfin, le sacrement de la Parole manifeste la collaboration de la hiérarchie avec les laïcs pour garder la Vérité, mission qui est celle du corps entier de l Église, c est-à-dire du peuple lui-même. D une part, la prédication réalise le don d enseignement, conféré au célébrant comme son ministère didascalique dans l assemblée ecclésiale. D autre part, et justement parce que la prédication est non pas un «talent» personnel, mais un charisme donné à l Église et mis en œuvre dans son assemblée, le ministère d enseignement de la hiérarchie est inséparable de l assemblée, qui en est la source de grâce. Le Saint Esprit repose sur l Église entière. 28 L Église tout entière, manifestée et réalisée par l assemblée liturgique, a seule l intelligence du Christ. C est seulement dans l assemblée que tous les dons, tous les ministères s actualisent avec leur unité indivisible comme des manifestations de l unique Esprit qui emplit tout le Corps. Et c est pourquoi, enfin, il appartient à chaque membre de l Église, quel qu y soit son «rang», de porter témoignage, devant la face de ce monde, de toute la plénitude de l Église et non pas seulement de son attitude à lui. Dans l antiquité, l assemblée répondait par l Amèn à la prédication en attestant ainsi que la Parole était reçue et que l assemblée était unanime avec le prédicateur dans l Esprit. C est dans l Amen du peuple de Dieu qu est le principe de la «réception» de la doctrine par la conscience ecclésiale, réception dont parlent si souvent les théologiens orthodoxes. Conclusion Aucune expression de la vie chrétienne n est plus complètement, plus adéquatement la manifestation de la Parole de Dieu que la Liturgie, parce que par elle la Bible est lie à l Eucharistie. Dans la liturgie, en effet, la parole de Dieu et la parole humaine se répondent et se complètent, en elle elles vivent de la même vie, dans une même action et pour un même témoignage. La liturgie, c est une parole en acte, c est une image parlée, c est l annonce des choses qu on espère, et c est aussi la démonstration de celles qu on ne voit pas. La liturgie est image anticipée du Royaume, mais en même temps elle est aussi parole prophétique. La liturgie est présence de Dieu. La parole de la prédication n y est pas seulement annoncée, elle y est encore située dans une architecture et dans un environnement de formes et de couleurs, de musique et de poésie. L art, sous quelque forme que ce soit, se voit appelé à exercer sa fonction la plus noble, qui est d exprimer le 28 Ibidem, p

76 Prof. Dr. Ciprian Streza soupir et la louange de la créature, dans l offrande de soi au Créateur. Aucun des éléments constituant la liturgie ne doit jouer son rôle indépendamment des autres rôles, aucun ne peut et ne doit y aller de sa petite production personnelle, de sa chanson particulière ou de son exposition privée, même avec l intention, sans doute estimable, d embellir le culte. La célébration liturgique forme un tout, et ce toute comporte une intégration organique de ses diverses composantes, pour faire le Christ présent. Le Mystère de la présence de Dieu réunit dans la Liturgie la parole de Dieu, la parole humaine, l icône et le chant dans une seule et fulgurante manifestation de la gloire eschatologique dans ce monde, et pour cela nous chantons: «Nous trouvant dans l église, nous nous croyons d être dans Ta gloire céleste». 76

77 Theology and Theologies The Ambivalence and the Limitation of Language in History Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea 1. In essence, theology is experience I will not stop to synthetize the different meanings of the word theology as expressed in Orthodoxy, I will only mention the definition according to which theology is God s mystery revealed to man in the embodied Son of God, which can be known by man to the extent to which he participates personally to the mystery of Christ or the mystery of His person. By confessing to the world the experience of the mystery of God, the problem of the way in which one can express the truth and the relationship between the contents of the mystery of God, which is unknown in its essence, and its linguistic conceptualization is brought into discussion. Eastern theology considers that theology is in itself an experience that determines the theological language. 1 The one that speaks about God and does not live the truth expressed in the language of the Scriptures, for instance, will never know which truth one should speak using the contemporary language since faith the experience of the truth is overall identified with the real knowledge of truth The ambivalence and the limitation of the language throughout history Expressing the truth that one truly lives brings forth the problem of the language to the extent to which theology is considered the essence of the experience. 1 Nicolae Răzvan Stan, Teologia Taina cunoaşterii lui Dumnezeu prin trăirea ascetică, experienţa eclesială şi aprofundarea adevărurilor doctrinare, in: Revelaţie, Dogmă şi Spiritualitate în Perspectiva Misiunii Bisericii. Al III-lea Colocviu Naţional de Teologie Dogmatică Ortodoxă, Cluj-Napoca, mai 2010, editors Pr. Prof. Dr. Valer Bel şi Pr. Asist. Dr. Cristian Sonea, Ed. Renaşterea, Cluj-Napoca, 2011, pp Stilianou Papadopoulou, Teologie şi limbă. Teologie experimentală. Limbă convenţională. Editura Mitropoliei Olteniei, Craiova, 2007, p

