Special issue "Hospitality in a World of Diversity"

**Dear colleagues, we are pleased to announce the release of the new issue of Theological Reflections: Eastern-European Journal of Theology: vol. 18:2 (2020). **

This is a special issue on the theme Hospitality in a World of Diversity that includes articles considering the peculiarities of the church's life in a world of globalization and diversity. Christian communities are challenged to learn to practice openness and hospitality towards others, to create space for people with other traditions, cultures, and identities. This task becomes acute in a pandemic situation when every Other is a potential threat, and social distancing becomes the norm.

Ronald T. Michener (Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium) in the article "The Heterogeneous Global Church and Intentional Hospitality to The Other" states that globalization, combined with the current crises of global immigration, the coronavirus pandemic, and widespread racial tensions, confront the church with critical challenges to practice hospitality both locally and worldwide. The article challenges the homogeneous church growth model, insisting on intentional cross-cultural bridge-building. It submits that the missionally focused church will show radical hospitality toward all marginalized groups within and outside the local community. This requires intentional openness and humble posturing towards various cultures and differences in biblical interpretation and practice.

John White (Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary, Ukraine) in the article "God's Mission in the Diverse City: Discovering and Offering Hospitality" focuses on ways to minister to diverse peoples in cities through hospitality. After surveying the Bible to better understand the origins and character of diversity, the author explores biblical examples of discovering and offering hospitality. He applies these ideas to a modern context with concrete suggestions for discovering and offering hospitality as ways to minister to diverse urban peoples. He also examines barriers to providing hospitality and gives suggestions for overcoming them.

Valeria Chornobay (Dragomanovа National Pedagogical University, Ukraine) and **Victoria Gritsenko **(Kyiv Bible Institute, Ukraine) in the article "Loneliness as a Pandemic in a Global Social Isolation" investigate the influence of loneliness as a problem, which is especially prevalent in the context of modern social isolation. Authors argue that loneliness is a multifaceted concept reflected in human life's social, cultural, emotional, ideological, and spiritual spheres. Based on the analysis of current global trends and scientific research in this area, they concluded the consequences and extent of the spread of loneliness. They also gave recommendations for overcoming and preventing loneliness.

**Alexander Malov **(Hodos Institute for Leadership Research and Development) in the article “On the Phenomenon of Leadership and the Theology of Hospitality among Evangelical Christians of Eurasia" discusses how views about leadership endorsed by evangelical Christians in Eurasia correlate with the exercise of hospitality. Also, the author provides brief recommendations for inclusive leadership formation based on the Gospel. The paper's premise is the conviction that hospitality is necessary for the development and practice of moral and effective leadership. Also, the author suggests some recommendations for the development of inclusive leadership. Namely, evangelical Christians in Eurasia have to rethink/reinterpret individual and organizational leadership in light of the Gospel message that removes barriers between people and creates conditions for the practice of "hospitable," inclusive leadership.

Volodymyr Bureha (Kyiv Theological Academy of Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine) in the article "The Russian Empire as a Multicultural Society: Between Assimilation and Ethno-Religious Segmentation" article analyzes the policy of the Russian Empire government concerning various ethnoreligious communities in the XVIII - early XX centuries. Based on the classification of Göran Therborn, the author shows that the Russian Empire was a pre-modern multicultural society. However, the government's approach to different "inocultural" communities was extremely heterogeneous. The author considers the national and cultural policies of the Russian government. He shows that the government's strategic goal has always been to form a Russian political nation, i.e., a multinational and multicultural community loyal to the ruling dynasty and realize itself as a single political entity. Achieving this goal involved providing varying degrees of national-cultural or even political autonomy to different groups of citizens.

Under "Reviews," you can read the following reviews.

• **Oleh Hirnyk's **review "Traveling within the Heart in Ezekiel's Chariot" of Journey within the Heart. The Dynamic Anthropology of Pseudo-Macarius. By Mariya Horyacha. – Lviv: UCU Press, 2019.

• Pavlo Smytsniuk's review "Triumph and Failure of Peaceful Diversity" of Trinitarian Truth of Being. The Revelation of Love. Oleg Davydov. – Moscow: St. Andrew's Biblical Theological Institute Publishing, 2020.

• Peter Penner's review "Conversations on the Ukrainian Evangelical Missionary Surge of the 1990s." of Factors Behind the Ukrainian Evangelical Missionary Surge from 1989 to 1999. By John Edward White. Eugene: Pickwick (Wipf and Stock) Publishing, 2020.

• **Vitalii Hura's **review "Hospitality and Dialogue Development of the Principle of a Positive Sum" of Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky and the Principle of "Positive Amount." By Myroslav Marinovich. - Lviv: The Old Lion Publishing House, 2019.

• Vladimir Lukin's review "Temple motives in Hebrews" of Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews. By Philip Church. – Leiden: Brill, 2017.

• Alexander Lykhosherstov's review "Reconstruction of the Person of Christ in the Works of Yulia Latynina" of Christ with a Thousand Faces. By Yulia Latynina. - Moscow: Eksmo, 2019.

Under "New Publications," you can read the following reviews.

• **Nadia Dobrydnik's **book notice of The Gospel According to John. By Donald Carson. Translation Y. Vyazovsky, Y. Ustinovich. - Minsk: Poligrafkombinat, 2019.

• Vasyl Novakovets's book notice of Sweeter than Honey. By Christopher Wright. - Cherkasy: Colloquium Publishing House, 2017.

Under "Translations" you can read "A Declaration of the Sentiments of Arminius on Predestination, Divine Providence, the freedom of the will, the grace of God, the Divinity of the Son of God, and the justification of man before God" (translated by Rostislav Tkachenko) and Rostislav Tkachenko's article "Jacob Arminius' Conflicts and the Preface to the "Declaration of Sentiments": A Biographical and Translator's Introduction."

Under "Academic Life," we have published the information regarding:

• Discussion of Joshua Searle's book Theology After Christendom: Forming Prophets for a Post-Christian World.

Programme of Methodological Seminars of the Eastern European Institute of Theology.

• Open Theological Seminar "Transfiguration: Biblical Narrative and Renewal of Creation."

• International Theological Online Conference "Eschatological Community: Faith, Ministry, and Prophetic Witness in a Changing World."

You may order the journal by email reflections@e-aaa.info. Previous issues of the journal can be found at http://reflections.e-aaa.info.