NEWS 

The Holy Synod on the Proposal for Separation Church and State

Closer dialogue between Vatican and Ecumenical Patriarchate

Rome and Moscow Patriarchate Finding Unity on Social Topics

The Venerable Colin Williams takes Up the Position of General Secretary of CEC



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NEWS 

The Holy Synod on the Proposal for Separation Church and State

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has accused the MPs who have submitted proposals in Parliament asking a separation between the Church and state and their attempt to weaken Christian faith and create an atheist society.

These Parliamentarians, following ideas of the American ACLU, suggested among other things:

• to annul of internationally accepted right to upbring their children giving them religious education on state schools ,

• to annul the Military Priest Chaplains

• to take down the icons of God from the Court

• to remove all obstacles for the proselytism of the cults and sects (scientology is mainly asking this kind of right).

Reading between the lines, the MPs who proposed all these want to establish a secular totalitarianism.

The Holy Synod answered: “The Church is saddened that... some people are rushing recklessly to demolish people’s faith instead of strengthening it as a vital element for inner fulfillment, national unanimity and social cohesion.”

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...and the cross should be deleted from the flag – why not?

Keep just the lines, to have a plain secular state...

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Closer dialogue between Vatican and Ecumenical Patriarchate

Istanbul (AsiaNews) The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue should be convened very soon. Vatican delegation visits Fanar neighbourhood on the Feast Day of St Andrew.

When representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Vatican delegation headed by Card Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, met yesterday in Istanbul on the Feast Day of St Andrew, they began the discussion on how to reactivate the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the RCatholic Church and the Orthodox Church. They also began talks over the imminent restart of the Commission's Joint Coordination Committee.

The Vatican delegation took part with a group of Catholics to the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the patriarchal church of St George in Fanar, officiated by Patriarch Bartholomew I himself.

Notwithstanding the disappointment due to Pope Benedict XVI's absence, the presence of the Vatican delegation and Catholic faithful showed how the ties between Catholics and Orthodox are getting stronger.

The activities to consolidate ecumenical dialogue are however taking place in the midst of an ongoing controversy concerning both the Patriarch and the Pope.

Writing about Benedict XVI's absence, Hurriyet quotes an anonymous European diplomat who reportedly said: "Erdogan often blames the European Union for trying to keep Turkey out because it is a Christian club. But if you look closely, Turkey behaves like a Muslim club".

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Rome and Moscow Patriarchate Finding Unity on Social Topics

(Zenit).- The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has invited officials of the Russian Orthodox Church to meet in Italy to continue discussions on social and religious topics.

That was one of the fruits of the visit of Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the pontifical council, to Orthodox Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

Their meeting, which took place Tuesday in the office of the Department of Religious Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, showed clearly that both the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches share the same viewpoint on topics such as the family, abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia.

In statements to ZENIT, Father Igor Byzhanov, secretary for Inter-Christian Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of Religious Relations, mentioned that both sides spoke of the need for future cooperation in social matters.

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The Venerable Colin Williams takes Up the Position of General Secretary of CEC

The Venerable Colin Williams, Archdeacon Emeritus of Lancaster in the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn, England, has taken up the position of General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), effective today, 1 December 2005.

The Ven. Williams has been working since 1 November in Geneva with the outgoing General Secretary, the Rev. Dr Keith Clements, a Baptist minister, also from England, whose retirement is effective from 1 December.

The new General Secretary will be officially installed on Friday 16 December at 4 p.m., during a worship service in the Chapel of the Ecumenical Centre. The service will be presided over by the CEC officers: the President, Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont (France), the Vice-President, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, and the Deputy Vice-President, the Very Rev. Margarethe Isberg (Sweden) who will be preaching.

"I come into office at a time when Europe is at a crossroads. CEC itself is reflecting how we can best serve the churches of Europe in a changing continent. It is a big challenge, but I am looking forward to it," stated Williams.

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