Τρίτη 23 Ιουλίου 2013

COMMUNIQUE EIGHTH ACADEMIC CONSULTATION BETWEEN JUDAISM AND ORTHODOXY





Εβραίοι και Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί καταδικάζουν τον ρατσισμό και τις διακρίσεις

Κοινή δήλωση κατά την 8η Ακαδημαϊκή Συνάντηση Διαλόγου Εβραίων-Ορθοδόξων που συγκάλεσε το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο στη Θεσσαλονίκη

γραφείο ειδήσεων Amen.gr
7 Ιουνίου 2013, 10:10
636 αναγνώσεις
Ολοκληρώθηκε χθες στην Θεσσαλονίκη η 8η Ακαδημαϊκή συνάντηση διαλόγου ανάμεσα στον Ιουδαϊσμό και την Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία, η οποία συγκλήθηκε με πρωτοβουλία του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου.
Στις ομιλίες τους, κατά το κλείσιμο της συναντήσεως, ο Μητροπολίτης Γαλλίας Εμμανουήλ και ο Καθηγητής Λόρενς Σίφμαν, Πρόεδρος του Διεθνούς Εβραϊκού Συμβουλίου για τις Διαθρησκειακές Συναντήσεις, προέτρεψαν τους πιστούς και κάθε άνθρωπο καλής πίστης να καταπολεμήσουν «τυχόν νέες μορφές ρατσιστικής ιδεολογίας, τον αντισημιτισμό, τις θρησκευτικές προκαταλήψεις και όλες τις μορφές διακρίσεων». Οι θρησκευτικές κοινότητες, σημείωσαν, πρέπει να είναι πιστές στην επιδίωξη της δικαιοσύνης και να παραμείνουν αμετακίνητες στη διαθρησκειακή αλληλεγγύη.
Οι συμμετέχοντες στη συνάντηση σημείωσαν πως σε μια περίοδο που στον κόσμο συμβαίνουν τραγικά γεγονότα σε πολιτικό, κοινωνικό ακόμα και σε περιβαλλοντικό επίπεδο, οι διαθρησκειακοί διάλογοι έχουν μεγάλη σημασία γιατί ως στόχο έχουν την από κοινού συναργασία για τον σεβασμό του κόσμου και τον σεβασμό του ενός για τον άλλο.
Κατά τη διάρκεια των εργασιών του συνεδρίου τους συμμετέχοντες υποδέχθηκαν ο Δήμαρχος Θεσσαλονίκης Γιάννης Μπουτάρης και ο Μητροπολίτης Θεσσαλονίκης Άνθιμος καθώς και αξιωματούχοι της Πολιτείας.
Να σημειωθεί ότι η 8η Ακαδημαϊκή Συνάντηση Διαλόγου διοργανώθηκε, ύστερα από πρόσκληση του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη Βαρθολομαίου,  από το Γραφείο του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου για Διαθρησκευτικά και Διαπολιτισμικά Ζητήματα σε συνεργασία με Διεθνή Εβραϊκή Επιτροπή για τον Διαθρησκευτικό Διάλογο.
Επικεφαλής της Αντιπροσωπείας του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου ήταν ο Μητροπολίτης Γαλλίας Εμμανουήλ ενώ, μεταξύ άλλων, συμμετείχε ο Αρχιμ.Αγαθάγγελος Σίσκος, Βιβλιοφύλακας του Πατριαρχείου, ο οποίος και ανέγνωσε το μήνυμα του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη.
Ακολουθούν το τελικό ανακοινωθέν της 8ης Ακαδημαϊκής Συναντήσεως Ιουδαϊσμού-Ορθοδοξίας, το μήνυμα του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη Βαρθολομαίου, η εισήγηση του Μητροπολίτη Γαλλίας Εμμανουήλ και το μήνυμα του υπουργού Εξωτερικών της Ελλάδος Δημήτρη Αβραμόπουλου :
COMMUNIQUE
EIGHTH ACADEMIC CONSULTATION BETWEEN JUDAISM AND ORTHODOXY
“The Spiritual and Physical Environment:
Respecting Our World, Respecting One Another”
“Loving G-d, Loving Our Neighbor – Leviticus 19:19”
Coordinated by:
The Liaison Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Office of Interreligious and Intercultural Affairs,
and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations
Thessaloniki, June 6, 2013
At the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, distinguished theologians, scholars, and religious leaders met in Thessaloniki, Greece, to commemorate the solidarity Jewish and Christian Orthodox citizens of Thessaloniki displayed at the time of the Shoah orchestrated by the Nazis in World War II, and to discover what processes are necessary to sustain that level of solidarity in the world today.  The list of participants is attached.
After being received by the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Ioannis Boutaris, and high level governmental representatives, the consultation opened with a welcome message from His all-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.  Other messages were delivered from the Primates of the Orthodox churches and both Israeli and Greek government officials. 
Introductory remarks by His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France focused on His All Holiness’ declaration of 2013 as The Year of Solidarity.  He pointed out that Jewish and Christian Orthodox living in Greece during World War II achieved solidarity, demonstrated by the fact that the Archbishop of Athens, Damaskinos, formally protested the actions of the Nazi occupational authorities.  
