Moscow, June 23, 2017
The leaders of various global religions have banded together to urge a message of peace and friendship, calling upon believers of all faiths to see God in one another. The appeal, released as a 3-minute video in 16 languages during a London press conference, comes at a time of increasing terrorism, aiming to foster a sense of friendship between all peoples and to reduce social tensions, reports Christian Today.
Among the spiritual leaders are Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Pope Francis, Archbishop Justin Welby, the Dalai Lama, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and 11 others, representing various forms of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The video was a joint project of the Eljiah Interfaith Institute and Twitter, declaring that personal friendships can overcome prejudice and fear. The institute is also offering a “toolkit” for befriending believers of other religions.
The Elijah Interfaith Institute draws together religious leaders and scholars from all world religions with the mission “to foster unity in diversity, creating a harmonious world,” and the message that “The world’s great religions radiate wisdom that can heal the world. Deep level spiritual conversation across interreligious lines enriches our inner lives, enhances our prayer and opens our hearts. Discover unity and embrace diversity. We are many and we are one.”
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the first leader to speak in the video, saying, “We are called, as we like to say, to look into one another’s eyes in order to see more deeply and in order to recognize the beauty of God in every living human being.”
Pope Francis and Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina spoke of the mutual spiritual benefit they have received from their friendship. The head of the Catholic communion said, “It’s very important, because my religious life became richer with [Rabbi Abraham’s] explanations, so much richer. And I guess the same happened for him.” Rabbi Abraham, the author of a work entitled, To Do the Will of Our Father in Heaven: Toward a Partnership between Jews and Christian, continued, “It was through our religious calling that we found each other in life.”
Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury states, “It’s not complicated, start with sharing what we all share, which is the pleasure of conversation,” similar to the Dalai Lama’s emphasis on personal contact: “Personal contact, personal friendship—then we can exchange a deeper level of experience.” Indian Hindu guide Sri Sri Ravi Shankar called on the world community to “Honor other religions like you do your own.”
The joint statement follows on a new study from the global research institute Motivaction, which found that people of all faiths (more than eight in ten people worldwide according to the Pew Research Center) are generally open to people with other beliefs. Motivaction head researcher Martijn Lamper said that a message of peace and friendship across religions has the ability resonate with the majority of religious people around the world.
The video includes statements from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Ayatollah Sayyid Fadhel Al-Milani (UK, Shia Mulsim), Pope Francis, Rabbi Abraham Skorka (Argentina), Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh (Sikh), Grand Mufti Shawki Allam (Egypt), the Dalai Lama, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Hiduism), Ayatollah Sayyid Hassan Al-Qazwini (USA, Shia), Archbishop Antje Jackelen (Church of Sweden), Archbishop Justin Welby (Anglican Church), Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (UK), Ven. Khandro Rinpoche (Tibetan Buddhism), and Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma) (Hinduism).
Full statements from each of the participants, as well as other statements, can be found on the Make Friends YouTube page.
Very disappointing especially since at least 3 of the faiths mentioned are demonic in origin. The EP is not out he head of Orthodox churches, thank God.