Moscow, June 20, 2022
In
a comment to TASS news agency, Metropolitan Anthony
of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for
External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate,
pointed out the danger of continuing manifestations
of extremism against Christian shrines in the Holy
Land, reports Patriarchia.ru.
One of the latest such incidents was the attack by a
group of radical individuals on the chapel of the
Jerusalem Patriarchate on June 6 on Mount Zion.
Met. Anthony’s comment:
"The children of the Russian Church have a special reverence for the Holy Land. For centuries, our pilgrims have sought to worship places associated with biblical events and the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The growth of extremism poses a threat to the safety of common Christian shrines and calls into question the possibility of access to them.
We are outraged by the latest fact of the demonstrative desecration of the chapel of the Jerusalem Patriarchate on Mount Zion. The Russian Orthodox Church strongly supports His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem, who, together with other local Christian leaders, is fighting for the preservation of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and throughout the Holy Land. We will continue to do everything in our power to support our brothers and draw the attention of the world community to this problem.
I hope that the Israeli state authorities will promptly respond to the lawlessness that has occurred, find a way to curb the manifestations of extremism, and ensure harmonious and peaceful coexistence of the communities of the three world religions in their sacred city."
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