In his introductory remarks, Professor Lawrence Schiffman, Chair, International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, (IJCIC) identified the mutuality of existence and co-existence in the Jewish and Christian traditions as the foundation for solidarity.  With Rabbi Joel Meyers moderating, Professor Dr. Angeliki Ziaka, and Rabbi Dr. David Berger also offered their views on this topic.
During the second session, Rabbi Chaim Weiner, Professor Shira Lander of Rice University, and Rev. Father D. Safonov from the Moscow Patriarchate examined how religious values influence and interact with society.   Professor Georges Prevelakis of the Sorbonne provided an analysis of the geopolitical repercussions of these issues. 
Building upon the foundation of religion’s influence on society, Rabbi Dr. Richard Marker moderated a session about our religious obligation to care for the earth, and helped cast a vision for how adherents to the faith traditions can embrace stewardship.  Rabbi Julian Sinclair and Rev. Dr. Heikki Huttumen presented their viewpoints and identified ways in which stewardship could be addressed and practiced.
The delegates to the consultation visited the Monastiriotes Synagogue, the Holocaust Monument, and the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, and were welcomed at the Jewish Community Center.  David Saltiel, President of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, addressed the group, along with Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow, and Rabbi Aharon Israel, Rabbi of Thessaloniki.  Speakers offered perspectives on the life of the Jewish community in Thessaloniki and its relationship with their Orthodox Christian neighbors. Professor Schiffman and Betty Ehrenberg, Vice Chair and incoming Chair of IJCIC, had the opportunity to meet with Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki.
After establishing a historical precedent and identifying the possibilities for positive effects religious traditions can have on society, the fourth session addressed the obstacles and challenges to establishing solidarity.  Rabbi Eric Greenberg and His Grace Bishop Petroniu of Romania discussed issues to help advance cooperation between Judaism and the Orthodox Church.
Closing addresses by Professor Schiffman and Metropolitan Emmanuel urged members of all faith communities to combat any new forms of racist ideology, of anti-Semitism, religious prejudice and all forms of discrimination.  The faith communities must be faithful in pursuing justice and stand firm for interreligious solidarity.
Given recent tragic events around the world—environmental, political, and social—the need for interreligious consultations such as this one is all the more relevant as we work together to respect our world and respect one another. 
MESSAGE
By His All-Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
For the 8th Academic Consultation between Judaism and Orthodoxy
(Thessaloniki, June 4-6, 2013)
Distinguished participants and beloved friends,
It is a special privilege and joy to address the organizers, speakers and delegates of the 8th Academic Consultation between Judaism and Orthodoxy, which is being held in the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki on the topic of “The Spiritual and Physical Environment: Respecting our World, Respecting One Another,” drawing on the commandment from Leviticus that we “love God and love our neighbor.” We are grateful to the esteemed organizers, His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France and Professor Lawrence Schiffman of Yeshiva University. Their invaluable efforts to promote 2013 as our “Year of Solidarity” through this meeting are deeply appreciated.
We have frequently emphasized the notion of the world as our home (oikos) and about the related concept of economy (oikonomia) and ecology (oikologia). “Ecology” is the study of our home, while “economy” is the management of our household. And they are the two poles of the subject of your consultation. This means that love of God, neighbor and creation are intimately interconnected. Indeed, the way we respond to issues related to economy or ecology will inevitably determine our worship of God and our worldview alike.
It is not by chance that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has focused its attention and ministry on preserving the natural environment. Unfortunately, we often restrict the application of the words “ecology” and “economy” to ourselves, as if we are the only inhabitants and proprietors of this world. This planet is indeed our home; yet it is the home of everyone, as it is the home of every animal creature. It is also the home of the poor and of the children, including the generations of those yet to be born.
Orthodox Theology and the Natural Environment
In this regard, if the earth is sacred, then our relationship with the natural environment is also sacred; that is to say, it contains the very face and the trace of God. In many ways, the “sin of Adam” is precisely his refusal to receive the world as a gift of encounter and communion with God and with the rest of creation. This is why we have repeatedly emphasized that abuse of the natural environment is tantamount to sinning against God and neighbor.
The breadth and depth of this cosmic vision implies that humanity isonly a part of this theophany, which is always greater than any one individual. Of course, the human race plays a unique role and has a unique responsibility; nevertheless, it comprises one part of the universe, which cannot be considered or conceived ofapart from the universe. In this way, the natural environment becomes a part of the deeper interconnection and interdependence of all things.
Orthodox theology takes a further step and recognizes the natural creation as inseparable from the destiny of humanity, because every human action leaves a permanent imprint on the body of the earth. Human attitudes and behavior toward creation directly impacthuman attitudes and behavior toward other people. This is why ecology is inevitably related in both its etymology and meaning to economy; our global economy is simply outgrowing the capacity of our planet to support it. At stake is not just our ability to live in a sustainable way, but our existence. Scientists estimate that those most hurt by global warming in years to come will be those who can least afford it. Therefore, the ecological problem of pollution is invariably connected to the social problem of poverty; and so all ecological activity is ultimately measured and properly judged by its impact and effect upon the poor (see Matthew 25).
