Academic Periodical

The content of modern Orthodox Missiology is largely determined by its conceptual apparatus. Despite the fact that the development of Orthodox Missiology covers a relatively short period in the modern history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the process of forming missiological terminology is at a stage that allows it to become the subject of scientific research. At the moment, more than 50 concepts are regularly used in missiological discourse. This is evidence of the level of development achieved and speaks of the creative nature of the development of missiology as an independent section of Orthodox systematic theology. At the same time, even a preliminary acquaintance with the conceptual apparatus of modern Orthodox missiology reveals a number of problems discussed in this article.

The mission of the Russian Orthodox Church among the indigenous small peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East was historically carried out in the context of solving the accompanying logistics, information, linguistic, apologetic, cultural and anthropological problems. The current situation is characterised by a significant transformation of these problems and the need to rethink the mission’s goals and objectives.The evangelisation of peoples living within the pastoral responsibility of the Moscow Patriarchate has always been an important task and a determining factor in the formation of its canonical territory. The present-day canonical area of the Russian Orthodox Church is constituted primarily by missionaries whose activities always preceded the creation of dioceses.

The article describes main features of the image of Christianity in perception of contemporary Russians in comparison to the authentic (early and patristic) Christianity. Main difficulties and problems concerning the mission connected to the existing stereotype of Christianity perception are indicated. The author expresses some suggestions on how to resist negative influence of this image on introduction to the genuine Christianity.

The study focuses on Archimandrite Spyridon (Kislyakov), the widely known early XX century Russian missionary. The paper reviews the forms and methods of Archimandrite Spyridon’s evangelical activities during his prison ministry (1901–1905). This period is of particular interest because Archimandrite Spyridon not only delivered sermons at prisons of the Nerchinsk forced labour camp but also wrote them down. The objective of the study is to establish distinctive features of the prison ministry in the context of the early XX century before the revolution,
to review the main missionary goals and objectives of the prison ministry and to analyse the homiletic legacy resulting from Archimandrite Spyridon’s prison ministry at the Nerchinsk forced labour camp.

The article reviews and analyses the missionary and educational work carried out by St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Brotherhood in Vyatka, founded by Archpriest Stefan Kashmensky in 1882. The Brotherhood was engaged in educating the Old Believers population of the Vyatka diocese and supported a spiritual school in Vyatka for training missionaries from among peasants. Its graduates became teachers-missionaries in children’s primary schools in villages populated by Old Believers. As brotherhood teachers got closer to students, their parents and school environment, reconciliation between Orthodox and Old Believers took place gradually. In some cases, Old Believers even converted back to the Orthodox Church.

The author attempts to argue the integrated nature of the catechetical tradition by viewing it in light of the consistency principle. The article provides definitions of the principle and arguments in support of its significance and relevance based on writings by the Church Fathers such as St. Irenaeus of Lyons, St. Hyppolytus of Rome, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Augustine, as well as by the Doctors of the Church such as Tertullian, Origen and Clement of Alexandria. Further, the article reviews application of the principl in theory and practice of catechesis.

In the history of the Russian Orthodox church the first third of the XVI century was marked by the sharp arguments between two theological-practical tenors. One of them was represented by Vassian Patrikeev and the elders (startsy) from over the Volga, the other by Iosif Volotskii and the Metropolitan of Moscow Daniil. Guiding by the recent analytical investigations the author reconstructs a part of the arguments, the polemic about the church attitude to heretics that brought the attention of the church to the responsibility of pastors (including bishops and the Metropolitan) for the heretics’ conversation, their torments and death, for the sufferings of the common Christians. As the result of Iosif followers’ victory and the forced closure of the polemic, the raised problem was not solved. At the same time the polemic displayed that the way of the solution was bringing the practice of church life in correspondence with its evangelic norms.

The article examines the paradigm of precatechesis and main characteristics of the precatechesis process in cases of severely ill or dying people and precatechumens with anomalies in mental health. Enchurching of such people requires church experience and pastoral delicacy of a catechist. Reference to the tradition of the early Church, particularly to liturgical canonic artifacts, testimonies of writers apologists and teachers of the Church, compared to present-day Christian Catholic (universal) practice may become utterly useful during precatechisis in special cases.

