Orthodox Leaders Make Passionate Plea for Persecuted Christians in Middle East

Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Chania, Crete

 with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presiding.  John Mindala

By Ruth Gledhill
Christian Today

World leaders of the Orthodox Church have spoken out in support of Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East.

At the end of a week-long summit in Crete, Greece, the Orthodox bishops and patriarchs said: "The oil of religious experience must be used to heal wounds and not to rekindle the fire of military conflicts.

"The Orthodox Church unequivocally condemns the extension of military violence, persecutions, the expulsion and murder of members of religious minorities, forced conversions, the trafficking of refugees, the abductions, torture and abhorrent executions.

"She denounces the destruction of churches, religious symbols and cultural monuments. Very particularly, she expresses her deep concern about the situation of Christians and of all the persecuted minorities in the Middle East.

"She calls on the governments in the region to protect the indigenous Orthodox and other Christians and all the populations who have an inalienable right to remain in their countries as citizens with equal rights. 

Our Council appeals to all parties involved to make systematic efforts without delay to bring to an end the military conflicts in the Middle East and wherever armed hostilities persist and to enable all those displaced to return to their homes."

The bishops emphasised the call to convert, saying: "The re-evangelisation of God's people in modern, secularised societies and the evangelisation of those who have still not come to know Christ remain an unceasing obligation for the Church."

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