Orthodox Theology and Social Injustice
It must further be underlined, with regard to the theme of your consultation, that the issue of environmental pollution and degradation cannot be isolated or explored independently of its social and moral dimensions. The environment is the home that surrounds the human species and comprises the human habitat. Therefore, the environment cannot be appreciated or assessed without a direct connection to our neighbor and to all humanity. 
Concern, then, for ecological issues is directly related to concern for issues of social justice, and particularly of world hunger. A religion that neglects to pray for the natural environment is a religion that refuses to offer food and drink to a suffering humanity. At the same time, a society that ignores the mandate to care for all human beings is a society that mistreats the very creation of God, including the natural environment. It is nothing less than blasphemy.
Therefore, as one of the more serious ethical, social and political problems, poverty is directly and deeply connected to the ecological crisis. A poor farmer in Asia, in Africa or the Middle East will daily face the reality of poverty. For these persons, the misuse of technology or the eradication of trees is not merely harmful to the environment or destructive of nature; rather, it practically and profoundly affects the very survival of their families. Terminology such as “ecology,” “deforestation” or “over-fishing” is entirely absent from their daily conversation or concern. They are pragmatically concerned about their own survival and the survival of their children.
Conclusion
Dear friends, it is clear that only a cooperative and collective response – by religious leaders, scientists, political authorities and financial corporations – will appropriately and effectively address these critical issues of our time. Moreover, the natural environment – the forest, the water, the land – belongs not only to the present generation but also to future generations. We must frankly admit that humankind is entitled to something better than what we see around us. We and, much more, our children and future generations are entitled to a better and brighter world, a world free from degradation, violence and bloodshed, a world of generosity and love. It is selfless and sacrificial love for our children that will show us the path that we must follow into the future.
May your deliberations be blessed to bear fruit along this path!
EIGHTH ACADEMIC CONSULTATION
BETWEEN JUDAISM AND ORTHODOXY
“The Spiritual and Physical Environment:
Respecting Our World, Respecting One Another”
“Loving G-d, Loving Our Neighbor – Leviticus 19:19”
Introductory Remarks
His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France
Thessaloniki Greece
4 June 2013
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is good to be with you in the ancient city of Thessaloniki, or as Sephardic Jews nicknamed it many years ago, city la Madre de Israel (Mother of Israel). For Christians, this is the city to which the Apostle Paul, a man of Jewish heritage, wrote the first epistle letter. For Jews the city is the oldest Jewish community in mainland Europe--although it was severely reduced as a result of the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917, as well as the devastating effects of the Shoah where 96% of the Jewish population in the city perished. It is here that followers of Orthodoxy and Judaism have a common history and a foundation in equality that serves as an example of how diverse faith communities can choose to live together in solidarity. It is this shared desire for continuing solidarity that brings us together for this consultation.
It is well documented that Greeks living in Thessaloniki at the time of the Shoah stood with their Jewish neighbors and friends.  In July 1942, 2.5 billion drachmas were paid by Greeks in ransom for members of their Jewish community, rescuing them from the enslavement camps.  
Archbishop Damaskinos demonstrated the Church’s solidarity during the Shoah by authorising the issuing of false baptismal documents to protect Jewish people. He also signed a letter protesting deportations, and worked to prevent the atrocity of removing Jewish families from their Greek and Muslim neighbors.  
Orthodox Christians living in Thessaloniki over 70 years ago embodied the solidarity defined in the 16th century statement made by Ecumenical Patriarch Metrophanes III to the Greek Orthodox in Crete addressing the mistreatment of Jews there:  
"Injustice ... regardless to whomever acted upon or performed against, is still injustice. The unjust person is never relieved of the responsibility of these acts under the pretext that the injustice is done against a heterodox and not to a believer. . . . do not oppress or accuse anyone falsely; do not make any distinction or give room to the believers to injure those of another belief."
In the same spirit of unity advocated by Patriarch Metrophanes III, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has declared 2013 the Year of Global Solidarity, and this meeting exemplifies the spirit of the solidarity HAH strives to establish around the globe. A lot has been written and much has been said about solidarity, but we have here in Thessaloniki a shining example of how solidarity is practiced by ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. 
In our generation, HAH has issued this call to action on the belief that an injustice to one is an injustice to all humanity. The Greek word HAH used in issuing the call for the Year of Global Solidarity, αλληλεγγύης, has a meaning that encompasses more than is typically undertaken by those who work for solidarity.  Transforming solidarity involves each individual and community acting—at a personal level--going as far as providing collateral and guaranteeing the human dignity of ‘the other’ is protected.
Solidarity requires sacrifice. It is more than a letter writing campaign, or wearing t-shirts that espouse trendy causes. It is not a one-time financial contribution, but ongoing support to individuals through monetary assistance and in becoming actively and personally involved with those who are suffering. Solidarity is about connecting through dialogue with those who are different than we are. It is certainly not a means to create additional separation by demeaning those who do not join you in the concerns you think are important. Drawing ideological circles around groups of people with the intent to create groups we define as ‘us’ against ‘them’ is not solidarity. Solidarity does not occur within one’s own group--if the goal is to act to harm another group.
