TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSRACT iv CHAPTER 1: THE CONTEXT AND FOCUS OF THE SOFIA DISCIPLESHIP PROJECT 1 Realities of Contemporary Life 1 Questions Arising Out of Contemporary Life 2 The Sofia Discipleship Project Defined 3 The Need 4 The Context 5 The Potential Participants 6 SDP Main Questions for Exploration 7 Definition of 10 Research Methods 12 Preview of the Remaining Chapters 12 CHAPTER 2: RELEVANT LITERATURE INFORMING THE SOFIA DISCIPLESHIP PROJECT 15 The Influence of Orthodoxy 15 The Influence of Wesley 33 Bringing Wesley Forward to Today 60 Social Network Media
at times to miss the mark (due to human frailty) and fall short of God's perfect will, sin, in Wesley's narrower understanding of it, is overcome by perfect love. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer empowers the believer to willfully resist breaking and disobeying the known laws of God and to live a life of love that pleases God. Staniloae identifies perfection as the goal of Orthodox spirituality, he states, "Orthodox spirituality aims at the perfection of the faithful in Christ. This perfection [cannot] be obtained in Christ, except by participation in His life. Therefore, the goal of Orthodox spirituality is the perfection of the believer by his union with Christ."151 In order for union with Christ to be possible, the passions must be defeated and replaced by the virtues. As in Wesleyan spirituality so also in Orthodox spirituality, the problem of sin can be overcome in this life. For Orthodoxy, however, sin is not seen and defined in legal, juridical terms, but rather seen as a sickness of the soul. Father Valentin, the head priest of the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Old Calendar Synod152 states, "Sin is a sickness of the soul. Like a physical ailment, the soul requires treatment to overcome its infirmities. Sometimes healing is accomplished quickly through taking medicine, but at other times more drastic and prolonged procedures like surgery and rehabilitation are required to 153 return health to the soul." The healing of the infliction of sin can and must be accomplished in this life. 151 Staniloae, 21. 152 For more information about this cathedral and the synod to which it belongs, go to 153 Personal Interview with Father Valentin on April 14, 2008. Albert C. Outler articulated the close connection between Wesley and the Eastern
then, was to establish a good understanding of the condition of each individual participant as they entered the SDP. Selected questions from the questionnaire as well as information from the Week Activity Logs shed light on each participant's discipleship life as they entered the project. How each participant allocated the hours of their weeks gave insight into the lives of the participants. Each participant's discipleship satisfaction level and discipleship adequacy level were measured at the beginning of the project. These indications formed the baseline against which the effectiveness of the project will be measured. The second task to understand the effect the SDP had on the individual participants was to examine each participant's experience in the SDP. How active was the participant in the project? How committed was the participant in fulfilling the discipleship commitments the entire group agreed upon in the SDP Covenant Statement at the Initial Weekend Seminar? What patterns developed throughout the ten-week project, and what lessons did the participants glean from those discovered patterns? How did the encouragement and admonition of the other participants influence each participant throughout the project? How did the participant evaluate their involvement in the project? Finally, the third task was to determine what results can be seen in the participant over the duration of the project. Did the perceived adequacy of the discipleship practices of the participant increase over the course of the project? Did the participant's satisfaction with their discipleship practice increase at the end of the project? What resulted in light of the questions identified in chapter 3 that each participant faced as they entered the project? Based on all of the above data an overall assessment will be determined about the effectiveness of the project on each individual participant.