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For Immediate Release
21 June 2016
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, issued the following statement in advance of the
Holy and Great Council to be held in Greece.
"This weekend, I join Orthodox Christians in recognizing the
beginning of the historic Holy and Great Council on the island of Crete,
Greece. This marks the first time since the year 787 that the leaders
of the Orthodox churches will gather together to discuss fundamental
issues related to faith and morality.
"On the eve of this historic event, I honor the convener of this
historic meeting, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. His All-Holiness has
received awards from the United Nations, the United States, and other
nations for providing moral leadership throughout modern history's
greatest tests. His efforts to convene this Holy and Great Council is a
testament to his continued leadership at a time when it is greatly
needed.
"Greece is the appropriate place to convene the Holy and Great
Council. Members of the Greek Orthodox Church led the first resistance
that was able to defeat a thrust of Axis Forces during World War II,
with one in 10 Greek Orthodox Christians in Greece losing their lives in
the effort. And, Greek Archbishop Damaskinos was the only national
religious leader in a Nazi-occupied country to publically challenge the
Holocaust as it was occurring, with his actions saving the lives of
thousands of Jews.
"Our world today is in need of this exceptional moral courage, and I
applaud Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for convening this Holy and
Great Council of the Orthodox Christian Churches in Crete, Greece."