Consider the breaking of glass on Kristallnacht:  Jewish homes and businesses were vandalized by a group of people who were in agreement, however they used their ‘solidarity’ to oppress others. It is important to note that when a group resorts to one form of violence--such as breaking into homes and businesses--then crossing the boundary of the sanctity of life and human dignity is not far behind. Once labels are placed on groups of people, justifications for eliminating those who have been labeled begin to surface. At that moment when we feel justified to violate the person or their property, we have diminished all of humanity because the labeled group suffers emotional and physical harm, yet the aggressor is wounded, too, in ways they are not able to recognize.
Dear friends,
The way to intervene in racism and promote transforming solidarity is dialogue. When Adam and Eve hid from G-d in the Garden of Eden after their encounter with eating the forbidden fruit, G-d came to them. He searched for them—sought them out—to talk to them! 
His love for Adam and Eve moved G-d to make clothes for them and to provide for them even when they failed to do the right thing. G-d demonstrated solidarity with the first family through dialogue and through service. However, justice was not forgotten, and they had to leave their perfect garden.  
In this simple account of Adam and Eve, we can find balance and guidance as we move toward ‘the other’. Solidarity seeks to understand and respond to needs, but does not justify and excuse all actions. It does not ignore or minimize wrong doing. True solidarity calls all people to a higher plane of living—one of respect, peace, freedom of conscience and safety.
This conference will explore many facets of living together on the earth despite significant differences between cultures and religions. Let us take all that is said and done in this place to heart and go out into the world to cultivate respect, advocate for peace, exercise freedom of conscience, and ensure the safety of our most vulnerable members of society. Jews and Orthodox working together with a common purpose are a tremendous witness to the possibilities that exist because of dialogue and mutual respect.
Thank you
ΜΗΝΥΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΥ ΕΞΩΤΕΡΙΚΩΝ κ. ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗ ΑΒΡΑΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ
ΣΤΗΝ 8η ΑΚΑΔΗΜΑΪΚΗ ΣΥΝΑΝΤΗΣΗ ΜΕΤΑΞΥ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΙΟΥΔΑΪΣΜΟΥ 
ΜΕ ΘΕΜΑ “ΤΟ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΟ ΚΑΙ ΦΥΣΙΚΟ ΠΕΡΙΒΑΛΛΟΝ:
ΣΕΒΟΜΕΝΟΙ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟ ΚΑΙ ΑΛΛΗΛΟΥΣ”
Σεβασμιώτατε,
Σοφολογιότατοι κύριοι Ραββίνοι,
Σοφολογιότατοι Καθηγητές,
Κύριοι Καθηγητές,
Κυρίες και Κύριοι,
Η συνάντηση μεταξύ Χριστιανισμού και Ιουδαϊσμού δεν είναι μια συνάντηση περιστασιακού χαρακτήρα, αλλά είναι η ιστορική συνάντηση, στην οποία οφείλουμε την πολιτιστική μας ταυτότητα ως Ευρωπαίοι και μέτοχοι του Δυτικού πολιτισμού εν γένει. Γιατί αυτή η συνάντηση δεν υπήρξε μια απλή “συμπαράθεση” πολιτισμών, όπως στις σύγχρονες πολυπολιτισμικές κοινωνίες, αλλά μια πραγματική ζύμωση, με αποτέλεσμα την οργανική διαμόρφωση ενός νέου πολιτισμού ελευθερίας και ισότητας μεταξύ των ανθρώπων.
Όπως έχει αποδείξει η σύγχρονη ιστορική έρευνα η όσμωση των δύο πολιτισμών, του Ιουδαϊκού και του Ελληνικού έχει ξεκινήσει ήδη από την Ελληνιστική εποχή, όταν με την έλευση του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου οι Ιουδαίοι εξελληνίζουν τα κύρια ονόματά τους, αλλά και αυτά των πόλεών τους, υιοθετώντας την ελληνική πολιτειακή οργάνωση και χτίζοντας γυμνάσια, ιπποδρόμους και θέατρα. Η κίνηση του αδιάπτωτου εξελληνισμού των Ιουδαίων, έφτασε να προκαλέσει την επανάσταση των Μακκαβαίων (168-142 μ.Χ.), όταν ο Αντίοχος ο Δ΄ο Επιφανής μετέτρεψε το Ναό του Σολομώντος σε Ναό του Διός. Έκτοτε, η περιοχή της Ιουδαίας επανέρχεται στον ακραιφνή Ιουδαϊσμό του Ιερατείου.