78 Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea CanonulOrtodoxiei (The Orthodoxy s Canon), mentions the analysis of Jean-Luc Marion, the French philosopher, who claimed that the theological speech, due to its bipolar character theo-logical -, can be practiced in two registers according to the priority given to one or the other of its two components God and reason and can be presented accordingly as a rational theology, in which man is the one who speaks about God (de Deo, peritheou), or as a revealed theo-logy, in which God speaks about Himself and men speak based on the word of God about Himself (a Deo, paratheou). Theo-logy s original site in Christianity is a Eucharistic one, and this assertion is exemplified in the paradigmatic episode from the Gospel according to Luke (24: 13-35) in which we can find the description of the experience that the Resurrected Christ and His disciples had on their way to Emmaus the third day after the Resurrection: although the disciples were very well aware of the messianic texts of the Hebrew Scriptures, they did not understand them in spite of the fact that these were about Christ because the text is not the revelation itself but the consequence of it; these texts become understandable only when the very non-textual divine Word goes through the text and makes Himself known to the others as He disappears in the exact moment of His revelation in the Eucharist during the breaking of the bread The Limits of the Language and the Church Formulae as an expresion of human reason transfigured by the Holy Spirit Because it is absolutely necessary to the way in which theology expressed itself throughout history, the truth is perceived as a factual, phonetic or graphic 4 expression of the divine reasons (logoi) which reach the entire creation. We believe that there is a certain correspondence between the natures of the linguistically conceptualized or defined subject/object, though this correspondence is not definitive and all-inclusive. To a certain extent, language establishes a connection and is indicative even if we accept it to be conventional, arbitrary or instrumental. Theologian Adrian Podaru in the introduction he wrote to the Romanian translation of Bishop Gregory of Nyssa s Encomium to his brother Saint Basil, the Archbishop of Caesarea from Cappadocia presents Saint Gregory s thoughts on 3 Ioan I. Ică jr., Canonul Ortodoxiei I. Canonul apostolic al primelor secole, Editura Deisis/Stavropoleos, 2008, pp. 61 ş.u. 4 Dumitru Stăniloae, Revelaţia prin acte, cuvinte şi imagini, in Ortodoxia, nr. 3 (1968), pp

79 Theology and Theologies man s historical condition and on the language he employs within the limits set by this condition. According to Saint Gregory of Nyssa the teleological unity and the axiological equality of the saints reaches the Holy Trinity through their relationship with eternity, and the successive presence of the saints throughout history is due to the creature-condition of man, to the socalled diastemic condition of the being. The concept of dia/sthma («gap») defines the being s limited condition, its ability of moving within the limits of space, time or of another nature. «This gap is the creation itself» as Saint Gregory says in the Homilies to the Ecclesiast. 5 God, on the other hand, has aadistemic existence, which points to the immeasurableness and incomprehensibleness of the divine simplicity. The main event in the history of man s redemption, the Embodiment of the Son of God is seen by Saint Gregory as a metadiastemic intervention of the Divinity in the world. In the same way, the deification of every one of us is also a metadiastemic intervention of the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in us, in our transfiguration 6. The language itself is a human intervention in spite of the fact that the ability to use it is a divine gift. Gregory reached this conclusion during an argument with Eunomius who claimed that the meanings of the words are established and guaranteed by God. By stating the human origin of the language, Gregory emphasised the free, active and creative nature of the human intellect while Eunomius reduced human reason only to its receptive function. If the language is a human invention, the product of a diastemic being, the immediate consequence is none other than the language itself is subjected to the conditions of the dia/sthma. On one hand, we have Basil who is and is not a diastemic being (thanks to the metadiastemic intervention of the Holy Spirit in his being) and on the other hand we have the language, a completely diastemic instrument, which is useless in portraying and praising Basil, this deified man. The language will be useful to us in praising Basil the man, but unuseful in praising Basil the deified man. There only one possible solution to how Basil can be properly praised: m / mhsi that is imitating Basil.This means that each of us must strive to receive the Holy Spirit. 7 5 τὸ δὲ διάστημα οὐδέν ἅλλο ἡ κτίσι έστιν (TLG ). 6 Adrian Podaru, Encomionului Sfântului Grigorie, episcopul Nyssei, [rostit în cinstea] fratelui său, Sfântul Vasile, Arhiepiscopul Cezareei Capadociei, in ROOTS, nr. 1, s.a., pp Adrian Podaru, Encomionului Sfântului Grigorie, episcopul Nyssei, [rostit în cinstea] fratelui său, Sfântul Vasile, Arhiepiscopul Cezareei Capadociei, pp

