Pastoral theology: principles and practice

¶ … shepherding, which actually means to lead. It also points to the sources that the hierarchy of the Church relies on and how these sources define the shepherd of the Orthodox faith. It thus looks at different examples from the Old and New Testament where the notion appears, with the aim of better understanding the origins of the meaning and concept.

Christ is the ultimate shepherd, notably The Shepherd. From him, the ministry leads to shepherding in the body of the Church. The first chapter continues to point to the main function in the Christ's ministry, but also emphasizes that Christ and his ministry are one. This results from different elements, including the fact that it is Christ who is always at work and who is what he does.

Christ's ministry takes different forms, namely as Prophet, King and Priest. The chapter goes on to give several examples of where each of these forms is presented in the New Testament. Another interesting part of the first chapter looks at the relationship between Christ's Ministry and the Father. The important aspect to remember about Christ's Ministry is the fact that it is, in fact, a creation of the Father, which also explains why Christ is humble about his Ministry.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 looks at the Shepherds who came after Christ. It discusses their main characteristics, including the fact that they are examples of man of God in matters of speech, conduct or faith. All these elements are included in the notion "Homo Dei" that best reflects these characteristics.

At the same time, the shepherds who came after Christ are also Bonus miles, namely soldiers of Christ Jesus. There are several meanings to this, but the most important one is that they hold back at nothing to defend Christ's faith. Their military approach will range from their discourse to their deeds and their actions towards reaching these objectives.

The ministry developed to included twelve apostles, seventy disciples and many more overseers-pastors, each reflecting a different place in the hierarchy of the ministry. Chapter two continues to present the pastors of churches and there is also an important part of this chapter that looks at the concept of Holy Spirit within the ministry.

Chapter 3

The third chapter deals more with the hierarchy within the Church. It refers to some of the primary sources that led to the rules and regulations practiced within the Orthodox Church on such matters. It also refers to some of the great hierarchs of the 4th century and their role in the development of the Church, especially in terms of defining the roles and significance of the shepherds in different matters.

Chapter 3 goes through some of the characteristics of the shepherds, notably what he needs to do and how he needs to be so as to act like a proper shepherd. He is resembled to a doctor who applies treatment to the members of the Orthodox community. An important part of the chapter refers to the teaching of doctrine, how Christ's word is distributed to the believers. This teaching needs to be the proper one, so for that the teacher/shepherd needs to be properly trained and gain sufficient experience. Characteristics of the leader are shared by most of the great hierarchs of the Church, notably by St. Basil.