Inter-religious and inter-Christian Dialogue – a Contemporary Ecclesial Educational Priority

Abstract

The contemporary world is dominated by communication and dialogue despite conflicts and wars of all kinds. Dialogue is an actual existential need and a responsibility that the current generation has for the future. From this perspective, inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogue is a life necessity and a pledge of genuine faith in God, because, beyond everything that separates us, He is the Creator of all of us, the source of life, and we are all part of the same human family.If inter-Christian dialogue seeks to achieve the unity of the Church of Christ by concrete actions, theological dialogue and philanthropic gestures, inter-religious dialogue aims at establishing communication bridges in order to give common testimony as regards matters of wide interest, such as the ecological issue, defence of unborn life, peace, justice or social equity. Modern inter-Christian or ecumenical movement arose about a century ago and although the road to full unity seems long, many steps have been made in this direction. The inter-religious movement especially focuses on the dialogue among the major monotheistic religions of the world and today it gives us many hopes.Our study aims to show that ecumenical and inter-religious education is a necessity of our times that may lead to defusing many conflicts and preventing future tensions based on religion. Here, we have in mind the education within the Romanian Orthodoxy received during the religion classes in school and also with the help of the media.