Missionary work is a rather complicated issue, and its severity is only gaining momentum. The meaning of the word "missionary" and missionary work itself are shrouded in a million secrets, conjectures and prejudices, illusions and stereotypes. Many believers ask questions: to whom and how to explain the role of faith in the life of mankind, is it worth it at all, and what is the main task of any missionary?
Origin of the word
Missionary is a word that comes from the ancient Greek "mission". Literally translated, it means "an important assignment, or delivery of a parcel." Missionaries are figures (members) of religious organizations that set themselves the task of converting non-believers to a particular religion.
Mission, according to the church, is one of the main tasks of any believer. The Church of Christ presents the mission as one of the most important forms of service to the Lord. Many historians claim that the first missionary was Jesus, who walked the world and tried to teach the unbelievers, reveal to them the mystery of the Lord's existence, and initiate the blessings of this mystery into the mystery of spreading the blessings of this mystery in the unenlightened world.
Dangerous path
The missionary has always been considered a respected person among the believing community. Exactlymissionaries went on long journeys in order to attract people and preach faith among dissidents.
But missionary work has always been a dangerous "profession". History is replete with facts when missionaries were not accepted, misunderstood, beaten, expelled and even killed. For example, in 1956, when Protestant church leaders attempted to convert the Indians, the mission was unsuccessful. The five missionaries weren't just expelled by the indigenous Huaorani tribe of Ecuador. They were killed and then (according to the laws of the tribe) eaten. A similar story happened to the ministers who arrived on the island of Vanuatu.
Missionary "conquests"
Especially popular missionary work among representatives of the Catholic Church. Catholics knew who a missionary was back in the fifteenth century, when the mass formation of the Portuguese and Spanish colonies began.
A missionary was one of the colonialists in those days. Together with the military, missions from churches arrived in the "captured" lands in order to sow the seed of faith there.
The legitimization of Catholic missionary work occurred in 1622, when the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was established. Separate missionary communities were created in the conquered countries and colonies. In the seventeenth century, when Great Britain entered the path of colonization, the Protestant Church also began to send missionaries to the colonies.
As for missionary work among the Muslim religion, most often merchants andmerchants.
Total control
Missionary communities began to appear in the United States of America in the late nineteenth century. In most cases, missionary organizations owned large tracts of valuable land, real estate. They were subsidized by government and private organizations. Most of the American colonies in Africa and elsewhere were in the hands of religious missions.
Missionary organizations controlled not only capital investments and political aspects of the conquered countries, but also medicine, education, cultural and social associations, and sports. Schoolwork was a particularly important step in any mission. Children absorbed the teachings and main commandments much easier and faster than adults. They quickly forgot the faith of their parents, their people, their tribe.
Missionary is also a representative of the Christian faith. In Russia, missionary work began to develop at the end of the nineteenth century. The first missionary society in the capital was organized in 1867. Initially, faith began to spread from the peoples of Siberia, then the “wave” went to the Tatar peoples. Several Orthodox organizations were created at that time far beyond the borders of Russia.
