Contemporary Ecclesial Priorities of Social Involvement. A Romanian Orthodox Perspective

Abstract

Social engagement is an urgent need of our world. For the Church, social involvement is part of its missionary vocation, because it is not only an eschatological purpose, but also a temporal, earthly one. It aims primarily to create communion and human solidarity, as an expression and understanding of experience of the divine presence, but also as a necessity of life, as a fundamental need to help each other. We were created by the same single God, we all share, regardless of race, colour, gender, education and religion, the same humanity that we customize specifically, so we have to be sensitive to the needs of those around us. From its very beginning, the Christian Church was involved in social activities, initiating the very first institutions for social assistance such as: hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, with free care without discrimination of beneficiaries. Furthermore, the first free public schools appeared under religious patronage. Today, the Romanian Orthodox Church is concerned with social involvement, as in its entire history, having such priorities as: helping those who are unable to support their own existence; integration of migrants into society; supporting the education of children whose parents have emigrated abroad; supporting social equity through direct community initiatives, including legislation; promoting solidarity and social communion; supporting youth education for dialogue, openness to the needs of the neighbour; and promoting the common values of humanity.