Army of the Lord

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The Army of the Lord (Romanian: Oastea Domnului), also known as The Lord's Army, is an evangelical "renewal movement within the Romanian Orthodox Church".[8][9] The founder of the Army of the Lord, Father Iosif Trifa, as well as consequent leaders, Ioan Marini and Traian Dorz, felt that "people needed to come to the Gospel and that the Orthodox Church in Romania needed to return to her true mission: to serve God and to represent God in the midst of our nation".[10] Tom Keppeler writes that "what Wesley was to the Anglican Church, Trifa was to the Romanian Orthodox Church. As Wesley's preaching and ministry drew crowds from the working classes, so Trifa's as well was a ministry that grew among the villagers and workers of the fields".[11] In the 1930s and 1940s, "millions of Romanian Orthodox, including priests and religious, took part in its activities of evangelization, printing and open air meetings".[12] Members of the Army of the Lord greet one another with the phrase: "Praise the Lord!", followed by the reply: "Forever, amen!"[12]

Quick Facts Type, Classification ...
Army of the Lord
Oastea Domnului
TypeEastern Christian
ClassificationEastern Orthodox
OrientationEvangelical, Church renewal
ScriptureSeptuagint, New Testament
TheologyEastern Orthodox theology[1] with influences of Neo-Protestant[2][3] Pietism[4][5][6] and New Evangelicals[7]
PolityEpiscopal
PrimateDaniel, Patriarch of All Romania
RegionRomania
LanguageRomanian
LiturgyByzantine Rite
FounderIosif Trifa
Origin1926
Sibiu
Recognition28 September 1990
Branched fromRomanian Orthodox Church
Other name(s)The Lord's Army
Official websiteoasteadomnului.ro
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Basic Pietism and Key Evangelism[1]

In his foundational book <<What is Lord's Army>>, he outlined the purpose and strategy of the movement.

4 Basic Pietism

(1) Christocentrism (2) Sign of the cross (3) Receiving Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Oblation/Church Volunteer Work and Abstinence from Alcohol (The Danger of Alcohol Consumption, Which Curses Not only Individuals but Whole Nations) (4) Voluntariness

5 Key Evangelism

(1) Discipleship which is Best Sermon[13] (2) Acts of mercy (3) Love and Prayer (4) Forgiveness and Justice (5) Distribution of Christian Literature

Persecution under communism regime

After 1948, the movement was declared illegal by the communist regime. During this period, the "Lord's Army", led by Traian Dorz in the difficult years of Stalin, who had spent 17 years in jail for this reason, was part of the "silent church", an informal ensemble of Christian believers from various denominations, which refused to obey the Communist authorities, being for this reason considered as "printing and spreading forbidden literature", "plotting against social ordering" and "enemies of the people."[14][15]

See also

References

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