From Diocese of Sourozh

A clergyman of the Diocese of Sourozh takes part in the Lambeth Consultation

A one-day ecumenical Consultation dedicated to Christian-Muslim engagement was convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams to take place in the British capital. The main item on the agenda was the discussion of the open letter by 138 Muslim scholars to Christian leader and Heads of Churches, and possible initiatives arising from it.

With the blessing of His All-Holiness Alexis Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church was represented at the Consultation by a clergyman of the Diocese of Sourozh, Archpriest Mikhail Dudko. Fr Mikhail outlined some principal themes of Patriarch Alexis’ reply to the Muslim scholars. In particular, he emphasised that Christian-Muslim engagement should not be fixated on ‘establishing the bare minimum of common belief’. Rather, ‘Christians and Muslims should work together to defend the role of faith in society, to oppose the defamation of religion, to fight intolerance and xenophobia, to defend holy places, to preserve local shrines and places of worship and to advance common peace initiatives.’