By Vestnik Kavkaza
Today the Cardinal of the Congregation of the Oriental Churches, Leonardo Sandri, arrives in Iraq from the Vatican to "morally and prayerfully support the Christians who have been exiled from their homes by the militants of the terrorist group Islamic State. Concern over the situation of Christians in the Middle East was expressed by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill. "In Mosul alone there were 45 temples, but now there are none. In Syria, 400 churches have been destroyed. This is a disaster ... If this continues, then in the Middle East there will not be an Orthodox and Christian presence, that is, Christians will be expelled from the places where Christianity arose."
Deputy Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, director of the IPPO Community Centre for the Protection of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, Elena Agapova, urged the international community to assist in a peaceful settlement of the situation in Syria and Iraq, and also block the sources of financing and arming of the militants of Islamic State. “Suppression of the scale of the civilizational catastrophe, the scale of the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Arab countries are part of the public policy of many Western countries, despite the outrageous facts. An information breakthrough was made on the 2nd of March in Geneva, at the headquarters of the UN Council on Human Rights. There, it is known that on the initiative of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Lebanon and Armenia, as well as the participation of the Vatican, a high-level conference was held regarding the position of Christians in the Middle East. The result of the conference was the adoption of a very important document. This document was adopted for the first time as a joint statement, including support for the Middle Eastern Christians. 65 states, including the Vatican, have signed this document,” Agapova said.
The Abbess of the Monastery of St. James in Kara, Mother Agnes, who arrived in Moscow with a delegation of representatives of the Christian community in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, claimed that from the time of her last visit to Moscow in January 2014, a series of tragic events have happened in the region, which can be characterized as an attempt to exile Christians from the Middle Eastern territories.
“We can see a significant number of Christians emigrating from the territory of Shaqra, Aleppo and Idlib. Probably a significant number of Christians can be exposed to the most horrible terrorist violations of the Islamists in the region of Aleppo. I would like to ask the international community whether it has some determination and grounds to resist this terrible campaign of extermination. On the one hand, the international community declares that it is against terrorism and it is fighting terrorism, but at the same time the international community has an indifferent attitude towards the regions where Christians and other residents were forced to leave. We are proud of the victory of Russia over the forces of evil and the forces of darkness in World War II. But the forces of darkness and the forces of evil are rising once again, and trying to bring new victims, as in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. They oppose those who want to live in peace and diversity.