80 Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea In the circumstances of the diastemic existence, the divine being is not found in the words that conceptualize it. 8 These words do not encompass the existence and are not identified with it. If they would, this could mean that every person that invents and uses a characterization of the divine existence is automatically worthy of it, which is impossible to accomplish and represents a blasphemy. No word or image is sufficient and none of these is able to reach the truth. For sure, the theologian, who is a bearer of the Church s life and who experiences the truth, is moved by the Holy Spirit whose fulfilling rational organ becomes. 9 The Holy Spirit moves the mind of the theologian who expresses logically and inductively his experience-communion with the truth. In theology, words not only signify or express the truth, they do not comprise or identify it, partly or entirely. The possibility of words and of the images of the sensible reality reaches only as far as the signalling, declaration or underlining of a fact that represents the experience of the truth.according to StilianouPapadopoulou, the theological language of the Church there is no analogy between the truth and the language 10, which, in our view is not entirely accurate. Following the same direction, but relativizing completely the value of the formulae of Revelation, A. Kartashov considers that they are mere forms determined by the culture of different historical times and the Church should not absolutize the formulae specific to these categories, as it would mean a monophysiteabsolutization of the humanity, butkeeping the meaning of the Revelation, it should dress it in a new form or a new language, appropriate to the historical time in which the truth is being confessed. 11 The Greek theologian Stilianou- Papadopoulou notices that the absolutization of language can be found in the Protestant theology 12 and, probably because of this he is in favour of a complete conventionality of the language. Although language, as we saw in the works of Gregory of Nyssa, is the product of a diastemic being, In Father DumitruStaniloae s opinion Our Church believes that its official formulae were an expression not of pure humanity, but of humanity transfigured by the Holy Spirit. [...] It is not always that easy to draw a line between the meanings of the Revelation and their 8 Sfântul Grigorie al Nyssei, Contra lui Eunomiu, II, 291, PG 45, See Sfântul Grigorie al Nyssei, Cuvântul 12, 1, PG 35, 844AB. 10 Stilianou Papadopoulou, Teologie şi limbă, p Dumitru Stăniloae, Sfânta Tradiţie. Definirea noţiunii şi extinderea ei, in Ortodoxia, nr. 1 (1964), pp Stilianou Papadopoulou, Teologie şi limbă, p

81 Theology and Theologies verbal expressions, often these two elements melt into a whole. Or a high content transfigures the word expressing it, it rises it to its height, transfigures it and grants it everlastingness. By offering a critical analysis of Kartashov s position, father DumitruStaniloae makes a very subtle observation, that the static Tradition and the dynamic Tradition, both terms used by Kartashov in his discourse about theological language, do not refer to the fact that the meanings of the Revelation are static and the formulae are dynamic, but that in reality, the Tradition is alive (dynamic n.n.) and, at the same time, steadfast, both in its expression and in its meaning. In conclusion, it is not about forbidding new official formulae, when circumstances require it, but about preserving the old ones as well, about not considering that they have lost their authority, thus it is about making sure that the new formulae are an organic prolongation of the old ones, in a perfect harmony. We cannot be satisfied with a theology of repetition of the patristic formulae, but we can t agree either with abandoning entirely its spirit. In this sense, Church has to be patristic today too in its thinking. We do not believe that the eight centuries should preserve exclusively the same normative nature, but its character can be borrowed by the current thinking [...] patristic thinking is considered normative not only as a source, but also as a model that can be followed over the centuries The absolutization of language and the appearance of the contextual theologies At the opposite side of the antinomical understanding of language, limited and, at the same time, open towards the truth through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, there are the philosophical-hermeneutical theories which absolutize language so that the word of the Gospels contains and establishes the existence of the truth and identifies with it 14. The relational and indicative character of language is replaced by a self-referential character, the revealed text becomes Revelation itself. Although one may believe that through this approach the basis for an authentic theology is set, in fact it opens the way towards relativism and theological ambiguity.as language is a living, contextual system, always adapting, always changing, theology itself is thus transformed into a series of local theologies, dependent or defined by the context. 13 Dumitru Stăniloae, Sfânta Tradiţie. Definirea noţiunii şi extinderea ei, in Ortodoxia, nr. 1 (1964), p Stilianou Papadopoulou, Teologie şi limbă, p