Ωστόσο, η έλευση του Χριστιανισμού, έγινε η πραγματική αφορμή συνειδητής συμπόρευσης των δύο πολιτισμών, όπως μαρτυρούν τα κείμενα της εποχής, προ και μετά Χριστόν: Σπουδαίοι λόγιοι εβραϊκής καταγωγής παραφράζουν συστηματικά την Εβραϊκή παράδοση στην lingua franca της εποχής, την ελληνική. Αποκορύφωμα αυτής της πρακτικής, αποτελεί η μετάφραση της Παλαιάς Διαθήκης από τους Εβδομήκοντα. Πρώτος ο Ιουδαίος Αριστόβουλος εισηγείται την αλληγορική μέθοδο ερμηνείας της Παλαιάς Διαθήκης, ενώ ο επίσης Ιουδαϊκής καταγωγής Φίλων ο Αλεξανδρείας θεωρείται εξίσου Έλληνας και Ιουδαίος φιλόσοφος.
Διότι, όπως σημειώνουν σύγχρονοι διακεκριμένοι ερευνητές, χωρίς τον Φίλωνα δεν νοείται ο πρόλογος του Ευαγγελιστή Ιωάννη, που αναδεικνύει την μεταφυσική διάσταση του Λόγου του Θεού, ενώ από την άλλη, χωρίς την Ιουδαϊκή θεολογία δεν νοείται η ενεργός, άμεση παρουσία του Θεού στην Ιστορία, που αποτυπώνει μέχρι και την φιλοσοφία του Εγέλου. Όπως εξάλλου θα επισημάνει ο Ωριγένης τον 3ο μ.Χ. αιώνα στο περίφημο Κατά Κέλσου, εκεί οφείλεται η αποτελεσματικότητα της χριστιανικής θρησκείας έναντι της απόμακρης ελληνικής Μεταφυσικής.
Αυτή λοιπόν η μεγάλη συμβολή της Ιουδαϊκής στην Ελληνική θεολογία, γιατί ο Θεός-Λόγος δεν είναι αμέτοχος στα ανθρώπινα, όπως ο νοητικός Θεός των Ελλήνων φιλοσόφων, ο οποίος αποτελεί το τέλειο πρότυπο προς μίμηση. Ο Θεός των Χριστιανών ενσαρκώνεται και θυσιάζεται για τον άνθρωπο. Έτσι, η θεοφιλία των Ελλήνων δίνει την θέση της στην φιλανθρωπία του Θεού, που στέργει για κοινωνική ισότητα και δικαιοσύνη.
Η επαναστατική αυτή αντίληψη δεν είναι γέννημα του Χριστιανισμού, αλλά προϋπάρχει στην Ιουδαϊκή προφητική παράδοση ήδη από τον 8ο π.Χ. αιώνα. Ο Κύριος κατά τους Προφήτες δεν αρέσκεται στην τυπολατρία, αλλά στην κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη.
Αυτός λοιπόν είναι ο Θεός των Εβραίων που κατέκτησε τους Έλληνες με το αίτημα κοινωνικής δικαιοσύνης και ισότητας, το οποίο επανήλθε στο προσκήνιο με το κήρυγμα του Χριστού και την εδραίωση του Χριστιανισμού από τον Απόστολο Παύλο που απευθύνει στους Θεσσαλονικείς της Α΄επιστολή του το 51 μ.Χ.
Σ’ αυτή λοιπόν την πόλη έγινε η πρώτη συμβολική συνάντηση μεταξύ Χριστιανισμού και Ιουδαϊσμού και απ’ αυτή την πόλη είναι σκόπιμο να διαδοθεί η συνέχεια δύο ρευμάτων, που δεν έπαψαν να συμπορεύονται και να διαλέγονται στην μακραίωνη Ιστορία τους, για να αποδείξουν ότι ο Θεός είναι Δίκαιος, επειδή γνωρίζει να αποδίδει κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη στους ανθρώπους, σεβόμενος τους αδυνάτους.
Είμαι πεπεισμένος ότι η πνευματική συμπόρευση αυτών των δύο θρησκευτικών κολοσσών, θα αναδειχθεί και να ευοδωθεί και στην δική σας συνάντηση λογίων. Διότι το ιστορικό παράδειγμα εξωστρέφειας και φιλοξενίας, που είναι τόσο διαδεδομένο και στις δύο αυτές παραδόσεις από αρχαιοτάτων χρόνων, είναι το μόνο αντίδοτο στην κοινωνική αδικία και στον θρησκευτικό φανατισμό, που λαμβάνει ανησυχητικές διαστάσεις κατά την μεταβατική εποχή που διανύουμε.
- See more at: http://www.amen.gr/article14183#sthash.pIsqfXKK.dpuf

Muslim extremists kill our priests, burn our churches and kidnap our women: How Egypt’s Arab Spring dream descended into a nightmare of religious hatred




Supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi demonstrate in Cairo on Friday

Father Youssef Souby Zaky left his church in northern Sinai after it was ransacked and torched.

Rania Awad (left) and her baby son fled to Britain for safety after her husband was persecuted for his faith
ANGELLA JOHNSON -14/7/13
  • Mail on Sunday correspondent in Cairo reveals hate acts against Christians
  • Extremists have forced many families into hiding or to seek asylum overseas
The mob converging on a church on the outskirts of Cairo were armed only with sticks and stones.
But their frenzied attack on a lone, elderly Coptic priest was merciless.  Father Matthew Awad had refused to reveal the whereabouts of a Muslim woman who had converted to Christianity. For this offence, he was assaulted, suffered death threats and barely escaped with his life.
