Christianity
is a religion of love and dialogue, and the Church’s unique
contribution to our modern world is precisely its openness to meeting
and having dialogue, Patriarch Bartholomew said in a recent interview
with the Romanian outlet evz.ro.
“If there is a
unique and contributing element of the Orthodox Church for our time and
our world, this would be the meeting and the dialogue. This is the
spirit we want to convey to you,” the Patriarch said.
“It is our belief
and, at the same time, our hope that Christianity can be viewed as a
religion of love and dialogue. The visions of the Gospel are what the
Orthodox Church seeks to incarnate and support in the modern world” he
continued.
Dialogue is vital
especially in a country like Turkey, where Islam is the dominant faith,
the Patriarch said. “When we meet openly and honestly, brother and
sister in a conversation, and communication begins with our mutual
respect for humanity and our common belief in God, then we are able to
break down barriers between religions and nations.”
And speaking of his
election as Ecumenical Patriarch in 1991, Pat. Bartholomew said he
understood and understands his task to be one of creating and
safeguarding unity between Orthodox Churches and working towards
inter-Christian reconciliation.
“What we must
constantly remember in the Church is that such an inheritance is not a
luxury or privilege, but a burden and responsibility, which have little
visible or external reward, but only conscious conviction to care we
answer, respecting and preserving a tradition and practice of twenty
centuries,” the Patriarch said.
Moreover, the
Church has the same interests as society, the prelate of Constantinople
said. Many have the mistaken idea that religion has its own interests
and concerns and society its own, but this is mistaken, useless, and
dangerous, Pat. Bartholomew believes. “Everyone must work together to
improve the conditions in our world,” which therefore includes religions
working together with society.
Translated by Orthochristian
Photo courtesy of Basilica.ro