82 Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea In Transforming Mission, David Bosch notices that Friedrich Schleiermacher is one of the first to reject the interpretation according to which the Protestant Reformation was an attempt to restore the apostolic church, since, in his view, the church is always in the process of becoming 15 and should not concern itself with recreating the past, but should mirror the real life and experience of the members of the church, as influenced by a specific context. In their turn, the messages transmitted were also determined by the environment and could not escape the various external influences.however, the missiologist David J. Bosch considers that Schleiermacher did not realize that his interpretations were conditioned by their context, in a similar manner as those he was criticizing. In his argumentation, David Bosch brings up Paul Ricoeur s theory of interpretation, according to which the reader creates the text when she or he reads it. Umberto Eco is another advocate for this idea, especially in his workopertaaperta, in which he claims that the text is open and dynamic and cannot be limited to a single reading.still, David Bosch, notices that interpreting a text is not only a literary exercise; it is also a social, economic, and political exercise. Our entire context comes into play when we interpret a biblical text. 16 The word contextualization first appeared in the 1970s, referring mainly to the task of the education and formation of people for the church s ministry. 17 According to David Bosch, two major types of contextual theology were identified: the indigenization model and the socio-economic model. For the Eastern Tradition this kind of argumentation is inaccurate. The followers of the contextual teologies state the essentially contextual nature of the faith. For many centuries every deviation from what any group declared to be the orthodox faith was viewed in terms of heterodoxy, even heresy. This was the case particularly after the Christian church became established in the Roman Empire. Arianism, Donatism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, and numerous similar movements were all regarded as doctrinally heterodox and their adherents excommunicated, persecuted, or banned. The role of cultural, political, and social factors in the genesis of such movements was not recognized David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission. Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Orbis Books, New York, 2008, p David Bosch, Transforming Mission, p See David Bosch, Transforming Mission, p David Bosch, Transforming Mission,pp

83 Theology and Theologies According to the orthodox faith, however, we can talk about a basic theology and a high theology but the determination of the content of faith starting from contextual realities, such as language, for example, cannot be considered criteria for Tradition. In a theological discourse about the relationship between theology and economy, Fr. DumitruPopescu said that on one hand the Son of God descends from the Trinitarian s life plan, ad intra, onto the level of the work of the divine economy, ad extra. There is an infinite distinction between these two levels because God s Trinitarian life (understood as a divine theology n.n.) belongs to the unbegotten divine Being, who has never been seen by anyone, while the pan of the divine economy belongs to the uncreated work of God through which the Son descends on earth to redeem all human kind. On the other hand, there is an indissoluble connection between these two levels since, due to the uncreated energies and the rationality of the visible world, the very same Word of God descends from the divine theology s plan onto the divine economy s level and He shows Himself to men as the embodied Logos. Because of the uncreated energies and the rationality of the creation, the Holy Scriptures bridge the gap between the sensible and the intelligible worlds of the ancient philosophy which was against the embodiment of God and which was at the foundation of the breach between Jesus and history as Man on earth and the Christ of the divine grace, Who meets God only in Heaven. 19 If we understand things as such, theology represents the mystery of God Who shows Himself to man in the Embodied Son of God by communicated Himself to man to the extent to which he personally participates in the mystery of Christ or in the mystery of His being. This way of understanding theology surpasses in itself all the contextual conditions in which the theological discourse is formulated. Theology cannot be determined by the context, it is beyond contextual conditions. It is received in a linguistic, social and political context, it is articulated with the help of contextual elements, but cannot be determined by them What kind of theological language are we using today? Between 23 and 28 of May 2013, the international conference entitled Can Orthodox Theology Be Contextual? Concrete Approaches from the Orthodox 19 Dumitru Popescu, Iisus Hristos Pantocrator, Ed.IBMBOR, Bucureşti, p Nicolae Răzvan Stan, Importanţa autenticităţii, clarităţii şi actualităţii limbajului teologic în abordarea ortodoxă, in: Importanţa pastoral-misonară şi culturală a presei bisericeşti în Ortodoxia românească, coordinators: Pr. Prof. Dr. Ioan Tulcan şi Pr. Lect. Dr. Filip Albu, Ed. Universităţii Aurel Vlaicu, Arad, 2010, pp

