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24 - Modern spirituality and the Orthodox Church

from PART IV - THE MODERN WORLD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
John Binns
Edited by
Michael Angold
Michael Angold
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
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Summary

The study of Christian spirituality investigates the self-understanding, the identity and the mode of operation of the church. It is founded on the church’s formation narratives, which identify its foundation with the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is clear from the fourth gospel, which tells how, on the day of the Resurrection, Christ breathed on his disciples with the words ‘receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22), while St Luke recounts how, on the day of Pentecost, the mission of the church began with the coming of the Spirit on the disciples in the form of wind and fire (Acts 2:1–4). So we are shown that the work of the Spirit guides this newly formed community in a variety of ways, such as the proclaiming of the word, mighty works of healing and power, and the formation of a disciplined and ordered community. Spirituality is the discipline which describes and examines the process of how the church subsists, how it understands and defines itself, how it structures and shapes its life, how it engages with other religious communities and the society around, and from where it draws its vitality and resources. It is concerned with the church in its concrete and specific existence as opposed to its eternal and unchanging message. The study of spirituality is located at the intersection of theology, history and sociology, seeking to give a clear account of how the church functions in history but viewed from its own perspective of theology.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of Christianity , pp. 580 - 599
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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