PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
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Antelias-Lebanon
His Holiness Aram I meets with the Heads of the Middle East Churches
Antelias – On Wednesday 27 August, the Heads of Middle East Churches
met at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke (Lebanon). His Holiness Aram
I joined the meeting, accompanied by Bishop Shahé Panossian and Rt.
Rev. Housig Mardirossian, the ecumenical officer.
The participants met to further consider items they had discussed at the
recent visit of the Patriarchs to Iraq and to prepare a public statement
on the situation. After sharing their impressions on the plight of
Christian refugees, the Patriarchs agreed to highlight the following
points: Christians belong in the region and they will stay and defend
their rights; the strategy and actions of the extremists do not reflect
the teachings and values of Islam; Christians will join hands with
moderate Muslims of the region; and the international community should
assist local Christians in combatting conservative Islam.
At the end of their meeting, the Patriarchs received and shared their
concerns with the UN representative in Lebanon and the ambassadors of
the five UN Security Council member countries, the U.S.A, Russia, the
United Kingdom, China, France and the representative of the Holy See.
His Holiness Aram I warned the ambassadors that extremist Islam is not
only a menace to Christians, but also to Islam and the whole world, and
urged them to adopt a holistic strategy that would include political and
economic issues along with the humanitarian aid and military
considerations.
After thanking the patriarchs for the invitation and for sharing their
thoughts with them, the ambassadors promised to take the matter to their
respective governments.
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From: Baghdasarian