84 Assist. Prof. PhD Cristian Sonea Tradition took place in Cluj-Napoca. In his presentation, Fr. Calinic Berger suggested the expression creativity in continuity meaning by this the transmitting of tradition as experience, so much emphasized by the theology of Fr. DumitruStaniloae. Theological creativity is nourished by the apophatic experience of God s mystery, out of which Fr. Staniloae underlines the positive character. As God s word contains all the meaning and the sense (logoi) of creation, the apohatic and cataphatic knowledge are entwined. The contact between reason and contemplation is not one of mutual rejection, the two conditions and feed each other and that because God is beyond the rational discourse, but not without reason. 21 Strongly influenced by Saint Maximus the Confessor, D. Stăniloae sees the reasons of things (logoi) as subjective expressions of the Logos in which all the reasons find their unique, supreme meaning. Between the reasons of things and the knowledge of the things through a strictly analytical reason there s a connection, on one hand, but on the other hand, there s a connection between meanings (noema) and their understanding through a more direct, more intuitive judgment. The superior meaning and the supreme meaning are revealed to man according to the extent to which he manages to get closer to God, in the light of a more complete revelation of God. The analytical reason sees things separately, but accompanied by a spiritual life it intuits its own progress along with its limitations and becomes aware of the fact that the supreme or complete sense of each unit is a mystery connected to the mystery of the entire reality and to the supreme reality that it will never be able to comprehend completely. 22 Returning to the question opening this section, we conclude that the theological language may be adjusted to the context in the sense that it formulates the experience of the maximal closeness to the word of God, to the One in Whom all the reasons (sciences, arts, society etc.) find their supreme meaning and to the One who will never be completely comprehended. In other words, the experience of the mystery of God determines the theological discourse. Before God s mystery, only the awe and the love manage to grasp something, and the language of awe and love is doxology. 21 Calinic Berger, Contextual Theology, the «patristic mind», and the Triadology of Father Dumitru Stăniloae, during the international conference Can Orthodox Theology Be Contextual? Concrete Approaches from the Orthodox Tradition, Cluj-Napoca, 2013, m.m., p Dumitru Stăniloae, Teologia Dogmatică Ortodoxă vol. 1, Ed.IBMOR, Bucureşti, 1996, pp

85 The Menorah Lamp Ante-type of the Mind of Christ A Cyrilian Exegesis with Mistagogical and Missiological Meanings Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu The idea of this study came up during my actual research as well as in the context of the crisis of cross religious and ecumenical mission and dialogue manifested through an effective stagnation in the evolution of the Christian world to unity through this dialogue against an evolution to a united world based on principles and ideologies total foreign to the Christian spirit. The statement and enumeration in specialized handbooks of only conceptual, principles and means of doing Christian mission in general and that of the Orthodox Church in particular, persuaded me to profoundly meditate on the topics and title of the present symposium, to do mission after the model of Christ, asking myself through the lenses of my field of study spirituality what would be the essential means required by Christ to do mission after His model? What would be, in other words, the model of the Orthodox Christian missionary and through what would he be different from any other missionary of any other religion or other mission of this world, from a spiritual standpoint? We get this answer from St. Paul the Apostle, reminding the Corinthians through his first epistle that they need to receive the mind of Christ (I Cor. 2, 16). Missionary developments and reflections concerned with receiving this mind of Christ and its efficient role in the mission are to be found at the traditionalist theologian, Justin Popovitch. By developing and emphasizing in his studies about The Internal Mission of our Church: the Accomplishment of Orthodoxy and The Supreme Value and the Ultimate Criteria in Orthodoxy the essential Christological and ecclesial-ascetic principles in the Orthodox Christian mission, he nominates alongside a few divine-human endeavorsvirtues as essential means of structuring and instaurating of these principles 85

86 Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu in the life and mission of Church, also the mind of Christ, this expression finding almost as a leit-motif in many of his works 1. Father Justin s discourse on this topic is not only of an exemplifying and general persuasive type or biblically argumentative and sapiential, but he goes into ascetic mystical gnoseological details, unveiling and articulating a system or a concrete way suggested even by the patristic and ascetic-filocalic tradition which he explores and recommends, through two of his leading exponents Sf. Macarius of Egypt and St. Isaac of Syria out of which he extracts his gnoseology 2. 1 «The mission of the Church is that of uniting in an organic and personal way all its believers with the Person of Christ; to make out of their own feeling, a feeling of Christ, and from their own consciousness, the consciousness of Christ, their life to become life in Christ and through Christ; their soul to become soul in Christ and through Christ etc.» Arh. Iustin Popovici, Man and God-man, Deisis, Sibiu, 1997, p To contemplate all in Christ and through Christ this is the head command for every Christian, this is our categorical Christian imperative, and this is our Christian gnoseology. Through Christ though can only contemplate he who has his mind in Christ. The Holy Apostle declares when talking about Christians: We have the mind of Christ (I Cor. 2, 16). How did we possess it? By living in the body of the human-god, the Church, whose head is He. Life in the Church, with the aid of the Holy Sacraments and good works, unites our entire being with that of the Church, unites our mind with the human-god mind of the Church and makes us able to contemplate Christ and think that which is in Christ Jesus. And by contemplating with Christ s mind with the catholic mind of the Church, Christians can contemplate one, feel one, have one love and be of a single soul and heart and of a soul and thought (Ephesians 2:2; 3:16; 4:2; Romans 15:5; 1 Cor. 1:10). St. Iustin Popovici, The Orthodox Church and the ecumenism, p. 25: By living in the human-god body of the Church together with all of the Saints, man is step by step becoming a human-god through the Holy Sacraments and his holy good works and is filled with the joy of that holy gospel and soul-uplifting command of St. Basil the Great: Man is a being ordained to become god. Being created as potential god-man, man strives, caught in the human-god body of the Church, to bring his mind to that of the likeness with God, to transfigure it into a godly mind ( We have the mind of Christ 1 Cor. 2:16); to bring his consciousness to the likeness with God, to change it into a godly consciousness; to bring his will to that of the likeness with God, to transfigure it to a godly will; to bring his body the likeness of God; to change it in a godly body (The body is for God and God is for the body 1 Cor. 6:18). By becoming god-man through the Church and in the Church man returns to the likeness to God before the Fall, completing it the Godly beauties of the delightful likeness to Christ (Galatians 4:19, 3:27; Romans 8:28). St. Iustin Popovici, The Orthodox Church and the ecumenism, p St. Iustin Popovici, The Path of Knowing God, ed. Egumenita, 2014, p : In Christ s God-man person, God and man are linked indivisibly. The understanding of man is not abolished, but renewed, cleansed, sanctified, deified and deepened, man being given the possibility to know the truths of life in light of God made man such person gains the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) by thinking, living, feeling through Christ, thus getting to an integral knowledge of Truth: Philosophers of God are those whose inner man, i.e. the whole mind, the entire soul and heart are filled by Christ, p

