Page 157 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

158 The Armenian Church

a broader scope. At other periods, however,
due to unfavorable conditions surrounding
the Church, it lost its vitality and effect.

Characteristic features of the
Church's diakonia
Four significant aspects of the diaconal
ministry of the Armenian Church claim our
attention:
a) A servant church. Since the early period
of its institutionalization, the Armenian
Church has understood itself fundamentally
as a servant church, and has, therefore,
identified with human needs by actively
involving itself in the total life of the people.
That is why the Church's social ministry was
never systematized or compartmentalized.
However, in the last few decades, to cope
more effectively with the changing condi-
tions and growing expectations of the people,
on the one hand, and to organize more sys-
tematically its increasing and diversifying
diaconal work, on the other hand, the Church
established special departments within its
administrative and functional structures on
global, diocesan, and parish levels. Beyond
all these institutionalized expressions of
social service, the Church has preserved the
very essence of diakonia and its self-under-
standing as a servant church.