An Interview With Metropolitan Hilarion Of The Russian Orthodox Church

[Apotheoun]

An Interview with Metropolitan Hilarion

 

In early January 2013, a United Nations special envoy reported that the civil war in Syria had reached "unprecedented levels of horror" with an estimated death toll of more than 60,000 people. In the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, the situation for Christians in Syria, and in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa, continues to deteriorate.

 

The Russian Orthodox Church has been among the most active witnesses against Christian persecution in Syria and other countries around the world. In a statement about the Middle East, the Russian Bishops' Council warned of "the vanishing of Christianity in the lands where it has existed for two millennia and where the main events of the Holy History took place would become a spiritual and historical tragedy."

 

The bishop in charge of external affairs for the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, has compared the situation in Syria, after almost two years of fighting, to Iraq, which saw a virtual depopulation of Christians following the U.S. invasion in 2003.

 

Hilarion has also been active in ecumenical relations with Roman Catholics and conservative Protestants, including the Anglican Church of North America which represents U.S. and Canadian congregations. The Russian bishop has described the Roman Catholic Church as "the main bulwark" in the West standing in defense of traditional moral values. He has worked to build stronger ties with other Christian communities but has also been outspoken about what he sees as a lack of "fidelity to Biblical principles in the realm of morality" in progressive Protestant churches.

 

Religion & Liberty Executive Editor John Couretas interviewed Hilarion in October 2012 at the Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wis. He was at the Anglican seminary to receive an honorary Doctor of Music degree. noted composer as well as an accomplished Orthodox Christian theologian, he delivered a talk at Nashotah titled, "The Music of J.S. Bach as a Religious Phenomenon." In the interview, the Russian bishop talks about the situation in the Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa, and ecumenical relations.

 

 

R&L: What, in your mind, needs to happen in Syria to bring an end to the violence and to begin the process of reconciliation in that part of the world?

 

Metropolitan Hilarion: If we look at events which have been unfolding in the Middle East for the last 10 years, we can see a tendency, which is noticeable in many countries. And this has to do with the gradual extermination of Christianity in the Middle East due to various political reasons, due to great political instability, which is peculiar to many countries of this region. I think if we look at the example of Iraq, for example, we'll see that 10 years ago there were 1.5 million Christians living in that country. Now, there are only 150,000 left. So nine-tenths of the Christian population of Iraq was either exterminated or had to flee.

 

 

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[Winchester]

I thought this was going to be about an interview with an Autobot.

[Winchester]

Starscream and Metropolitan Hilarion are locked in mortal combat!

[Seven77]

I detect a Deception hijacker in disguise...