PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: info@armenianorthodoxchurch.org
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version: nian.htm
MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN OFFICIALS IN ANTELIAS-LEBANON
COMMITTED TO WORK TOGETHER ON MIGRATION
"Migration is a human concern, not a Muslim or a Christian one, and
therefore Christians and Muslims must act on it together," stated His
Holiness Aram I at an international conference on migration taking place at
the Armenian Catholiocstae in Antelias. Representatives of Lebanon’s faith
communities shared this opinion as the Public Hearing on Migration and the
Changing Ecclesial Landscape was officially opened last evening.
Representatives of the Druze, Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim communities joined
their words of welcome to those from Metropolitans of the Maronite
(Catholic) Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch as well as Aram
I, Catholicos of the (Armenian Orthodox) Holy See of Cilicia, which hosts
the hearing.
Both Muslim and Christian leaders stressed that Lebanon with its diverse
religions not merely coexisting but "living together under one roof" has a
message for those countries who struggle with the diversity that accompanies
immigration. They also warned: "Those who speak of a clash of civilizations
are setting a trap for both Christians and Muslims – we must be vigilant."
The Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape
currently taking place in Antelias, Lebanon is the first in a series of
hearings on the topic which are to take place over the next years in the
different regions of the world. It will be followed by a 2-day meeting of
the Global Ecumenical Network on Migration (GEM), which brings together
regional ecumenical organizations, churches and Christian agencies working
on the topic around the world.
Both the public hearing and the GEM meeting are co-organized by the World
Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).
##
View the photos here:
c/Photos/Photos235.htm
http://www.armenianorthodox church.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos236.htm
http://www .armenianorthodoxchurch.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos2 37.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.