The Prince of Wales yesterday issued an impassioned plea for the safety of Middle Eastern Christians who he acknowledged were increasingly targeted by Islamist militants.
Prince Charles was speaking to faith leaders, including representatives of many Eastern Churches, at a landmark gathering at Clarence House on Tuesday after he had paid visits to the Coptic Orthodox Centre in Stevenage and the Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Acton, west London, earlier in the day. At the reception were the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols and the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justine Welby, the Bishop of London Richard Chartres, and the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
The Prince said he had “for some time now been deeply troubled” by the growing difficulties faced by “our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters in Christ”.
He said the decline of Christians in the region was a loss felt far beyond the Middle East. “The decline of Christians in the region represents a major blow to peace as Christians are part of the fabric of society, often acting as bridge-builders between other communities. He said that many moderate Muslims, both Shia or Sunni, “attest to the fact that Christians are their friends and that their communities are needed”.
The “crisis” was undermining achievements that have been made through interfaith dialogue, the Prince said. “For 20 years, I have tried to build bridges between Islam and Christianity and to dispel ignorance and misunderstanding … the bridges are rapidly being deliberately destroyed by those with a vested interest in doing so … through intimidation, false accusation and organised persecution – including to Christian communities in the Middle East at the present time.”
Introducing Prince Charles was Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan, who said “Since Muslims can generally live in dignity in Christian-majority countries, Muslims must stand of up for the dignity of Christians in Muslim-majority countries”.
At the Syriac Orthodox cathedral in Acton, which opened in 2010, Prince Charles met Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Among them was 23-year-old Hossam Sharoubi, who arrived in Britain just over a month ago from the town of Sadad, where Islamists carried out a massacre in October. Although he could not speak much English he showed the Prince photos on his mobile phone of homes and churches destroyed after insurgents shot, vandalised and looted their way through the town.
Dr Philip Hardo, a gastroenterologist who acted as a translator, said the Prince was touched by what Mr Sharoubi said and told the young man, “I know there is pressure on you from extremists.”
During a service at the cathedral the choir sang The Lord’s Prayer in Syriac-Aramaic and the National Anthem in translation.
In a homily, the London-based Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod listed the numbers of churches attacked and clerics killed or abducted in Iraq and Syria, including the abduction of the 13 nuns from the town of Maaloula last month. He praised Jordan for keeping its borders open to refugees fleeing the conflict, and said Syrians in Britain were highly educated and had a profound sense of loyalty to Britain.
At Coptic Orthodox church centre in Stevenage, the Prince was presented with an icon of St George for himself and his baby grandson Prince George.
Above: The Prince of Wales with Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Athanasius; in the front row at the service were Jordan's Prince Ghazi and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. At the end of the service Prince Charles was presented with a large Bible in Syriac-Aramaic. Photos: Firas Akrawi/Syrian Orthodox Church in the UK
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