His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with members of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with members of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq Святейший Патриарх Кирилл встретился с членами Совета лидеров христианских Церквей Ирака print version November 21, 2018 22:35 On November 21, 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with members of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq at the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. From the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq, the meeting was attended by the Archbishop of Iraq (Armenian Apostolic Church), Secretary General of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq Avak Asaduryan, Metropolitan of Baghdad and Kuwaiti Gattaz Hazim (the Antiochian Orthodox Church), Archbishop of Mosul, Kriska and Kurdish Archbishop of Kurkut and Kurdish (Greek Orthodox), Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk and Kurdish Islamic Church, Archbishop of Moslem, Kirkuk and Kurdish Iraqi, Archbishop of Moslem, Kirkuk and Kurdish Kurdish Daoud Sharaf (Syrian Orthodox Church), Bishop of Erbil Mar Abris Johanna Tyari (Assyrian Church of the East), Protopresbyter Sami Younan Alfred Ibrahim (Antioch Rights glorious Church), a representative of the Coptic Church in Iraq abbot of Mina al-Orshalemi. The meeting was also attended by DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), a member of the DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations monk Kirill (Peregudin), representative of the Assyrian Church of the East, rector of Maryam Mat in Moscow chorbishop Samano Odishi, member of the secretariat for inter-Christian relations, DECR R. BUT. Akhmatkhanov, First Secretary, Iraq and Jordan Department, Middle East and North Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Yu. E. Lapshina. Welcoming the guests, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill shared his memories of his visit to Iraq in 2002. “I visited Baghdad, Mosul, visited temples, monasteries and saw the rich spiritual life of your people. Soon there was aggression against your country, the armed forces entered and, of course, peaceful life changed. Economic sanctions followed, and Iraq endured many tribulations, ”said His Holiness. The Primate of the Russian Church noted with regret that it was not only Iraq that fell victim to foreign aggression. He noted that in modern geopolitical conditions, a state that has a global or regional influence often invades a weaker state, leading to chaos, a migration crisis and a humanitarian catastrophe. “The example of Iraq is one of the most dramatic examples of what foreign aggression turns the country into. When I visited Iraq, I was told that more than a million and a half Christians live in this country. They say that now there are ten times fewer Christians, ”said His Holiness Vladyka. According to Patriarch Kirill, in addition to aggression, enormous damage was inflicted on the state and the people by extremist militants in Iraq, who abducted clergy and laity, and destroyed Christian churches. The primate recalled that the Russian Orthodox Church has always raised its voice in defense of the Christian population of Iraq. “We greatly appreciate that, despite the difficult situation, our Church is developing ties with the Christians of the Middle East,” His Holiness noted. - Most recently, on my instructions, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, visited Damascus, where he took part in a high-level interfaith meeting. It is very important now to develop inter-Christian ties precisely in order to, first of all, support the Christian population of the countries of the Middle East. Of course, we attach great importance to the programs of humanitarian assistance to your region. In particular, this concerns Syria, but we are ready to develop appropriate activity with regard to Iraq. ” His Holiness also spoke about the visit to Iraq of a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), and the representative of the Assyrian Church of the East in Russia, the choreiskopist Samano Odisho, which took place in March of this year. The purpose of the trip was to intensify the interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Christian Churches and other religious communities of Iraq in response to requests from them in the context of the efforts undertaken by the Moscow Patriarchate in supporting the people of the Middle East who suffered as a result of the tragic events of recent years. His Holiness also mentioned his meeting with the delegation of the Yezidi people, which took place in October of this year in the Patriarch and the Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery. “We are competing with the Iraqi people who are suffering such pains today, suffering from the consequences of foreign aggression and civil war,” said the Patriarch. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed serious concern over the destruction of Christian shrines in Iraq. “We are very worried about what happened, including in the Nineveh Valley in Iraq, where there are many Christian cities whose temples were destroyed or desecrated,” he said. - I was told that 90 percent of Christian buildings were destroyed in the city of Batnaia. This is truly a civilizational disaster. And at a time when the world is concerned about the topic of human rights, the protection of religious minorities, such iniquities occur before everyone’s eyes. All together, it is very important for us to do everything necessary so that the Middle Eastern Christian shrines will be restored, and Christians will return to Iraq, as well as to Syria and other places where they always lived and where they were expelled by war or civil conflict. ” In turn, the Archbishop of Iraq, Secretary General of the Council of Leaders of Christian Churches Avak Asaduryan (Armenian Apostolic Church) addressed the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the words: “First of all, I would like to thank you, Your Holiness, for the meeting and for your readiness to start talking about our problems . We are very grateful for your position and support of the Christian brotherhood. ” The archbishop also said that today the situation of the Iraqi people in humanitarian terms still remains dire due to the ongoing violence. “The issues we face today are how to preserve our churches in our homeland, how to stop violence, how to promote equality and justice. We believe that one of the answers to these questions is that we should consider ourselves not as individuals, but as members of a unified society. Our Christian Iraqi society is a symbol of peace and calls for renewal and reform, ”he stressed. The Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk and the Kurdish Autonomous Region Mar Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf (Syrian Orthodox Church) conveyed to His Holiness the greeting from Patriarch Mar. Ignatius Ephraim II and said: “We feel here, communicating with you as our father. It is important for us to feel that the Russian Orthodox Church thinks and worries about its Iraqi brothers. Unfortunately, in recent years we have been abandoned by all. We thank your Holiness for paying attention to our needs. Thank you for the fact that in the spring of this year you sent a representative to us, hieromonk Stefan, with whom we had constructive negotiations, and now accept us in Moscow. We see this as a guarantee of the continuation of our cooperation. ” Bishop of Erbil Mar Abris Juhanna Tyari (Assyrian Church of the East) expressed the hope that the favorable role of Russia in Iraq will increase and become as beneficial as in Syria. Hegumen Mina al-Orshalemi, representative of the Coptic Church in Iraq, emphasized that in the East they always remember that the Russian Orthodox Church has always helped Christians in the Middle East and protected the oppressed for centuries. Metropolitan of Baghdad and Kuwaiti Gattaz Hazim (Orthodox Church of Antioch) conveyed greetings from the Primate of the Antioch Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East, X. And I, in particular, said: “I would like to convey the gratitude and love of the Syrian people for what they did. Orthodox Church and from the Russian state. We are witnessing the dangerous challenges that the Russian Church and the Orthodox world as a whole are meeting. Our people pray for Russia, for the Russian Orthodox Church and look at it with great hope. ” The meeting participants also expressed special gratitude for the organization of this visit to the Russian Embassy in Baghdad and personally to the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Iraq M.K. Maximov and the staff of the Embassy. At the end of the meeting, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill emphasized that the Russian Orthodox Church stands in solidarity with the people of Iraq, and its contacts with Iraqi Christians should certainly be continued, which will allow them to go to specific projects related to rendering assistance to them.