| This research attempts to identify and analyze specific secular legacies that influenced and corrupted Christian leadership. The project presents such examples by first examining Paul's challenge of two of the main elitist legacies in the Corinthian church, such as Sophism and Patronage, and uses them as a model and provocation for Christian churches in Post-Communist nations. Then, the study attempts to identify some of the major elitist legacies found in the Totalitarian and Authoritarian former Communist states in Eastern Europe and tries to raise awareness of the problems and present possible recommendations.;Although there are some studies done on the subjects of Elitism, Totalitarianism, and Nomenklatura separately, as well as Sophism and Patronage, none correlate the Communist legacies (especially the elitistic legacies) to the Bible, Church, and Christian leadership. This dissertation attempts to create a platform based on Paul's model in Corinth, for addressing and confronting secular legacies in Post-Communist Eastern Europe, help raise awareness of them (and their consequences) among the Christian leaders living in Post-Communism, and seek to break some ground to offer possible insights as to how the legacies can be overcome by biblical principles. |
