Russian Orthodox Church representative takes part the conference on Religious Communities in the European Union in Face of Future Challenges

Rev. Antony Ilyin, secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church Representation at the European international organizations, took part in the conference on Religious Communities in the European Union in Face of Future Challenges held at the Euro-Parliament at the initiative of several deputies and the European center of the Jewish community.

The conference was attended by high-ranking representatives of the European Commission, among them the European Commission General Director for Justice and Interior Affairs Mr. Jonathan Fall, members of the respective committees of the European Parliament, representatives of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, as well as numerous delegates of Churches and inter-Christian organizations in Brussels. The reports presented pointed to the need for both a more intensive interreligious dialogue and more active involvement of religious communities in the political discussion on the future of United Europe.

In the context of the recent developments provoked by the publication of cartoons caricaturing the founder of the Islamic religion, the participants underlined that the freedom of expression should presuppose responsibility before citizens, while condemning any violent actions and pointing out that the Muslim community in the EU needs to find their own European identity, which is possible only in the context of integration within the multi-cultural society.

Speaking during the discussion, Rev. Antony Ilyin noted that the experience of those European countries in which Moslems, Christians and Jews had lived side by side for many centuries and in which practical principles of interreligious cooperation had been worked out along with a certain behavior code for the mass media could be a very positive example for many Western Euroeapn countries encountering the problem of intolerance and xenophobia.