Υπό την αιγίδα του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη κ.κ. Βαρθολομαίου, πραγματοποιήθηκε στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, κατά το διήμερο 6 και 7 Φεβρουαρίου 2017 ένα ιδιαίτατα ενδιαφέρον φόρουμ περί της σύγχρονης δουλείας, με σπόνσορες από κοινού το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο και την Αγγλικανική Εκκλησία.
Ο σκοπός αυτής της συνάντησης ήταν να συγκεντρώσει διακεκριμένους μελετητές, γιατρούς και φορείς χάραξης πολιτικής από όλο τον κόσμο για να συζητήσουν επί του προβλήματος της σύγχρονης δουλείας, τονίζοντας την αναγκαιότητα για την προστασία της ανθρώπινης αξιοπρέπειας και της ελευθερίας ως ζωτικής σημασίας για την Εκκλησία, σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο και θρησκευτικών κοινοτήτων.
"Lord,
free the captives. Remember those in mines, in exile, in harsh labor,
and in every kind of affliction, necessity, or distress . . . For
You, Lord, are the helper of the helpless, the hope of the hopeless,
and the savior of the afflicted." (From the Liturgy of St.
Basil)
Under
the auspices of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a
Forum on Modern Slavery, co-sponsored by the Ecumenical Patriarchate
and the Church of England took place in Istanbul from February 6-7,
2017. The Forum grew out of a conversation between His All-Holiness
and His Grace Archbishop Justin of Canterbury during the formal
Patriarchal visit to Lambeth Palace from November 2-4, 2015, which
was in response to Archbishop Justin’s first visit to the Phanar
from January 13-14, 2014.
The
aim of this gathering was to bring together distinguished scholars,
practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to discuss
modern slavery and emphasize the protection of human dignity and
freedom as of vital importance for the Church as well as worldwide
religious and human-rights communities. This priority was clearly
articulated at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in
Crete (June 2016), where the Orthodox Primates and Hierarchs declared
in their final Encyclical: “The Church lives not for herself. She
offers herself for the whole of humanity in order to raise up and
renew the world into new heavens and a new earth.”
In
his keynote address, His All-Holiness observed: “The Orthodox
Church is often accused of neglecting the world for the sake of
liturgical worship and spiritual life, turning primarily toward the
Kingdom of God to come, disregarding challenges of the present. In
fact, however, whatever the Church says, whatever the Church does, is
done in the Name of God and for the sake of human dignity and the
eternal destiny of the human being. It is impossible for the Church
to close its eyes to evil, to be indifferent to the cry of the needy,
oppressed and exploited. True Faith is a source of permanent struggle
against the powers of inhumanity.”
His
All-Holiness and Archbishop Justin Welby signed a Joint Declaration,
“condemning all forms of human enslavement as the most heinous of
sins inasmuch as it violates the free will and the integrity of every
human being created in the image of God.” They also “encouraged
state leaders to find appropriate and effective ways of prosecuting
those involved in human trafficking, preventing
all forms of modern-day slavery, and protecting
its victims in our communities and promoting hope
wherever people are exploited.”
Finally,
the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of Canterbury established
a joint taskforce on modern slavery.
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
February 7, 2017
From the Chief Secretariat of the Holy and
Sacred Synod
