LOI Discipleship and Christian Formation Consultation Resources

Dear friends

I am pleased to announce that LOI has now made available the podcasts from last year’s consultation, in which you participated. You can find a list, with hyperlinks, at http://www.loimission.net/loi-2018-discipleship-and-christian-formation/loi-2018-resources/, where you will also find free downloads of some of the papers. These constitute a valuable resource, not least because I am not aware of any extended consideration of this topic by Evangelicals and Orthodox together. Please feel free to share them and make known their existence.

Some of you must have wondered when these would appear; my apologies, but a protracted redesign of our website meant that I didn’t want to interfere halfway through!

In Christ

Tim

—

Dr Tim Grass Facilitator, Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative

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Two of My Recent Publications

Note: Recently, I have received two of the publications to which I have contributed lately. Here are a few details about each of them.

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Intentional Discipleship and Disciple-Making. An Anglican Guide for Christian Life and Formation is a publication of The Anglican Consultative Council, aiming to revive interest in the ancient discipline and practice of disciple-making within the Anglican Communion.

My friend, Rev. Mark Oxbrow, asked me to write about the practice of discipleship within the Orthodox Christian tradition. My initial text had to be shortened, in order to fit a very limited space, in which a variety of topics was discussed.

I attach below my short text. Time allowing, I intend to publish on my blog a more extended discussion of this important topic.

Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative Regional Consultation, Addis Ababa – Statement of Intent

 

Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative Regional Consultation, Addis Ababa

11-14 October 2016 (1-4 Tikemt 2009)

Statement of Intent

Sixty Orthodox and Evangelical Church leaders, theologians and mission workers gathered in Addis Ababa for a Regional Consultation at the invitation of Ethiopian leaders from both traditions. Over four days, we prayed, discussed, studied and shared meals together and were graciously received during our visit to the Ethiopian Patriarchate. Over half those present came from Ethiopia, with further regional representation from Egypt, Eritrea, India

and Kenya. Many Orthodox participants came from the Oriental family of Churches, and were joined by participants from the Eastern Orthodox family of Churches. Evangelical participants came from the Mekane Yesus Church, the Kale Heywet Church, the Meserete Kristos Church, the Mulu Wongel Church and the Anglican Church of Ethiopia, as well as Anglicans, Baptists, Independent Evangelicals, Methodists and Presbyterians from other parts of the region and the world.

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Evangelical Churches of Ethiopia for hosting our gathering. At the opening session we were encouraged by an inspiring message of greeting from His Holiness Abune Mathias I, Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, and members of the Steering Committee were warmly received by His Holiness, who encouraged them to continue the work of the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative (LOI).

LOI participants write powerfully on reconciliation | Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative

Source: LOI participants write powerfully on reconciliation | Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative

The Relevance of God’s Word in a Postmodern Society – Press Release

Fr. Stelian Tofana and Rev. Ovidiu Druhora
at the first ever conference of the Society For
Interdenominational Dialogue (SID)

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – On August 29, 2015, Christians from at least three denominations met at what used to be a Jewish temple, Temple Beth Emet, now home to Emanuel Romanian Church of God, marking the first ever conference of the Society For Interdenominational Dialogue (SID).

The event, held under the banner “The Relevance of God’s Word in a Postmodern Society,” was also co-organized by Ekklesia Bible College, a practice-based theological seminary founded by several Romanian pastors from the U.S. that now has branches in Romania, Uganda, and Rwanda.

An Evangelical Introduction to the 2nd Edition of the Romanian Translation of ‘Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism’

 

In the spring of 1995 I was coordinating the academic research programme at what has now become the Emanuel University of Oradea. At the first scholarly colloquium which I organised in this role I had the providential opportunity to come to know the Revd Professor Stelian Tofana, of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj, and since then we have maintained an especially close bond. This accounts for our decision to share the writing of a Romanian preface to the second edition of this work: Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism. We are united both by a common interest in Eastern theology and spirituality, which each of us approaches from his own perspective, and by our firmly held personal conviction of the pressing need for theological and ecclesial dialogue between the different Christian traditions in our cultural context.

