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THE CHURCH EMBRACES THE WORLD in different contexts. As an act of love, solidarity, justice and liberation, it shares with all humanity the salvific reality of the Resurrection and the Kingdom of God, already present and yet to come. If we wish to embrace the world in its richness and variety, we should also work for a plurality of aspects and viewpoints in our theological scholarship. One has to understand that mission is not a one way endeavour. Peoples and cultures welcomed into the Church have their own valuable background, and they should also have the possibility to make their voice heard, meet with the others, increase in self-awareness and enrich the Orthodox Church with the gift of their civilisation, language, art, customs and culture which are their own particular offering to Christ our God. THERE ARE ALREADY MANY PERIODICALS and even more websites promoting mission, disseminating news and requesting funds. This is all very good, yet something that is missing is reflection. In addition, there are aspects of missionary SALT, THE VISION | 3 There are aspects of reality that never come to light reality that never come to light, because to raise them would put a less than optimistic construction on a supposedly flourishing missionary situation. WE ARE A GROUP OF EXPERT SCHOLARS in the fields of Missiology, Interfaith Dialogue, Cultural Anthropology, History and Religious Studies. We wish to serve scholarly research on mission and we think an academic journal on Orthodox Mission is greatly needed. It should be letting in the freshness and variety of the world and bring together experts in the field, as well as initiating cross-cultural and crossdisciplinary exchange in relation to mission and dialogue. Keeping in mind Mt 5:13 and reflecting the desire for Christians to enhance the ‘savour’ and beauty of the world we cherish and live in, we call it Salt: Crossroads of Religions and Cultures. THIS IS A PROJECT THAT TOOK SHAPE during the Inaugural IOTA Conference on Conciliarity, being felt as a need by members of the Missiology Group Steering Committee.
SALT, THE VISION | 4 THE IOTA MISSIOLOGY GROUP Vision Statement includes a description of a vision of mission that we share: “Responding to these [21 st Century] challenges, Orthodox understanding of the ‘economy of the Holy Spirit’ has impacted interfaith dialogue, while the concept of the ‘liturgy after the liturgy’ has challenged Christians to reflect on how Eucharistic worship can be lived out in the context of daily life. The term ‘witness’ (martyria) has contributed to an understanding of Christian mission as dialogue and reconciliation rather than one-sided proselytism. Orthodox theologians have contributed to a renewed awareness of mission as something vital to the very nature of the Church as it participates in the mission of the Triune God, while their holistic understanding of salvation has challenged Christians to expand the scope of their witness to engagement with global economic, social and environmental issues. […] This reflection on the missionary dimension of the Orthodox Church in the contemporary world needs to take place alongside a re-articulation of her missionary heritage throughout history. While an incarnational understanding of the Church’s task has frequently led to commitment to use of local languages, indigenous leadership and sensitive approaches to local cultures, the close identification of Orthodox faith and national culture means that missionary work in the context of empire has at times involved cultural imperialism and violence. The rediscovery and critical reassessment of both the strengths and shortcomings of the Orthodox Church’s missionary history would both inform and enrich contemporary missional vision, vocation and practice, thus promoting the renewal of the Church.” Structure Salt is a biannual Journal in printed and electronic form, published by Maistros Publications, Athens, Greece. Salt will also assist, facilitate and encourage regional or global meetings of experts in the field of Missiology and related areas of interest. For more information see our website: https://saltalas.com/.
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