Today, he is in hiding. His entire family fear for their safety. Matthew’s son, shop owner Marco Awad, cannot set foot in public after he was arrested and tortured by Egyptian police officers sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Two of his three young children are with him in a safe house while his sister, wife and four month-old-son have fled Egypt to Britain and are now staying in Brighton.
Marco, who refused to be photographed because of the risk to his life, told The Mail on Sunday from a monastery in the desert: ‘Muslim fundamentalists are killing our priests, kidnapping our women and burning our churches. Since the 2011 revolution, Coptics like me have lived in fear of our lives. I’m being forced to live apart from my family because of my faith.’
The minority Christian group are reeling after a frightening rise in religiously-motivated attacks. Last Thursday, the decapitated body of church elder Magdy Lamay Habib, 59, was found in a graveyard, six days after he was kidnapped by extremists in northern Sanai.
And priest Father Mina Aboud Sharobeel, 39, was shot dead when Islamic gunmen opened fire as he drove home from a weekly grocery shop at a market in the town of El Arish, near the Gaza border.
Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood are believed to have launched the attacks because they blame Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II for backing the military’s removal of President Mohammed Morsi from power on July 3.
Christians are especially vulnerable in Sinai, where much of the population is armed and the local economy hinges on the smuggling of weapons, drugs and people.
Security officials believe a local branch of Jabhat al-Nusra, the feared Islamist group that is fighting against the Syrian government, may also be operating in Sinai. As are Jihadist groups, including affiliates of Al Qaeda.
Christians saw discrimination against them escalate during Morsi’s drive for an Islamic state. Around 200,000 are said to have left for new lives in Europe, America and Canada over the past year.
Father Youssef Souby Zaky, a friend of the slain priest, reluctantly left his church in Rafa, northern Sinai, after it was ransacked and torched. He says: ‘Every Christian family abandoned the town because it was unsafe for us to live there.
‘Several churches were vandalised and set alight, threats made against our families and four priests were kidnapped in the region – three were released after ransoms were paid, but sadly one was slaughtered.
‘These hate crimes have been fuelled by extremists trying to drive us out of Sinai, perhaps even out of Egypt. My fear is that long-term enmity will be established and our national unity will crumble to dust.’
The Awad family became targets after the family of a Muslim woman objected to her conversion to Christianity last July.
‘Extremists led the attack against my father but he managed to escape,’ Marco says. ‘They threatened to kill my sister Feeby and we were forced to flee our homes.’
He took his wife Rania and their children – son David, ten, and daughter Karma, aged six – to live with the in-laws. ‘Then, four months ago, I was taken from my shop by two policemen, who said my business permit was not in order.
‘I was locked in a cell and beaten every day. They kept asking where my father and sister had gone. But my wife had been looking for me and she contacted the Egyptian Federation for Human Rights, who spoke to the right people and I was eventually freed. I was taken unconscious in a car and dumped in the middle of the countryside.’
Dr Naguib Gobraiel, head of the Human Rights Federation and also a Christian, describes what’s happening as ethnic cleansing. ‘It’s a pogrom,’ he claims. ‘I have three sons in their late 20s and they all emigrated with their families since Morsi took power. I’ve been threatened with death and my office burned three times.’
The former judge saw a big increase in false allegations made against Christians, especially teachers, after the Brotherhood were voted into power in the country’s first democratic elections a year ago.
Criminalising blasphemy was enshrined in a controversial Islamist-backed constitution passed by Mr Morsi soon after he became president. Liberal Muslim writers and activists have since been accused of insulting Islam.
But it is the country’s minority Christians – about ten per cent of the population – who bear the brunt of prosecutions and imprisonment for blasphemy.
Dr Gobraiel represented 18 of them. ‘Seventeen received three to six years in prison,’ he says. ‘They went to appeals courts, hoping for retrials or lighter sentences. But the system is biased.’
His most notorious case involved Dimyana Abdel-Nour, a woman teacher in the southern tourist city of Luxor.
The shy 24-year old was arrested and charged with insulting Islam during her classes, after three parents claimed she had expressed disgust for the religion to their ten-year-old daughters.
She spent a week in jail before being bailed for £2,000 in May and is now hiding in a church outside the city. ‘She is in a very bad way and is being protected by one of our priests,’ says Dr Gobraiel.
‘The charges are spurious, yet she was arrested and kept in custody. It was a very shocking experience and her father says she suffered a nervous breakdown.’
Meanwhile, a tense stand-off between pro-Morsi supporters and the military continues in the holy month of Ramadan – fasting has dampened any appetite for fighting.
Television producer Maha Reda believes the Brotherhood hierarchy know they have lost the battle to hold on to power – but also claims that Egypt is not ready to be a functioning democracy: ‘The army is the only solid institution that can hold our society together and stop us drifting into more chaos.’
Marco Awad hopes that is the case – but is too afraid to take a chance with his family’s safety. ‘I never thought of leaving my country but I don’t feel safe here any more,’ he says.
‘I want my children to live somewhere where being a Christian does not put a target on their backs.’

