Mission and Dialogue: An Assessment of the Interaction of Orthodox Theology and Practice with the Reformation

Abstract

This article examines the mutual influence between the Reformers and the Orthodox in mission and interfaith dialogue. Relations between the two began soon after the Reformation itself, and since the founding of the modern Greek state (1830) three main historical phases can be distinguished: an initial phase during which the Protestants viewed the Orthodox (Greek) world itself as a mission field; a second phase, in the first part of the twentieth century which saw the emergence of missionary awareness among the Orthodox, significantly influenced by the large international mission conferences; a third (continuing) phase marked by the growth of the ecumenical movement and a more ecumenical understanding of mission.