Orthodox Christian pastoral care is, essentially, an encounter of persons: the person of the pastor, the parishioner, and the three persons of the Holy Trinity. These encounters can be brief, ostensibly insignificant public encounters, or deep private conversations. Smaller encounters set the stage for deeper encounters in times of struggle or distress. The primary role of the pastor is one of prayerful presence as he enters into the tension of these pastoral encounters, situating each encounter within the life of the parishioner and the life of the Church.
These encounters can be experienced but not fully defined because persons are created in the image of God, who can be experienced, but not be fully explained or defined. Orthodox pastoral care treats people, not problems or diagnoses, and healing occurs within this encounter of “knowing” and being known in relationships. Pastoral care is focused on bringing healing through reconciling persons with God and his Church. Naturally,...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Cabasilas, N. (1974). The life in Christ. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. (14th century).
Larchet, J. C. (2005). Mental disorders and spiritual healing: Teachings from the early Christian East. San Rafael: Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis.
Lossky, V. (1957). The mystical theology of the Orthodox Church. New York: J. Clarke.
Meyendorff, J. (1999). Byzantine theology: Historical trends and doctrinal themes. New York: Fordham University Press.
Schmemann, A. (1997). For the life of the world: Sacraments and Orthodoxy. Yonkers: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
Ware, K. (1979). The Orthodox way. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
Ware, K. (1993). The Orthodox Church. New York: Penguin.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mamalakis, P. (2020). Orthodox Christian Pastoral Care. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9294
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9294
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24347-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24348-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences