RESOLUTION – CONCLUSIONS | 12th Assembly

Geneva, 25 June 2005

We, the members of the General Assembly, convened in Geneva (Confederation of Switzerland ), from 23 until 25 2005:

Considering the reports as presented by the speakers of various Christian churches, confessions and religious incorporations, as well as the reports and interventions of the representative MP’s from 30 parliaments who participated in the General Assembly,
Having discussed the current problems the orthodox community is facing today in the modern world, as well as the ways to resolve the complex contradictions and challenges of the new era,

Welcoming the establishment of the international and inter-religious dialogue, the enhancement of relations of the I.A.O. with the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Parliamentary union of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the World Council of Churches,

Expressing the need to rely on Christian socio-moral values with the objective to overcome the crisis in the international policy:
• We call upon the parliaments and the Governments as well as the local Orthodox Churches to collaborate with each other so that we will be able to strengthen the influence of the intellectual experience of Orthodoxy on social life, to achieve specific social meaningful results and restore the humanitarian values.
• We draw the attention of the global political centres seeking ways to overcome the ecumenical threats and challenges, to the fact that they ought to resign from the separation between religions and nations in “tolerant'” and “extremist”, as this leads to the escalation of violence in the world.
• We realise the necessity to consolidate the role of the Interparliamentary Assembly and the influence of the national Parliaments on the settlement of
• complex inter-ecclesiastical differences the orthodox world has been faced with in the past years.
• We work towards establishing a more dynamic participation of the I.A.O. in the international political and religious fora, the international organisations and unions, as well as the bilateral cooperation with the respective political and social organisations so as to project the long-standing cultural and intellectual foundations of Orthodoxy, to strengthen the relationships between the orthodox populations.
1. We support the efforts of the Orthodox Christians defending their right to freely declare their faith in the Orthodox Church as the One, Holy, Synodic and Apostolic Church, without efforts of falsification of the principles of the Orthodox ecclesiology being imposed on them. Obviously, we recognize the same right for every religious person.
2. We support the necessity of teaching in the elementary and secondary education of the lesson on “religion” as a lesson of identity and as an important part of education and acquaintance of the students with the values of the global culture.