87 The Menorah Lamp Ante-type of the Mind of Christ The mainly apologetic effort of father Iustin Popovici, to institute an ideal of holiness and grace in society and Church, was placed mainly against humanist philosophy (rationalism, criticism, idealism) 3 and the modern Western humanist culture 4 towards which he often expresses critical and even sarcastic opinions, based on exegetical spiritual exploration that he largely did in the above mentioned ascetic fathers gnoseology, within which he manages to profoundly structure an explicit system of achieving, by every believer called to be a missionary, of the supreme value and absolute criterion of Orthodoxy, i.e. the God-man model as measure of all things, for which the mind of Christ is essentially constitutive. Without willing to create a completion of father Popovici s ideas and concept regarding mission, I will try to develop this understanding of the need for the mind of Christ for the Christian mission, starting from St. Cyril of Alexandria s texts on the Gospel of John concerning the verses in which our Savior Christ states the relative character of St. John the Baptist s testimony about his godliness compared to the absolute statement of God 3 And in the human philosophies dwell, either mediated or directly, lies, which are, from every of their veins, from the father of lies, the devil, and always lead to him. For this, there is an imperative need to guard day and night from the highest watchtower of our human being that these lies do not slip in you, in me, and that they knock us, our thought, our mind, down to the kingdom of lie, hell. From here stems the Gospel command of God-Man, Jesus Christ: in your thinking be mature (1 Cor 14:20). And we will be, if we will raise as a mature person, in the measure of the age of accomplishment of Christ; as then our mind will be united in a graceful and sanctified way with the mind of Christ, with the catholic, saint and God-human mind of the Church and we will be able to proclaim together with the God bearing Saint: But we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). Then no wind of human teaching could any longer shake us and set us in error through human delusion and through the devil s cunningness, but we will stand with all our being in the eternal truth, that is Lord Christ Himself, God-Man (John 16:6; 8:32,36: 1:17). St. Iustin Popovici, The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism, ed. Mrea Sfintii Arhangheli Petru Voda, 2002, p The West has now doted. This is where its abnormity and madness stands. In the Christian age, when the West was Orthodox, it could see with its spirit and watch with its mind; but as it distanced itself from the truth and the good Christian deed, its spiritual sight narrowed ever more until the 20 th century, when it totally darkened As for the contemplative and the spiritual sight in the hidden core of things and in the understanding and significance of the entire creation in the whole universe around us, in regards to this oh, my brothers! Western humanity is today blinder than the Muslim Arabia, than the Brahmanic India, than the Buddhist Tibet or than the animist China. Indeed, Christ has never seen a greater shame than this in the two milleniums that have passed: that baptized people to be blinder than those not baptized! St. Iustin Popovici, The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism, ed. Mrea Sfintii Arhangheli Petru Voda, 2002, p

