"We are all brothers and sisters", Ecumenical Patriarch tells MEPs
24-09-2007 14:21
Addressing a formal sitting of the House as part of European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I, spoke of the value of the European project in promoting peace and tolerance, the importance of accepting minorities and the need for the EU to accept Turkey as a member. He also underlined his church's efforts to encourage respect for the environment.
Introducing the Ecumenical Patriarch, EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering stressed that "The European Union is a community based on values, the most fundamental of which is human dignity. In this respect religious freedom is central to human dignity". He linked this to the separation of church and state, as anchored in the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Pöttering described the Patriarch as "a beacon to your followers in the Orthodox world" and pointed out that recent EU enlargements had brought in the Orthodox countries of Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania. He added "The late Pope John Paul II used the metaphor of Europe breathing again with its two lungs after the downfall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. We could also use this metaphor to refer to the richness in the enlarged EU brought through the different perspectives of Western and Eastern Christianity".
Dialogue is "at the very root of what it means to be a human being"
In the opening part of his speech, the Patriarch told MEPs "our Ecumenical Patriarchate embraces a truly global apostolate that strives to raise and broaden the consciousness of the human family – to bring understanding that we are all dwelling in the same house." For twenty centuries the Patriarchate "has continued as a lighthouse for the human family and the Christian Church. It is from the depths of our experience upon these deep waters of history that we offer to the contemporary world a timeless message of perennial human value."
His core idea was that "Dialogue is necessary first and foremost because it is inherent in the nature of the human person". In other words, "intercultural dialogue is at the very root of what it means to be a human being, for no one culture of the human family encompasses every human person. Without such dialogue, the differences in the human family are reduced to objectifications of the “other” and lead to abuse, conflict, persecution – a grand scale human suicide, for we are all ultimately one humanity. But where the differences between us move us to encounter one another and where that encounter is based in dialogue, there is reciprocal understanding and appreciation – even love."
Importance of the European project
The Patriarch then stressed that "the significance of the 'European project' cannot be underestimated. It is one of the hallmarks of the European Union that it has succeeded in promoting mutual, peaceful and productive co-existence between nation states that less than seventy years ago were drenched in a bloody conflict that could have destroyed the legacy of Europe for the ages."
Only one ecosphere
There must be a more profound understanding of the interdependence of every single human person with every other single human person, continued the Patriarch, explaining "there is a way of understanding the universe in which we live as being shared by all", namely an "ecosphere that contains us all".
For this reason, the Ecumenical For the rest of this News Release, visit the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website
Archbishop Demetrios of America Welcomes the President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias
September 24, 2008
Archbishop Demetrios of America welcomed Monday September 22 at the Archdiocese, the President of the Republic of Cyprus His Excellency Demetris Christofias.
The meeting between the two men took place at the Archbishop’s office in a very warm and cordial atmosphere and lasted about one hour. The new aspects and the latest developments on the Cyprus issue were discussed.
Speaking to the Press right after the meeting Mr. Christofias expressed his joy for meeting once again with Archbishop Demetrios saying that “His Eminence has Cyprus in his heart, and he is always on the forefront of promoting the Cyprus issue.” Mr. Christofias also said that he informed the Archbishop on all the latest developments on the issue and that their discussion included “possible common initiatives for the advancement of both the political problem of Cyprus and the very rich cultural heritage of Cyprus, as a vehicle for cultural diplomacy.”
Archbishop Demetrios responding to President Christofias’ remarks said, “Cyprus is a symbol greater than itself, it has become a symbol for the inviolable principles of freedom and human rights and this fact makes the struggle for Cyprus much greater and far more important. From our side – we have said it privately and we are saying it publicly and responsibly – you will have all our support, because the Church and the Omogeneia of America are always in the service of the Gospel, in the service of Justice, Solidarity and Peace among all the peoples of the world.”
President Christofias was accompanied by government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, ambassador of Cyprus in the United States Andreas Kakouris and the permanent representative of Cyprus to the United Nations Minas Hatzimichael.
Archbishop Demetrios Receives Holy Relics of Saint Seraphim of SarovSeptember 23, 2008
Archbishop Demetrios of America received yesterday, September 22, 2008, at the Archdiocese headquarters, the Holy and Sacred Relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, one of the best known Russian Orthodox Saints of the 19 th century and a popular saint in Greece.
Bishop Mercurius of Zaraisk, the head of the Representation of the Patriarchate of Moscow in the United States presented to Archbishop Demetrios the relics, sent directly from Moscow and by the express wish of Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia.
The bestowal of the Relics came as the culmination of a request from the St. Anthony’s Monastery in Florence, Ariz. The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate, observing the canonical order of the Church, transferred the Relics to the Archbishop, who will make provision for the bequest to the Monastery.
Bishop Mercurius and his staff, Fr. Alexander Abramov and Mrs. Yulia McGregor, were received by the Archbishop, Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, and the clergy and staff of the Archdiocese in the Archdiocesan Chapel of the Apostle Paul with a Doxology. In presenting the Relics to the Archbishop, Bishop Mercurius expressed the fervent desire of the Russian Orthodox Church that this bestowal be a token of fraternal love and a cooperative spirit. Archbishop Demetrios received the relics, venerating them and the Icon of St. Seraphim in which they are embedded. After the ceremony, Archbishop Demetrios again expressed his thanks to the Russian Orthodox Church and spoke of his own love for St. Seraphim of Sarov, noting the joy and welcome that the Saint had for all people.
Following the church service the Archbishop hosted a luncheon in honor of Bishop Mercurius and his staff in appreciation of all the work and cooperation they had offered on the official visit of the Archbishop to the Church of Moscow last May.
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