Over the years we have been involved together in many activities which have put flesh on the bones of these shared convictions. We have participated in academic conferences both within Romania (in Oradea, Cluj, Bucharest and elsewhere) and abroad (including Bossey, in Switzerland, and Durres in Albania) that have been organised both by Evangelicals and by the Orthodox; we have contributed to the resulting publications of their proceedings; we have joined in organising the promotion of books relevant to this dialogue; we have collaborated in spiritually-oriented training sessions for the staff of World Vision (an organisation I have been working for since December 1999); we have each sought to make more widely known within our own constituency the treasures of thought and spirituality to be found in the tradition of the other – and, last but not least, we have often enjoyed table fellowship in one another’s homes, which has provided occasions to celebrate what unites us in spite of the specific differences which define each of our ecclesial identities.

Helsinki, Finland – LOI 2015 Programme

Tuesday 1 September

Morning/afternoon – Participant arrivals and registration.

4.00pm.        Welcome Reception

5.00pm.        Key note addresses : Gospel as Good News

Fr. Michael Oleksa, Orthodox Church in America (Diocese of Alaska)

Dr. Peter Kuzmič Evangelical Theological Seminary, Croatia

Moderator : His Grace Bishop Angaelos

7.00pm.       Opening Dinner and Reception with a welcome on behalf of :

His Eminence Archbishop Leo of of Karelia and All Finland

Rev Timo Keskitalo on behalf of SEA (Evangelical Alliance of Finland)

Progress Report on LOI by the co-chairs His Grace Bishop Angaelos and Mrs. Grace Mathews.

9.00pm.        Orthodox Vespers

9.45pm.        Free time

The Mission of God: Studies in Orthodox and Evangelical Mission

We are very pleased to be able to announce the publication (August 2015) of our first book,

The Mission of God: Studies in Orthodox and Evangelical Mission

This important volume is the fruit of three years’ work by Orthodox and Evangelical scholars and two major international consultations. The collection of essays points a way forward for both faith communities as they put past hurts behind them, wrestle honesty with theological difference, but keep a clear focus on the Mission of God.

Contributors include:

Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos                        Dr. Darrell Jackson

Dr. Brad Nassif                                                                    Prof. Anne-Marie Kool

Metropolitan Yuhanon Mar Demetrios                    Prof. Simon Chan

Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky                                                      Dr. James Stamoolis

Fr. Ioan Sauca                                                                     Dr. Cecil M Robeck

254 pages  |   RRP  £28.99  (discounts available)  |   ISBN  978-1-908355-83-6

Order copies from :    www.ocms.ac.uk/regnum

Enquires about discounted copies to f2s@faith2share.net

Lausanne Orthodox Initiative – 2014 Consultation Report Published

“The Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative continues to be an inspiring and unique ecumenical dialogue” say joint report authors Dr James Stamoolis and Fr Eric Tosi. They go on to say, “the impact is on a personal level; person to person, community to community, two different Christian traditions reconciling with each other after years of mistrust and misunderstanding. It is on this level that common ground can be discovered and conflicts can be resolved; each acknowledging their genuine differences but each also acknowledging their common faith in Christ.”

The full consultation report was published this week and may be downloaded here:

LOI 2014 Consultation Report

(Source, LOI website)

Lausanne Orthodox Initiative Announces 2015 Consultation Dates

Next Lausanne Orthodox-Evangelical meeting will take place on 1-4 September in Helsinki, Finland

The LOI Steering Committee is pleased to be able to announce that its 2015 Consultation will be held in Finland at the invitation of the Orthodox Church of Finland and with the warm support of the Evangelical Alliance. Finland has the rare distinction of having two ‘state Churches’, Lutheran and Orthodox, and makes an ideal setting for our third LOI consultation.

We will be meeting from lunchtime on Tuesday 1 September until the afternoon of Friday 4 September 2014 at the Sofia Cultural Centre close to Helsinki (see map).  The Sofia Cultural Centre is a comfortable and convenient venue for the 60-70 participants who are expected to gather for next year’s consultation which will build on the work done at St. Vlash, in Albania, in 2013 and 2014.

Orthodox and Evangelicals Engaged in Missional Dialogue – Communique of 2014 LOI Meeting

Relationships between Evangelicals and Orthodox engaged in mission have not always been positive, but the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative is working towards increased mutual understanding and a healing of wounds, in order to collaborate more effectively in God’s mission. Sixty senior church and mission leaders, ecumenists and theologians from many parts of the world came together for the initiative’s second consultation. Gathering from 15-19 September at the Orthodox monastery of St Vlash in Albania, and hosted by His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios and the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, the consultation was chaired by Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church and Mrs Grace Mathews of the Lausanne Movement.

Consultation Images | Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative

Consultation Images | Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative.

This is the website of the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative, dedicated ti the cooperation in mission between Orthodox and Evangelical believers.