A conference to be held in Moscow on discrimination and persecution against Christians in various parts of the world

An international conference on Freedom of Faith: the Problem of Discrimination and Persecution against Christians will be held from November 30 to December 1, 2011, in Moscow. It has been initiated by the Russian Orthodox Church with the support of the Christian Inter-Confessional Committee (CICC).

The Moscow Patriarchate is concerned over violations of the rights of Christians in various countries, which have been committed on a mass scale in recent years. The political transformations in the Middle East and North Africa countries have had as one of their consequences a large-scale emigration of believers from the region.

The supreme authorities of the Russian Orthodox Church have repeatedly drawn the attention of the world community to the need to work out a mechanism of ensuring the rights of Christians, which will make it possible for them to confess their faith freely, to work peacefully and to raise their children in accordance with their beliefs.

The Russian Orthodox Church has invited for discussion leaders of Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant religious communities including in the regions where the number of violations of the rights of Christians is growing. Attending the Conference will be experts, representatives of the public and of international organizations.

The Conference will be opened by Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Department for External Church Relations at the Grand Hall of the ‘Danilovskaya’ hotel at 17:00on November the 30^th. Plenary sessions will take place in the morning of December the 1^st. A communiqué summarizing the plenary sessions will be issued.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will meet with the participants in the forum at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour at 15:00 on December the 1^st.

Journalists can obtain accreditation for the meeting with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the participants in the Conference from the Patriarchal Press Service at press@patriarchia.ru and Tel. 637-43-18 till 16:00 on November the 30^th.

Accreditation for the opening of the forum can be obtained from the DECR Communication Service at csi@mospatr.ru and Tel. 637-83-28 till 15.00 on November the 30^th. The meeting will begin at 17:00.

Print publication

A conference to be held in Moscow on discrimination and persecution against Christians in various parts of the world

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons