Inward Being and Outward Identity: The Orthodox Churches in the 21st Century

As the title indicates, taken together the fourteen papers in this Special Issue of Religions give a broad view of what might be called the inner and outer life of the Orthodox Church, with each of the papers focusing on a particular area of research and reflection.In recent decades, there has been an explosion of books and articles on the Orthodox Churches, both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox (the articles in this issue focus on the former.)There is widespread interest in the spiritual life of the Orthodox Church: prayer, worship, theology, saints, art, music, ascetic practices and ways of living, monasticism, and how its self-understanding as a repository of ancient Christian tradition is interwoven and evolving in what Charles Taylor calls the cross-pressures of the secular age.At the same time, the quarter-century following the collapse of the Soviet Union has seen the Orthodox Church emerge from persecution and martyrdom to rebuild the infrastructure of churches, monasteries and Christian social services decimated by the Communist years.In that process the Orthodox Churches have also become powerful public, political, nationalist and cultural forces in Russia and Eastern Europe.They are now frequently perceived as closely aligned with restrictive government policies, suspicious of democracy, freedom, human rights and minorities.In contrast, Orthodox Christians in the Middle East live a tenuous existence-often shared with Muslims-in the face of war, sectarian violence and official and unofficial duress and persecution.Meanwhile, in areas of emigration and mission in Western Europe, the Americas, Australia, parts of sub-Saharan Africa and other regions outside its traditional homelands Orthodox Christianity is also taking hold as a self-consciously distinct minority religion that is attracting a steady stream of converts while struggling for its identity in a secular environment increasingly hostile to traditional Christianity.In the midst of these competing global forces, and an Orthodox world dominated by Old World Churches, the leaders of the disparate and often quarrelsome branches of Eastern Orthodoxy, led by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as "first among equals," have been attempting to bring a measure of unity as they seek to remain true to the "faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3) while also confronting the challenges of the 21st century.An important step in that direction was taken at "The Holy and Great Council" of the Eastern Orthodox Churches which took place on Crete in June 2016 during the week of Pentecost (https://www.holycouncil.org).Patriarch Bartholomew presided, and although the Council's status and authority are disputed by several of the Orthodox Churches which did not send delegations (Antioch, Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria) the fact remains that this council was decades in preparation and was the largest and most diverse council of Eastern Orthodox bishops in many centuries.The agenda was modest and did not attempt to address some of the most pressing issues facing the Orthodox Churches, but it provoked some valuable discussion (see for example Nathanael Symeonides 2016.)At the very least it demonstrated awareness of questions that the Orthodox must consider and act upon.The Holy and Great Council has opened our horizon towards the contemporary diverse and multifarious world.It has emphasised our responsibility in place and in time, ever Religions 2017, 8, 231 1 www.mdpi.com/

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