History of Orthodox Missiology (DM8800A)

Content

This unit will examine the historical development of the Orthodox Missiology by situating it in the key Orthodox mission movements from the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox traditions. There will be a distinctive focus on the mission models of the Coptic Orthodox tradition. The unit will cover matters such as: the origin, the development, the mission tasks in the social, cultural, and diaspora milieus of the Orthodox mission; the lives, ministries, and methods of the most significant Orthodox missionaries; and the biblical, theological, liturgical and historical perspectives of the Orthodox witness that informed the Orthodox mission activities in various historical contexts. The unit will critically look into several historical approaches that took shape in engaging the Orthodox evangelization.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

No prerequisites, no prohibited combination of units

Pedagogy

Mixed mode lectures and tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

1. Aharon, Sapsezian. Armenian Christianity: The Faith of a Nation. Paramus, NJ: Armenian Missionary Association of America, 1997.

2. Aram, Keshishian. Orthodox Perspectives on Mission. Oxford: Regnum Books, 1992.

3. Christine, Chaillot., ed. The Orthodox Church in Eastern European the Twentieth Century. New York: Peter Lang. 2011.

4. Hamilton, Alastair. The Copts and the West, 1439-1822: The European Discovery of the Egyptian Church. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

5. Jonathan, Shepard., ed. The Expansion of Orthodox Europe: Byzantium, the Balkans and Russia. Aldershot, England: Burlington, VT: Ashgate/Variorum, 2007.

6. Mathew, C.P., and M.M. Thomas. The Indian Churches of St. Thomas 2nd Edition. Delhi: DJVP/ISPCK, 2006.

7. Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Mission. New York: Penguin Books, 1964.

8. Nicolas, Zernov. Eastern Christendom: A Study of the Origin and Development of the Eastern Orthodox Church. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1961.

9. Rochie, Hardy Edward. Christian Egypt Church and People Christianity and Nationalism in the Patriarchate of Alexandria. New York: Oxford University Press, 1952.

10. Saint- Laurent, Jeanne- Nicole Mellon. Missionary Stories and the formation of the Syriac Churches. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2015.

11. Schmemann, Alexander. Church, World, Mission. Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1979.

12. Vassiliadis, Petros. “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World.” International Review of Mission 105, no.2, (2016): 342-355.

Assessment