Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media and
Communications Office
Coptic Orthodox
Church (Europe)
Media and Communications Office
HRH The
Prince of Wales highlights the plight of minorities
suffering religious persecution worldwide
suffering religious persecution worldwide
22 December 2016
His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, has spoken out today for
minorities suffering religious persecution in a video
message for Aid to the Church in Need and on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’.
During his message, His Royal Highness spoke about the persecution
of Christians and religious minorities, saying that for many “religious freedom
is a daily stark choice between life and death. The scale of religious
persecution is not widely appreciated…in some countries even more insidious
forms of extremism have recently surfaced which aim to eliminate all types of
religious diversity.” He went on to speak about the vast numbers of people
displaced as a result of religious persecution in their homelands, and their
ongoing struggle as they seek refuge elsewhere.
This message comes just one week after the brutal bombing and
killing of 27 people, mostly women and children, in St Peter’s Coptic Orthodox
Church in Cairo, targeted purely for their Christian belief. In response to the
bombing, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales wrote a letter of condolence to
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of
St Mark, also offering his condolence in person to His Grace Bishop Angaelos,
General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, at a
private meeting at Clarence House on 14 December 2016.
In December 2013 His Royal Highness visited The Coptic Orthodox
Church Centre in the United Kingdom to express his support for Christians
suffering persecution across the Middle East.
*Ends*