The article analyses activity of Moscow interparish Fraternity Sts Peter, Alexis, Iona and Philip, Metropolitans of Moscow. It was created at the end of 1909 and existed until 1917–1918. The Fraternity differed from many other parish fraternities by its aims, membership and forms of activity. It united people of traditional piety who craved “revival of the origins of catholicity (sobornost) on the basis of a living church relationship between a bishop, clergy and laymen”. The focus of attention for the Fraternity was vital problems of church life: recovery of sobornost, involvement of laymen into divine service and church charity. Members of the Fraternity were actively involved into preparations of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. The most enthusiastic summoned up church forces to fight against persecutions of the atheistic regime.

The paper is focused on the meaning of the word “sponsor” according to early Christian historical sources. The author describes the baptismal sponsorship experience in the early church as well as the possible ways of applying it in modern catechetical practice by the example of catechesis in the Transfiguration Brotherhood.

The article covers the problems related to modern missionary practices of Protestant churches in the Russian Federation (1990s – 2010s). Preaching of repentance is the core of their evangelisation (missionary) work. Curren repentance practices in Protestant churches are outlined on the basis of interviews ith pastors. The author also analyses the interrelation between these practices and evangelisation.

The article describes the missionary work of Charles de Foucault, the French Catholic monk and priest who lived in the second half of XIX – early XX century. In Charles de Foucault’s practice one can see not only traditional forms of mission of the time but also a special form of bearing witness, which later became known as “missionary presence”, the presence of Christ among non-believers. Charles de Foucault could let Christ be present give himself as well as through the Holy Gifts of the Eucharist and through the neighbour, commanded to be loved. Charles de Foucault’s major dream was the birth of brotherhoods which would spread the message of Christ among non-believers. His dream came true later, but not in his lifetime.

The article presents main principles of the patristic tradition of catechumenate and their possible application in modern Church practice. Catechetical learning is designed to facilitate full inclusion into the church modus vivendi, into the life of the new people of God. It necessarily means core change of priorities and acquisition of skills of living in this otherness. That is why Catechumenate must be estimated not as a historical temporal practice, but as a universal means of Church reception of its new members. In the modern conditions of existence of church communities all encompassing nature of purpose and aims of catechetical instruction determines that the preference is given to the long-term and elaborately structured catechumenate practice.

The dynamic evolution of schism and sectarinism in the XVII century prompted the Russian Orthodox Church to embark upon antimission. This was due to a number of reasons including indiginous religiousity coupled with ignorance and serious issues in clergy’s life and ministry. The church and the government fought schism mainly by administrative and police action. This type of antimission was inefficient and generally encouraged a plethora of new schismatic groups. The outcome was that, by 1905, circa 20 million people were members of religious
organisations and Old Beliver unions.

The article examines process of a homilist preparation for preaching as for the ministry of word. The process comprises several stages: formation of the personality of the future preacher, calling for the ministry, acquisition of special knowledge. Problems of preparation directly for the delivery of a sermon are touched upon separately. Of additional interest is analysis of two autonomous types of sermon: written and oral (improvisation) and peculiarities of preparation for each of them. The author comes to the conclusion that recommendations for preparation for preaching in different ages of Christian history to a large extent coincide. It indicates that this particular ministry is rooted in the tradition of the original Church, i. e. in the ministry of Christ and His disciples.

On the basis of the Yekaterinburg Diocesan Bulletin (1886–1917), this article deals with the missionary work of the Yekaterinburg diocese focused primarily on internal mission. In the XIX century two types kinds of mission emerged in the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) — external mission (to non-Christians and Pagans) and internal mission (to former Orthodox believers who fell into Old Belief and sectarianism as well as to Orthodox themselves). Throughout the Yekaterinburg diocese, external mission was addressed to Vogul Pagans and Muslims (Tatars and Bashkirs). The missionary work of the ROC in the Yekaterinburg diocese was carried out within domestic policy implemented through decisions of the Holy Synod, a body of church and state authority.

The article outlines some ideas that may be useful for a catechist assisting modern adults and sufficiently prepared catechumens with exploring relevant anthropological issues at the mystagogical stage of catechesis. The author attempts to summarise key anthropological views of the Holy Fathers, modern theologians and thinkers. This is particularly valuable considering that the Christian tradition does not have an anthropological doctrine or even a unified anthropological system. The approach presented in the article is different from all others in that it embraces both theoretical research and practical skills resulting from more than 30 years of catechetical experience.

