Orthodox chiefs warn over Mideast minorities issues
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ATHENS: (APP) Orthodox Church leaders from around the world on Sunday called for the protection of religious minorities in the war-torn Middle East at a rare global meeting that also warned against the "moral dilemmas" of rapid scientific progress.
"The Orthodox Church is particularly concerned about the situation facing Christians, and other persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle East," the church leaders said in a circular concluding the first such gathering in a millennium.
"In particular, she addresses an appeal to governments in that region to protect the Christian populations - Orthodox, Ancient Eastern and other Christians - who have survived in the cradle of Christianity," they added at the close of the week-long Holy and Great Council on the Greek island of Crete.
The gathering, attended by nearly a dozen churches from around the world, also saw discussions on issues including wedlock, fasting, and united representation in dioceses in countries such as the United States and Australia.
However, Orthodox unity was undermined by the absence of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kyrill, who represents some 130 million faithful -- half the world's Orthodox population.
Aside from Russia, the Orthodox churches of Bulgaria and Georgia were also absent. Both are considered close to Moscow.