88 Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu the Father and of the godliness itself expressed by the wonderful works that bore witness about Him, all this large comparison being explained by relating it to the image of the Tabernacle from the Old Testament and moreover of the Menorah lamp, which are likened in several commentaries from various works, both to the Savior and to St. John the Baptist. While trying to unravel the Christological ante-types from the Tabernacle in his writing about Worship in Spirit and Truth, St. Cyril of Alexandria identifies the Menorah that burned in the first chamber of the Tabernacle mainly with «Christ, who filled through His image (type), those who wanted to go further into the Most Holy Place, by a great light from all directions» 5, but also with St. John the Baptist, who was also «light and candle, through resemblance and by communion with Christ, those under the law and from Judea» 6. St. Cyril emphasizes through these two typologies the difference between the value of the testimony brought by Christ Himself in the world compared to that brought by St. John the Baptist and by the saints that sanctify their minds by filling them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit: «there is a big difference (of the ante-types of St. John the Baptist and the saints) compared to Christ, and those of the saints will not be those in which there is Christ, but somehow outside of and smaller. As those belonging to God are separated and placed apart and as a reason considering and distinguishing them from the human ones, showing the property of the natures and the difference in praise.» 7 Invoking a succession of biblical verses as fulfillment and manifestation in this world of this Christological ante-type on the one hand referring to the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit shining in the candles of this candlestick, and on the other hand as a manifestation of the mind of Christ through the gracious light in the minds of the saints, St. Cyril offers us at the same time the possibility to unravel several important facts concerning the Christian mission because, understood in the topographical context of the Tabernacle, the relationships of the Menorah to the other holy objects unveils, in the Old Testament worship ritual, interesting mistagogical and spiritual meanings out of which important missionary meanings can be deduced. In essence, from the similarities between the Savior and St. John the Baptist to the Menorah in the Tabernacle as well as from other patristic testi- 5 St. Cyril of Alexandria, On Worship in Spirit and Truth, the 10 th book, PSB 38, p Ibidem, p Ibidem, p

89 The Menorah Lamp Ante-type of the Mind of Christ monials convergent to the proposed subject, I will try to deduce the method of mistagogical accomplishment (through dwelling on of the Holy Spirit s gifts and of the divine grace in the human mind) of that which, in the asceticmystical spirituality but also in the missiological conception of father Iustin, is called the prophetic mind or mind after (conform to) Christ, as well as the testimony differences (the witnessing of Christ) of this (congruent) mind of Christ compared to the simple human mind, and the relevance of obtaining this mind by the human being through the Christian mission. In the first chapter of the third book of his Commentary on the Gospel of John, St. Cyril of Alexandria emphasizes the messianic and godly establishment of the Savior Jesus Christ in the works specific to the divine nature, and explains John s verses concerning his testimony on the torch that burns and lightens, made by the Savior Himself, in order to show the inferiority of his testimonial of Himself compared to that of the Father s and that of the saving works that He performs. This apologetic orientation of exegesis must be understood as it is in the context of the Monophysite Christological dispute which sought to state the full divinity and humanity of Christ s Person in history, and the interposition of the Menorah lamp compared here with St. John the Baptist, serves this purpose very well, as the light of the teaching and work of the Baptist is temporary, limited and constrained, received through grace from the eternal Light of He who was before him. Basically, through Christ the Savior and through John the Baptist, we get a symbolical representation of the models of these two minds, godly and human, and an attempt to evaluate their action and efficiency in delivering the saving Christian message. St. Cyril concludes his demonstration in this regard discussing in a rather contradictory manner with the Jews as he is taking sides with the Savior Christ and emphasizing the change in the origin of the Messianic and godliness testimony based on people s words and claims out of simple chatter to the proof more worthy of belief and more important of the works of He who has born Him accomplished by Himself: Although I say that he was a torch and is depicted in the writings of the Law and prophesied through the voice of the Holy Prophets that he will once show himself as the light before the true Light, and proclaim to you that he is worthy of preparing the way of the Lord, but as you don t find anything worthy of belief, I will go to what is greater, compared to which, as it normally is, you will not say anything, being overwhelmed against your own will by the beauty of truth itself. As I am no longer testified by peoples words and statements, and I will not consider needing to 89

90 Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu compile the testimonies about Myself out of simple words, but I will entrust those about Me to some proofs more worthy of belief and important, and I will let shine from the midst of the greatness of my works the fact that I am God in nature and that I have shown Myself from God the Father 8 Father Staniloae explains and enriches these comments of St. Cyril by emphasizing the intratrinitary synergy between the Father and the Son in doing the acts that reveal and proclaim the Father in the world through the works of the Son and the Son as doer of great things (beauty of truth) through the power of God the Father that dwells fully in the Son, this synergy and mutual dwelling being the basis of an internal, ontological and existential confession directed towards humanity in an internal manner by the form of worship : Christ declares that He has the proof of His godliness, not so much from man s testimonies, but from the testimony of his wonderful acts, whose power is from God the Father. But He despises neither the testimony about Him given by the Old Law, revealing in it the spiritual reason of the forms of worship. By stating the works He does were given by the Father for Him to do, Christ does not declare that the Father told Him this in an external manner, but that He has the Father inside of Him, doing these works together, and in this sense they (these works) are a witnessing of the Father that He is His Son. In doing these works, Christ experienced the Father as their doer. He mostly felt their character above the human one, which shows Him as having God the Father inside Himself as co-worker, and that He is intimately united with the Father, being God in accomplishing these works. 9 The confession and therefore, the Son s mission in the world is based on the full dwelling of the Father in his Son, in the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, the model of this dwelling being transmitted on humanity s level through the Holy Spirit which shelters Christ in people. Dwelling consequently implies the abode or the home whose type is the Tabernacle and whose fulfillment is Christ Himself who raised and sheltered the tent of the human body among the peoples (John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and stood among us, full of grace and truth., 2 Cor. 5:4; II Pt.. 1, 14 and 19 referring exactly to the torch - morning star - Christ that shines in a dark place in the human body tent). In this tent, the godly and humanly mind symbolized by these forms of worship, open the way to a successive transmission of the work of grace on the model of the intratrinitary ontological model, 8 St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary at the Gospel of Saint John, PSB 41, p Nota 529, PSB 41 p