This article analyses one of the resolutions of the 1917–1918 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, entitled “On Church Preaching”, focusing on its origins and related debates. The author also addresses the question of how the issues raised in the conciliar document were discussed before the Council and solved in the years since. The article is based on various publications on church preaching dated back from the late XIX – early XX centuries. Of particular interest are the Resolution’s paragraph concerning the establishment of missionary brotherhoods and the consideration of how this initiative was further implemented.

The article reviews milestone events in the life of Tula diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of new relations between the state and the church (so-called «New Course») during the period from 1943 to 1953. The author tries to analyze and comprehend regional aspect of the «New Course» compared to the events which were happening in the top echelon of power. The research is based on documents from the local archives, many of which have been introduced into scientific use for the first time. These materials help to better understand mechanisms behind the processes the Soviet machine tried to manipulate the Russian Orthodox Church, and how the church, overcoming compromises, was getting out of the state of crisis after unprecedented persecutions of the 1920s–1930s.

In the article, Didache is considered as a source on the early practice of catechesis in the church in the I – II centuries. According to Didache, the basic elements of catechesis were the instruction addressed to catechumens, based on “the teaching of the two ways” known in the ancient church, and baptism itself. The consistent and stage-based process of teaching Christian faith and life emerged later as the Patristic system of catechesis.

The article dwells on the issue of style in today’s preaching to faithful members of the church. The author makes an attempt to finds answers to the following pressing questions. What kind of language should be used in contemporary church preaching? Should one opt for an elevated style using words and phrases borrowed from Church Slavonic or, on the contrary, for a more up-to-date speech with neologisms and loan words to be quite clear to every modern person? What kind of language is needed for preaching Christianity in the age of postmodernism and of the didactic and homiletic crisis in the church? What examples should contemporary preachers refer to?

The article deals with the missionary activities of the Russian Spiritual Mission in China, a country with a specific culture, in the second half of the XIX century. The author describes a six-year experience of the XIV Spiritual Mission led by Archimandrite Gury (Karpov) (1858–1864) and the attempts by the posterior missions to continue these efforts until 1900 when the mission was crushed by the Boxer Rebellion and then revived in the early XX century. Particular attention is paid to analysing the role of the missionary’s personality in relation to the success of mission. 

The article analyses missionary activities of the Tver Deanery based on diocesan annual reports. The activities are evaluated according to the criteria established by the Local Council in 1917–1918. It becomes evident that the Tver Deanery’s missionary activities in their current state are inconsistent with these criteria. The assessment is based on the years 1991–2011. Since then the overall situation has changed somewhat.

The article focuses on the high priority aspect of the church pastoral mission, i. e. preparation of newly-weds for holy Matrimony. It examines prerequisites and reasons behind the high demand for this type of involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church with the society. The article analyses church guidelines for working with families in parishes. It also provides examples of premarital catechesis as practiced by parishes in some Russian Orthodox Church dioceses.

The multifaceted objective of meaningful participation of people in church prayer is considered in this article in relation to the used language. In the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the issue of liturgical language was addressed in different ways. Despite the serious debates and suggestions at the 1917–1918 Great Moscow Council, this problem remains quite pressing today. In order to better approach and to evaluate existing solutions, it is recommended to refer not only to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church but also to the experience of other Slavic churches in the XX century that introduced their national languages in worship.

The present article is focused on the missionary and educational activities of St. Gury Brotherhood founded in 1867 in Kazan. The author also analyses the contribution of N. I. Ilminsky to the Brotherhood’s work and the negative changes in it after his death. The Brotherhood was engaged in educating non-Russian population in Kazan and neighbouring dioceses through opening primary missionary schools in languages of minor nationalities, translating and publishing books, training teachers and priests from among indigenous dwellers, assuming responsibility for churches and orthodox worship for baptized non-Russian people in their native languages, etc.

New Testament sources provide only indirect evidence of prebaptismal catechesis, allowing however to highlight the fundamental points of apostolic preaching addressed both to Jews and to Gentiles, which could have been the basis of initial, yet oral, catechisms. Apostolic preaching was focused on the resurrection of Jesus and on the call to respond to this preaching, that is, on the call to penance and faith in Jesus; on the promise of forgiveness, salvation and the gift of the Spirit for those who have answered this call. Since the start of missionary preaching to Gentiles, profession of faith in the one God who does not dwell in temples made by hand, the Creator of the world and of man “from one blood”, became a distinct part of the creed. The theology of the Apostolic Age is characterized by such distinctive features as the simplicity of doctrinal formulations, the absence of theological abstractions and the indissoluble connection between preaching and responding to it, that is, baptism.

