Christian Exodus From the Middle East a ‘Tragedy of Global Dimension’
7/2/16 – www.sputniknews.com
The upcoming meeting between Russia’s Orthodox Christian Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis was prompted, among other things, by the rising threat of religious extremism in the Middle East and the persecution of local Christians by Islamic radicals, a senior Orthodox cleric said in Moscow on Friday.
“There are things Orthodox and Catholic Christians should tackle together as they concern both our Churches, above all the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, their humiliation and other things that beg for our concerted response,” Vakhtang Kipshidze, the Russian Orthodox Church’s chief spokesman, said commenting on the forthcoming meeting between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill.
Vakhtang Kipshidze described the current exodus of Christians from the region as a “catastrophe” and a “tragedy of a global dimension.”
“Even during the times of religious states and crusades Christians and Muslims lived there side by side in peace, while now Christians are leaving,” he said.
“Radical Islam or, rather, pseudo-Islam, is a challenge by those who are ready to kill innocent people, including women and children, for allegedly ’insulting’ their religious motivation. These people have nothing to do with religion,” Kipshidze emphasized.
He quoted Patriarch Kirill who had earlier described religious fanaticism as a form of atheism, when someone believes he is God Almighty and has the right to decide the fate of individual people and entire nations.
“This is a perverted form of human pride,” Vakhtang Kipshidze said in conclusion.
The vast exodus of Christians from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East highlights the very real possibility that Christianity could soon all but disappear from much of its ancient homeland, UK-based charity Aid to the Church in Need said in a report released late last year.
Prior to the civil war, which began in Syria four years ago, around ten percent of Syria’s prior population of 22 million were believed to be Christians.
