Church Executive Magazine, AZ
June 9 2006
NCC joining world summit of religious leaders
MOSCOW, Russia–The National Council of Churches USA met here with
representatives of six major religious traditions from 28 countries
to plan the World Summit of Religious Leaders that will take place in
Moscow July 3-5 – two weeks prior to the St. Petersburg G8 summit.
The group, convened in late May at the invitation of the
Interreligious Council of Russia, was hosted by the Russian Orthodox
Church in the Moscow Patriarchate. It included Dr. Antonios
Kireopoulos, the NCC USA’s associate general secretary for
international affairs and peace, and representatives of other
Christian faith groups as well as Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist
and Hindu leaders.
“It is very important for the powerful world leaders meeting later
this summer to hear from a broad cross-section of the world’s
religious leaders,” said Dr. Kireopoulos. “We want to make sure the
G8 leaders hear the concerns of religious communities around the
globe,” he said on returning to his New York City office.
The G8 summit is attended by the leaders of the world’s top economic
powers — the U.S., Russia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy
and Japan.
“Ways of overcoming terrorism and extremism” was one of many
potential topics for the summit listed in a communique from the
planning group for the meeting next month. Other challenges they
listed as topics were overcoming poverty, morality in economy,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, respect for other
religious traditions, human rights and ecological responsibility.
Communicating these concerns to political leaders illustrates the
fundamental role that faith plays in today’s societies.
“The role of religion in public life around the world has always been
important though recognition of its role is only now coming into
focus again,” said Dr. Kireopoulos. “Faith leaders can offer the
moral touchstone for political leaders as they come together to make
their decisions about the stewardship of this planet and all its
peoples,” he said.
The NCC will be represented at the July summit by Bishop Vicken
Aykazian, president-elect of the NCC and a bishop in the Armenian
Orthodox Church and by the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, chair of the
NCC’s Justice and Advocacy Commission. Kinnamon, a St. Louis
resident, member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and
professor of mission, peace and ecumenical studies at Eden
Theological Seminary.
The religious leaders attending the planning meeting came from
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, China, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Romania,
Russia, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and
the Vatican.
“There was an incredible spirit of cooperation within this planning
group,” said Dr. Kireopoulos. “It is inspiring to see people of such
varied faiths and backgrounds go beyond their many differences and
come together for a common purpose, the common good of all humankind
and the planet we all inhabit.”
The National Council of Churches is America’s Christian ecumenical
voice, encompassing 35 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and historic
African American and peace churches with nearly 45 million members in
100,000 congregations.
Source: NCC News at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