‘Shadow war’ targets Christians in Syria




Christian minorities face threats in many parts of the convulsed Middle East today, but perhaps nowhere is the danger more acute than in Syria amid that nation’s bloody civil war.
An Internet video that went viral in late June, purportedly showing the beheading of three Christian clergymen by Syrian militants, was initially believed to capture the death of a Catholic priest named Fr. François Murad.
It turned out to be older footage of uncertain provenance, but that didn’t make Murad any less dead. According to officials of the Franciscan order that had given him refuge, Murad actually was shot to death on June 23 in the town of Gassanieh, in a convent where the 49-year-old monk was in hiding.
Reports suggest members of Jabhat al-Nusra, a militant Islamic group that’s part of Syria’s rebel alliance, killed Murad.
The killing represents the latest shock for Syria’s Christian community, which has become one of the primary victims of the violent standoff between rebel forces and the Assad regime.
Christians have long been an important minority in Syria, composing roughly 10 percent of the population of 22.5 million. The majority is Greek Orthodox, followed by Catholics, the Assyrian Church of the East, and vari­ous kinds of Protestants.
Syria was until recently a destination of choice for Christians fleeing the violence in Iraq, but all that changed with the eruption of civil war in 2011.
The kidnapping of two prominent Orthodox bishops in April underscored the new dangers. A group of armed men took the Syriac Orthodox bishop of Aleppo, Youhanna Ibrahim, and the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Aleppo and Iskenderun, Boulos al-Yaziji, on the road to Aleppo. Their driver, a Syrian Orthodox deacon, was shot to death.
To date, the whereabouts of the bishops remain unknown.
Kidnapping Christians reportedly has become a growth industry. In late February, the website Ora pro Siria, operated by Italian missionaries in Syria, launched an emergency fundraising appeal called “Ransom a Christian.” The website said the going price for a kidnapped priest was in the neighborhood of $200,000.
It’s not just clergy who find themselves in harm’s way. In June, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land reported that a cluster of Christian villages along Syria’s Orontes River had been almost totally destroyed in the fighting, forcing thousands into hiding.
“Of the 4,000 inhabitants of the village of Ghassanieh, as just one example, the local pastor reports that no more than 10 people remain,” said Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, director of the custody, adding that bombs had also seriously damaged a Franciscan mon­astery in Knayeh near the border with Lebanon.
As NCR went to press, a Greek-Catholic monastery in Qara was under assault by rebel forces. Officials of the Norbertine order told Vatican Radio they had lost contact with a 74-year-old Belgian missionary, Daniel Maes, living at the monastery.
In a July 1 opinion piece on National Review Online, religious freedom activist Nina Shea charged that a “shadow war” is being waged against Syria’s Christians. Shea pointed to the death of Murad and the fact that Islamist groups have begun setting up Shariah courts in areas of Syria under their control, charging Christians with a variety of alleged offenses under Muslim law.
In that context, some Syrian Christians have issued warnings about Western policies of arming Syria’s opposition.
“I would like everyone to know that the West, in supporting the revolutionaries, is supporting religious extremists and helping to kill Christians,” Fr. Halim Noujaim, the Franciscans’ regional minister for Syria and Lebanon, said after the execution of Murad.
The Obama administration recently announced the U.S. will provide small arms and ammunition to the rebels. Critics such as Noujaim charge that Assad’s fall could pave the way for either Iraq-style chaos or the Egyptian-style rise of an Islamist regime, in either case setting up Syria’s Christian minority for special hardship.
The Catholic Near East Welfare Association has issued an emergency appeal to support Syria’s Christians.

ELDER PAISIOS THE ATHONITE COMMEMORATED IN GREECE



17/7/13
An annual memorial service in commemoration of the famous Athonite elder Paisios of Mount Athos (born Arsenios Eznepidis) was celebrated on July 12 in the St. John Theologian Monastery in Souroti, Greece, near Thessaloniki, where his holy relics rest. The service was headed by Metropolitans Nikodemos of Kassandra and Athanasios of Limassol. Thousands of Elder Paisios’ spiritual children and those who love him came to Souroti to honor the memory of the famous ascetic and spiritual father, reports the Romphea news agency.
Elder Paisios was born in Cappadocia, Turkey, just before the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1924. He received the name “Arsenios” from St Arsenios of Cappadocia, who baptised him and predicted his Monastic future. In September 1924, the Eznepidis family settled in the town of Konitsa in Epirus. Arsenios grew up there and after finishing school he became a carpenter. In 1945, he was called up for the acting army where he served as a radio operator for three and a half years. After the military service he intended to enter the monastic life, but he had to help his sisters at that time.
Only in 1950 did he manage to come to the Holy Mountain and to become a novice of the future Abbot of the Koutloumousou Monastery on the Athos, Cyrillos. Then he was sent to the Esphigmenou Monastery, where the future elder labored as a novice for four years. In 1954, he became a ryassophore monk with the name Averkios and moved to the Philotheou Monastery, where he became a disciple of Father Simeon. In 1956, he was tonsured a monk with the name Paisios.
