The Ministry of the Church

Joseph J. Allen

"To minister is to serve." The focal point of this study of ministry in the Church is service, the service of the whole pople of God which is reflected most completely in the image of the Shepherd. Drawing on scriptural, patristic, especially from the writings of SS Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzen and John Chrysostom, historical and liturgical sources, Father Allen examines ministry in and to the community, the ministry to persons, and the ministry of the Word. Throughout the text, the pastoral dimension of the Christian life is examined in light of what God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has done and continues to do in the life and history of humankind. The ministry of the priesthood is then seen through the image of priesthood conveyed by His disciple, apostles, bishops and priests since the days of the foundation of the Church.

Drawing also on contemporary sources, Allen tackles the concrete aspects of "shepherding" in today's world: preaching, counseling, healing, sickness and sin, confession, spiritual growth and prayer. In the final chapter he focuses on the person of the priest, the pastor or shepherd of the parish, and looks at several factors which account today for a certain divorce of his role from its Christian roots and calling.

Required text for Antiochian House of Studies, DMIN01E, DMIN02E and DMIN03E.
232 pages
paperback
published 1986
size: 8.5 x 5.5 x  0.5"
ISBN: 0-88141-044-6