Come and See

An Eastern Orthodox Perspective on Contextualization

The mission of the Church is to introduce the person of Christ to individual human beings who by faith enter into communion with God. This does not involve adapting information to a particular context, but rather establishing the context prescribed by God for the presence of Christ wherever we happen to be among the peoples of the world. Contextualization, then, creates a new invitational core context which is host to the presence of the divine person. This is defined with the help of the gifts of ecclesial Tradition, which enables conditions that facilitate communion, and which thus helps us engage the world.

Edward Rommen (DMiss, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; PhD, Ludwig Maximillian University) planted churches and taught in Europe for fifteen years. He then returned to the United States to teach missions and theology and worked in pastoral ministry as an Orthodox priest. He is currently an adjunct professor at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.