The Vision of Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch about the Diaspora. A Thematic Survey and An Analysis of His Homilies and Publications

Abstract

There is a new demographic distribution of the Orthodox parishes in the world, and today the Orthodox people form part of different cultures, some of which are far away from the traditional milieu of the Mediterranean basin and the ancient world. Patriarch Ignatius noticed the depth of this radical change in the structure of the Church he had to serve and planned for the challenges to come not only for Antioch but also for the Pan-Orthodox world. The present article offers an analytical study of his sayings according to three essential aspects: the unity of the Antiochian See, witness, and education, and the future of the diaspora.