Geneva, 15 October 2024. Meeting of the IAO delegation with the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches

“Allow me express our warm thanks for welcoming us today, here at the headquarters of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, in a time of war, where religion is often used as a political alibi. We are sure that you also share our concern about the place of Christian values in public discourse, especially in Europe.” The aforementioned was pointed out by the Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy (IAO), Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, during the meeting with the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr. Jerry Pillay, in Geneva. The meeting was also attended by the Member of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, Mr. Marinos Moushouttas, the IAO Advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis, and the permanent representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the WCC, Mr. George Lemopoulos.

The head of the IAO informed the WCC Secretary General for the “Thessaloniki Appeal on Christian values” which was co-signed at the International Political Conference in the capital of Macedonia, in May 2024, with the heads of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and the organization ‘Together for Europe’. As the IAO Secretary General emphasized, “Our Appeal to the European Institutions expresses our concerns about the implicit attitude of the EU towards Christian values, which inspire a large number of European citizens, while it also includes proposals for a more substantial activation of the mechanism of the article 17 of the Treaty of Lisbon for regular and constructive dialogue of the EU with churches and religious organizations”.

For his part, the WCC Secretary General noted, inter-alia that “I very much respect your work that has to do with Christian values. Not only within the EU, but also outside. We know that in too many regions of the world, religious freedom is at risk, particularly from religious fundamentalism. The WCC is very active in cooperation with other religious communities. As far as your activities are concerned, we will always be ready to assist you.”

Prompted by the reference of the WCC Secretary General on the danger posed by the cultivation of religious fundamentalism in our days, the IAO Secretary General underlined that “the lack of respect for religious monuments is also an expression of religious fundamentalism. One such glaring case is the conversion of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (Constantinople) into a mosque. It is a typical example of the instrumentalization of religion by politics. The Turkish president ceremoniously converted it into a mosque in his bid to cast himself as the leader of the Muslim world. Even Turkish academics now point out that the monument is in danger from the mass attendance of Muslims. For this reason we undertook an international campaign to awaken international opinion with the publication of this volume, which we presented two years ago, in the frame of the WCC General Assembly in Karlsruhe”.

Responding, Dr. Jerry Pillay expressed his pleasure over the IAO campaign on Hagia Sophia. This year, he visited himself Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which he described as an “excellent experience”. Although they were only allowed to approach the gynaeconite (women’s balcony) of the Church, he was able to make out the unique mosaics, even though they are covered with cloth. As he said “the Christian symbols are there, no matter how much they try to make them disappear”.

During their stay in Geneva, the members of the IAO delegation attended the Liturgy at the Holy Church of the Apostle Paul at the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambesy, where after the service, at the request of the IAO advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis, a memorial service was held at the grave of the late Metropolitan Damaskinos of Switzerland.