The recent experience of all humankind has made us realise how the world is becoming ever smaller; the “ends of the world” are no longer remote. All peoples are our “neighbours,” in a theological, sociological, and ecological sense. The triune God, the God of our fathers, our God of infinite love, is still working through the Holy Spirit for the salvation and liberation of the whole creation. We humans, and in particular people of faith, are labourers in the vineyard of our Lord. 

The Church embraces the world in different contexts. As an act of love, solidarity, justice, and liberation, it shares with all humanity the salvific reality of the Resurrection and the Kingdom of God, already present and yet to come. A new awareness of mission has emerged gradually among the Orthodox over the past two centuries, and today mission is a reality of the Church worldwide, shaping its very identity in the course of history. 

Meeting in a global community is not always an easy task. The Church is catholic and universal, but we humans are subject to partiality. This is the antinomy we are striving to overcome when we think in an open and missional way, when we meet at the crossroads of religion and culture. If we wish to embrace the world in its richness and variety, we should also work for a plurality of aspects and viewpoints in our theological scholarship. One has to understand that mission is not a one way endeavour. Peoples and cultures welcomed into the Church have their own valuable background, and they should also have the possibility to make their voice heard, meet with the others, increase in self awareness, and enrich the Orthodox Church with the gift of their civilisation, language, art, customs and culture which are their own particular offering to Christ our God.