Antioch Agenda: Essays on the Restorative Church in honor of Orlando E. Costas

The ancient Roman City of Antioch, now situated on the eastern side of the Orontes River in Southern Turkey, played an important role in the formation of the first multicultural and multiethnic Christian congregation outside of Jerusalem. In all probability, early Jewish Christian converts from Palestine founded a congregation there. They seem to have invited both Jewish and non-Jewish peoples to accept Jesus Christ as their savior and lord. This meant a complete orientation of life around the ministry and person of Jesus, understood to be the messiah or anointed one (Christ) of God. They encouraged them to become full-fledged members of the newly established congregation. It is truly astonishing that the first Jewish Christian converts in Antioch did not require the non-Jewish Christian converts to first follow the characteristic ethos of Judaism (e.g., adherence to the Mosaic Law, circumcision, Jewish dietary habits, and the like), and then to become Christians. Instead they encouraged them to be what they were before with the exception of consciously developing Christian worldviews and evaluating their cherished socio-cultural values from the perspective of Jewish monotheism, the one God whom Jesus Christ had further revealed and whom His apostles proclaimed. Orlando Enrique Costas (June 15, 1942- Nov. 5, 1987)5  was a well known Hispanic theologian. In 1957 he experienced the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and was ever since committed to preach the various aspects of this power. He served the churches across doctrinal, national, and cultural boundaries: he ministered to the Congregationalists, the Methodists, the Disciples of Christ, and the Baptists. He was convinced that denominational institutions have indeed their values and identities that should be used to communicate the message of Jesus Christ to wider communities. His Puerto Rican origin, training and work in several seminaries in the United States, his experience of the united States taking control of the Dominican Republic in 1965-19666  strengthened his commitment to work as a bridge-builder between peoples of various cultures.