Theology and Pastoral Ministry

Proceedings of the 1st Theological Conference

The pastoral ministry of the Orthodox Church is not the outcome of a social system or an ideology, but a complete science, which takes every human being separately into account and has as its aim his or her salvation. Theology without the pastoral ministry can end up as rationalism, and the pastoral ministry without theology can end up as human-centred moralism. The combination of theology and pastoral ministry, however, represents and inspires the ecclesiastical mentality and the Orthodox ethos. Theology is not isolated either from the life of the Church as a whole or from social reality, because the transformation of society can come about only through theology. An excellent combination of academic and empirical theology is required.