91 The Menorah Lamp Ante-type of the Mind of Christ towards the world on a noetic level, as a dwelling of the Father s mind of Christ in the mind of every believer and co-worker with Christ. When expounding the ontological difference between the Savior s confession as Light of the world and that of St. John the Baptist s confession as a torch, Ph. D. father Ioan Caraza mentions as ultimate basis of the testimony, the wonderful house of the soul, in which the Holy Spirit must rest in order for man and the people to rest in God, this being a practical call for the chosen people to constitute themselves as a temple, a call that discovers the ultimate sense of the sending and mission of the Son of God in the world and in history, namely to ease the rest of the Holy Spirit in people and in peoples in the name of Jesus: By stating that He «has a confession greater than that of the Baptist» (John 5:36,37), the Savior showed that this confession does not consist of judging the world, but in the revealing of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. And this Light neither came with condemnation, nor by overwhelming with wonders, but through that wonderful house of the soul, that also means rest: by attracting them through the glory of His Light. St. John saw at the baptism only the sign of the Holy Spirit as a dove, but not the fruits of the Spirit in the life of the Savior as well, the confession brought to Him by the Father and which was greater than John s. The Savior rebuked the obstinacy of those who did not believe in these signs, calling it «not hearing» and «not seeing» of God the Father, which makes the Word not fit for their hearts (John 6: 37, 38), even though standing in front of them was «more than Jonah» (Matthew 12:41), «more than Solomon» (Luke 12:42) in all His wisdom and glory». 10 Through his exegesis, St. Cyril offers us the context of a mistagogical comprehension of the cult in the Tabernacle with real life implications, not only of the spiritual type, but also of missiological prospects. The understanding of the Menorah as an ante-type for the mind of Christ offers us the understanding of the cult in the Tabernacle with the ritual of the permanent lighting of the Menorah (Lev. 24; 1-5) and with the withdrawal of the curtain 10 Deacon Ph.D. Ioan Caraza St. John the Baptist, God s Forerunner. The Baptism with the Holy Spirit, Ed. Episcopiei Sloboziei si Calarasilor 2000, p We must mention the philological Hebrew of the word shechinah (to settle, to live, to rest but also royal residence, house of a god etc.) confirmed by the ritual significance of the resting divine glory (Shechinah) in the tent (mishcan, mishcanot place of dwelling) or the Temple in the Old Testament, in the New Testament being understood as dwelling of the Holy Spirit, of the Spirit of Christ in the man, which brought along the gift of prophecy and wisdom cf. art. Shekinah in Wikipedia, 91

92 Protos. Teach. Assist. PhD Vasile Bîrzu between the Holy and the Holy of Holies during the Iom Kipur when the Archpriest would only enter once every year in the Holy of Holies in order to sprinkle the tabernacle with the blood of the offering as a cult that is spiritually mistagogical but also as a missionary initiation or sending to the people. Moses is, for instance, presenting himself before the Tabernacle to be instructed and sent to the people by the Logos Christ revealed in His glory between the Cherubs of the Tabernacle; the ritual of the redemption worship in Iom-Kipur when the curtain was withdrawn for the altar to be sprinkled, this reiterating the very moment of the encounter between Moses or the Archpriest with the divine Logos, a ritual also reiterated by the meeting of the light of the Menorah and the Tabernacle when the curtain between the Holy and the Holy of Holies was withdrawn. This can also be identified, through internal transposition, with a cult that is possible to accomplish internally in the wonderful house of the soul, in the hesychastic practice, when the mind of the ascetic descends or is deepened in his heart, a fact that gets him to the ecstatic manifestation of the uncreated light or the glory Christ in the entire temple of the body and the soul. This manifestation can be understood, from a missiological point of view, as the wearing or in-vesting of the person with the garment of divine grace that makes man a real missionary apostle of Christ to light the world. 92