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Irina Lomachinska, Evgeniy Deinega, Viktor Uzhva


Urgency of the research. In the modern conditions religious organizations not only fulfil worship and liturgical practices, but also take part in the different kinds of social activity and charity in the cooperation with the public authorities and social organizations, hence the need for expanding of the substantive competencies of the “theology” graduates. 

Target setting. The Church social teaching aims to uphold the principals in the concrete, practical reality of the modern society life. The social service as a moral obligation of the pastoral service may acquire the broader forms of the implementation if there are the relevant substantive competencies to provide the professional activity in the field of the social work.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The theoretical base of the analysis was based on the studies of P. de Laubier, V. Popovych, L. Filipovych, V. Khromets, Y. Сhernomorets, D. Martyshyn, V. Tokman, N. Tsymbaliuk etc.

The research objective. The purpose of the article: investigation of the social role of the educational theology programs in the context of the social service mission of the Christian churches. The task: clarify the mission of the social service in the Christian social teaching; the analysis of the Christian social doctrines; definition of the social service content in the modern domestic theological education.

The statement of basic materials. In the article the essence of the social service as the priesthood special mission in the Christian denominations has been analyzed. The role of the Church as one of the key founders of the social help in the domestic history has been defined.  The main areas of the social service of the most numerous Christian denomination according to their social doctrines have been investigated. The authors distinguish between the social area of the social service, which is implemented by the religious organization within the pastoral service, and the social work that requires the relevant subject matter competences. The analysis of the educational theology programs demonstrates the need for the expansion of the educational components in the social dimension with a view to provide the organized and professional pattern. 

Conclusions. The social service as a special mission of the Christian Church, which is aimed at evangelization, in the national self-consciousness forms the concept of help which is based on the philosophy of love to the neighbor. The main tasks of the modern spiritual education have to be not only a priest’s education on the basis of the pastoral service for the worshippers, but also the formation of the priest’s personality who would be able to manage the social knowledge system to provide the adequate answers to the challenges of the modern, dynamic, social world.

Keywords: religious education, theology education, social doctrine, social service, social mission of the Church, social work, pastorate.


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