In 1958, elder Paisios moved to the Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Stomio, Konitsa, as he was asked to oppose the propaganda of Protestantism in the region. In 1962, the elder settled in Sinai, in St Catherine’s Monastery. In 1964, he returned to the Athos and began to live in the Iveron Skete. In 1966, he became gravely a large part of his lungs was removed. From May 1978, Elder Paisios lived in the Panagouda cell of the Koutloumous Monastery, where he received thousands of people who came to him. In October 1993, the elder, who then had a terminal cancer, moved to St. John Theologian Convent in Souroti.
Fr Paisios was a great non-possessor, had the gift of clairvoyance, and gave spiritual advice and pastoral care to thousands of people. Elder Paisios reposed on July 12, 1994, in St John Theologian Monastery, Souroti, and was buried there behind the Altar of the Monastery Church of St Arsenios of Cappadocia.

Monks in Egypt’s Lawless Sinai Hope to Preserve an Ancient Library



Ladan Cher / Sinai Deser - 23/7/13
Just as they have done for 17 centuries, the Greek Orthodox monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt’s Sinai desert and the local Jabaliya Bedouins worked together to protect the monastery when the 2011 revolution thrust Egypt into a period of uncertainty. “There was a period in the early days of the Arab Spring when we had no idea what was going to happen,” says Father Justin, a monk who has lived at St. Catherine’s since 1996. Afraid they could be attacked by Islamic extremists or bandits in the relatively lawless expanse of desert, the 25 monks put the monastery’s most valuable manuscripts in the building’s storage room. Their Bedouin friends, who live at the base of Saint Catherine’s in a town of the same name, allegedly took up their weapons and guarded the perimeter.
The community’s fears of an attack were not realized, but the monks decided they needed a new way to protect their treasured library from any future threats. Last year, they began a program of digitally copying biblical scripts with the help of multispectral imaging specialists from around the world, while simultaneously renovating and modernizing the library itself. The Sinai library houses 1.8 million pages of script, including essential texts that document the early church. St. Catherine’s ranks high among the world’s preeminent Christian text collections: their Greek manuscripts are second in number only to the Vatican’s and their hallmark Arabic and Turkish scrolls document the interaction between the monastery and the surrounding world of Islam over the centuries. The monastery’s project will create a digital library for scholars around the world. “The technology, the conservation — they are our protection. Many people are concerned about the safety of what we have here, so we have to make them sure that we are protecting our materials and appreciating our responsibility,” says Father Justin, the monastery’s librarian.
Security concerns are once again at the forefront after the July 3 military ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi and the violence that came in the wake of the change in the country’s leadership. Two days after Morsi’s ouster, the Egyptian army declared a state of emergency in Sinai after Islamist gunmen opened fire on the region’s el-Arish airport and several military checkpoints, killing several police officers and a soldier. St. Catherine’s is geographically vulnerable at the best of times, positioned as it is on a peninsula plagued by a security vacuum. Crimes like human trafficking and kidnappings along the Egypt-Israel border make Sinai one of Egypt’s most dangerous regions.
Father Justin acknowledges that the conservation efforts have been inspired by neighborhood insecurity. “Libraries are precious places where you can store the past in the present, and we are treating what happened to Cairo” — the riots, looting and violence that surrounded the revolution — “as a reminder that libraries are vulnerable, and right now they are more vulnerable than ever,” he says, sitting in his no-frills office in front of a MacBook Pro. He politely steps out to a dark room every few minutes to turn the page of an ancient manuscript so that an imaging crew from Greece can scan the palimpsest.
The two-plus years since the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak have been unsettling for Egypt’s Christians, the majority of whom belong to the Coptic Church and account for a significant minority (up to 10%) of the country’s population. There have been violent clashes between Christians and Muslims, with deaths on both sides. St. Catherine’s has nevertheless maintained its track record of friendly relationships with its Muslim neighbors. The Greek Orthodox monks and the Jabaliya Bedouin tribe, who are the area’s majority residents, have shared land, food and friendly relations since the monastery was built centuries ago. The Jabaliya are believed to be descendants of the Byzantine soldiers who built the monastery in the 6th century, and many of them continue to guard the monastery as their own. “The monastery is a very special place for me and all Bedouins. It is a holy place for all religions. Our ancestors built St. Catherine’s,” explains Ramadan, 26, who has been a tour guide at the monastery since he was 15.
Another Bedouin resident, Faraj, just out of Friday morning prayers at a nearby mosque, adds: “[The Jabaliya and the monks] have been here for so long that we have grown together. We’ve been through times when we had to share our food and gardens. We share everything, we always have. There is even a mosque on the monastery. We don’t use it often anymore because our population is too big now, but it is a still a symbol of our friendly relationship.”
Eager to maintain similarly peaceful relations with all Egyptians, the monks hope their ongoing project will act as a reminder of the monastery’s historical bond with Egypt. “We have to present ourselves in a way to convince the Arabic-speaking world that we are a part of Egypt’s ancient history,” Father Justin says. In preserving their manuscripts, the monks of St. Catherine’s may also be preserving their way of life.