Parohia , terenul de activitate pastorală a preotului

The parish is the proper ground for living and developing the Christian life in Orthodoxy. It is the material and spiritual field of the priest’s pastoral activity and the medium for the manifestation of the religious life of the faithful. Between the priest and the faithful there must be a harmonious collaboration, in the sense that the priest must watch and follow carefully the evolution of the state of mind of his parishionersand apply the most relevant pastoral means, in order to make them authentic believers, devoted to the Church, aware of their Christian roles and duties. In the living and true parish, the priest works together with his believers for the realization and acquisition of the kingdom of God (John 18, 36; Luke 17, 21). Without such collaboration and without an awake conscience, the parish loses its supernatural character and essence and remains a mere administrative reality. Without the consciousness of liturgical andchurch unity, the parish remains a unit lacking dynamism. Therefore, the role of the priest in the parish is to transform this spiritual ground into a true oasis of spiritual living in which the Spirit of truth, justice, love and divine holiness can pulsate (Galatians 5, 25).