Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media and Communications Office
Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)
Media
and Communications Office
HG Bishop Angaelos addresses WCC/UN 'High Level Conference' in Geneva on the Refugee Crisis in Europe
18 January 2016
His Grace Bishop Angaelos,
General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, spoke today
on the practical ways in which leaders and organisations can respond to the
current situation of refugees in Europe.
Calling
for collaboration he said:
‘This is a
problem that is broader and more complex than any single individual, Church,
nation or organisation, and so the least we can and should do is work to
collaborate.’
Speaking
about the decline of Christians in the Middle East, he continued:
‘Where there was once a 25%
Christian population in the Middle East it is now around 5%, and tragically 4%
of those 5% are in Egypt. Our silence as Churches, nations, and as a world
community, has been a contributing factor to this. We have lowered the
threshold of human dignity; if people are not dying then it has become
acceptable…yet it is up to us to defend those whose God-given rights and
freedoms are violated.’
Highlighting
the need for compassion when speaking about refugees, His Grace went on to say:
‘We are not
speaking of people leaving one less than affluent suburb to go to a more
affluent one because they seek a better quality of life; these are people
leaving war-torn poverty-stricken and conflict-filled near-anarchic states to
find protection and safety for themselves and for their families.’
Highlighting
the importance of the role of the Church, he said:
‘We as a Church
are the largest NGO in the world, although we are much more than just that, we
are the Body of Christ. What holds us together is not social convention or
international decree. This is a Scriptural directive; a commandment that we
live as the Body of Christ, one Body with one Head, and when one part suffers
we all suffer, when one part is captive we are all captive.’
Going
on to propose a solution, Bishop Angaelos said:
‘We, as the
World Council of Churches, represent these Churches on the ground in the Middle
East, and having spoken to many people over the last months and years, and in
visiting Irbil, the Greek Macedonian Border, and soon to be visiting camps in
Jordan, it has become apparent that Christians are not registered. We must use
our Church networks on the ground to aid in the registration process. The
Churches on the ground have a pastoral knowledge, experience, respect and
integrity, and are trusted by their communities. If people are not registered, they
become doubly disadvantaged: persecuted for their religion, Christian or
otherwise, and then also by not having equal access to international schemes.’
Bishop
Angaelos concluded by saying:
‘We need a
unified and unifying approach, to work collaboratively and to understand that
we have a role and responsibility to act. This is an ideal opportunity for us
to prove that we can effectively and collaboratively respond to this situation,
and make a real difference.’
‘We give thanks
for our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. We share their pain as they
are forced to leave their homelands, and as they embark on these treacherous
and life-threatening journeys, but we also give thanks for their stabilising,
reconciling and empowering witness. In closing, the message of this gathering
to those suffering can be summarised in the words of Revelation 1:9:
“We share with
you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance.”
The
conference, hosted by the World Council of Churches in partnership with the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Fund for Population
(UNFPA), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), runs from 18-19 January 2016. It
has brought together 80 leaders of governments, UN agencies, faith-based and
non-religious civil society organisations from countries affected by the
current refugee crisis in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
*Ends*
Live-stream of conference
via http://bit.ly/1NfMBc4