This article uses the writings of the missionary and religious enlightener Archbishop of Kazan and Sviiazh Vladimir (Petrov) (1828–1897) to provide an overview of his missionary activities. In the process it examines the related practical questions he was concerned with, including the preparation and organization of the mission; the theoretical ideal of the missionary and the missionary lifestyle; the fundamental characteristics of the missionarized population.

The article presents an overview of opinions of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church at the turn of the XIX–XX century on reasons of parish decline. Special attention is attributed to the question of parish reform and tendencies which influenced the discussions and elaboration of the Parish Regulation of the Local Council in 1917–1918. The attempts of the bishops to define “parish” and their proposals on the revival of parish life are of great interest. In the article general overview of the document under scrutiny and brief characteristics of the clergy at the beginning of the XX century is given.

The article analyses the missionary message delivered to children and youth by the distinguished and idiosyncratic early XX century preacher Wladimir Filimonovich Marcinkowsky (1884–1972). The paper briefly outlines the historical and church context of Marcinkowsky’s sermons and establishes the motivation for addressing his message to young people. The author attempts to identify the main subjects of his missionary message and to analyse the tools Marcinkowsky used in order to achieve his main objective, i.e. directing his young listeners towards Christ.

The article provides theological grounding for the role of the laity in the mission of the Orthodox Church. The main forms and principles of the laymen participation in missionary ministry are also analysed. The article identifies problems of their preparation for the mission and its different levels such as personal testimony, ministry of revived missionary parishes, missionary activity of Orthodox communities and brotherhoods, spiritual movements, missionary societies and other organizations. Principles of the present-day Orthodox mission, its basic challenges and forms are also examined in the article.

The article reviews and analyses Nikolay Ivanovich Ilminsky’s educational missionary activities involving the indigenous population of Kazan. The mission was unique in that it was realised through education. Ilminsky applied new educational approaches and methods when working with local ethnic minorities; most importantly, instruction was offered in their native language and training was provided for those of them who wished to become teachers. Ilminsky also developed the framework for the Kryashen language based on the Cyrillic script instead of the traditional Arabic. Towards the end of the XIX century, Ilminsky pioneered and helped establish a whole network of ethnic minority schools as well as prominent higher education institutions training teachers for ethnic minority schools and priests for non-Russian parishes.

The article presents a short review of the Russian internal mission’ s problems according to materials of “Missionary Review” magazine of 1896–1916. The magazine was an official periodical of the Synod internal mission, which was established in the first half of the XIX century to fight schism and sectarianism. Special interviews where “objects of the mission” were often summoned with police force became the main form of missionary activity. After the Toleration Act of 1905, the Internal mission in part switched to enlightenment of formal Orthodox Christians. The analysis of problems and mistakes of the internal mission in the XIX – early XX century may be helpful in making today’s mission more fruitful.

The author outlines main principles of the mission, suggested by the outstanding Russian Orthodox missionary of the XIX century Archimandrite Makary (Glukharev) (1792–1847). Practically applying these principles he developed, complemented and elaborated them. Analysis of various source materials (letters, missionary and travel notes, accounts, etc.) made it possible to demonstrate continuity, evolution and implementation of the principles in the ministry of Altai missionaries-disciples of Venerable Makary.

The author analyses his long-term personal experience of providing catechetical instruction to the baptised and defines its main and most complex problem, i. e. superstitious beliefs among modern christened people. The article confirms that catechesis of previously baptised people requires the catechist to have a special focus not merely on firmly establishing the Orthodox faith but on standing against specific superstitions. The article examines the nature of superstitions and the distinction between superstitions and heresies. The focus is on the most common superstitious belief that sacraments are efficacious ex opere operato. This superstition encourages a particular kind of pietism characterised by a false hope of salvation. The holders of this superstitious belief have been nicknamed ‘zahozhane’ (‘drop-in Christians’). The author briefly reviews ways of overcoming the power of superstitions through revival of comprehensive patristic catechetical instruction for people prior to their baptism.

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a serious spiritual crisis among many Russians. Quite a few of them responded to the missionary activity of Western preachers including Jehovah’s Witnesses. Orthodox believers who were not properly established in their faith were among them. The Orthodox Church could not but respond to the proselytising activity of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization. In this article the author considers the current missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church among members of this religious organization and identifies reasons behind the failure of the mission and ways to overcome the present crisis.