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Alexander Belopopsky
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Tatiana spends much of her time with children. But she is neither a mother nor a teacher. The children she is responsible for are often orphaned, homeless or drug addicts, and Tatiana is a leader of a Russian Orthodox charitable organization involved in expanding church social activity in the region of St Petersburg.
Tatiana’s story is characteristic of many local Orthodox Church situations in eastern Europe. Following the collapse of the communist regimes that had severely limited or outlawed the Church’s non-worship activities, Christians reacted strongly to growing poverty and exclusion in society and began to revive the age-old tradition of “diakonia” or social care by the church.
Leaders of many similar social initiatives from throughout the world gathered in New Valamo, Finland, in early May, for the first international conference on the social witness and service of the Orthodox Church. The event was co-organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the US-based agency International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and Ortaid, the Finnish Orthodox aid organization.
For many, the Orthodox Church is synonymous with mysticism and spiritual contemplation, manifested in its rich liturgies and ancient icons. But vibrant social action and care for the needs of communities is far from foreign to the Orthodox Church, and has undergone a remarkable revival in recent years. According to some observers, there may now be hundreds of Orthodox social organizations spread across all continents.
Jyrki Härkonen, director of Ortaid, emphasized the new interest in diakonia in many Orthodox churches. “The remarkable development of Orthodox diakonia in the past decade has stimulated a desire among Orthodox to rediscover their own history and theology of social witness and service,” he said. “The conference in Finland aimed to link reflection on the heritage of the Orthodox Church with a concern for practical and professional action in our modern contexts.”
A specialist on the history and theology of Orthodox philanthropy, Rev. Dr Demetrios Constantelos reminded participants that the tradition of Christian social action has deep roots. The task of the church is understood as the transformation of society in the light of Christ’s kingdom. The church is concerned with all aspects of life, and has a holistic approach, linking people's spiritual and physical needs. In Byzantium, for example, many priests were doctors, the church ran hospitals, and encouraged laws which protected the most vulnerable.
The ecumenical dimension of the conference was significant. Especially during the Cold War, the WCC provided unique opportunities for Orthodox churches to encounter other churches, and to engage with social issues. The experience since then shows that service still unites Christians beyond doctrinal differences. While much attention is given to conflicts and differences among churches, the practical collaboration of Christians is no less real.
Examples of such practical ecumenical collaboration abound. In Russia, the WCC co-founded the Inter-Church Diaconal Council of St Petersburg, which coordinates and supports the social work of the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches in the city, ranging from work with prisoners to assistance and advocacy with victims of HIV/AIDS. Following the restoration of religious activity in the early 1990s, international ecumenical agencies work with the Orthodox Church of Albania to establish rural health care and educational programmes. In other regions, the Orthodox Church suffered less constraints, and has developed significant medical and social programmes. In Egypt, the Coptic Orthodox Church collaborates with Protestant churches from Europe to run community health and development projects in some of the poorest villages.
A challenge for many church organizations centres around the relationship of diakonia and justice, and addressing the root causes of suffering and poverty in society. Fr Emmanuel Clapsis, head of one of the largest Orthodox theological schools in the USA, argued that churches must link care for the poorest in society with a concern for social injustice. “The Church should and must be the 'voice of the voiceless',” he argued. “Christianity can regenerate 'social capital' and foster communities of solidarity and reconciliation, resisting dehumanization in all its forms.”
For Dr David Bryer, chairman of Oxfam International and a speaker at the conference, churches have much to share with other humanitarian and development organizations. But this does not mean that churches should enter the world of politics, or provide “socio-economic blueprints”, which are often better articulated by others. Instead, he said, “the church can offer a clear and authoritative moral voice, articulating its beliefs to prophetically warn and influence the international debates on the future of humankind”.
The Valamo conference coincided with two important events for many churches. The enlargement of the European Union to the East in May provided a symbol of Europe’s extraordinary transformation in the last decade and also of the profound new social, disparities which continue to divide the region.
The second event was the canonization in Paris by the Orthodox Church of four modern saints. Mother Maria Skobtsova and her companions were among the founders of “Orthodox Action”, a dynamic Orthodox social organization based in France in the 1930s. They later died in concentration camps following their efforts to save Jews from the Nazi terror. Their lives are a witness that Christians have, at times, paid the highest cost for their service to others – and for justice.
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The international conference on the social witness and service of the Orthodox Church was jointly organized by the WCC, IOCC (USA), and Ortaid in New Valamo, Finland, 30 April – 5 May 2004.
Further information is available on www.orthodoxdiakonia.net
Alexander Belopopsky is the co-ordinator of the public information team in WCC.
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