Page 220 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

The Eucharistic assembly, as the image of the last times, is
not an instrument of mission. It is the gathering of the bap-
tized “in one place.” In it, we either participate fully or not at
all. It is the manifestation of the Kingdom, not a means to
achieve it.
Nevertheless, mission belongs to the very nature of the
Church when understood as koinonia—an incarnational as-
sumption and transformation of culture. It can no longer take
the form of confrontation or conquest. Dialogue with other
faiths becomes imperative, not for reasons of convenience, but
because it arises from the very nature of the Christian faith.
History itself bears witness to failures in this regard. The
world has not been truly or deeply Christianized. The Gospel
has often been confused with particular cultural forms. In-
stead of true enculturation, there has been imposition. Chris-
tianity has not loved human beings as its Lord has loved them.
For this reason, the idea of a universal Christian culture
must be rejected. Mission must respect the freedom of each
people to express the faith in its own way, as long as the fun-
damental outlook of the Gospel is preserved. Such discern-
ment belongs to the theological consciousness of the Church,
guided by the Spirit.
In a world that is increasingly pluralistic, aggressive meth-
ods of mission must be abandoned. Evangelization cannot
involve coercion. Dialogue is not merely a strategy—it is a
necessity grounded in the very nature of the Church.