Metropolitan Hilarion: USA’s attempts “to engraft democracy” in the Middle East have sharply aggravated the situation of Christians

The actions of the USA “to engraft democracy” by force in such regions in the world as the Middle East have resulted in particular in a decreased number of Christians living in those countries. This was pointed out by the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who was asked by the presenter of the Church of and World program Ms. E. Gracheva to give his comments on the report that the US State Secretary Antony Blinken has recently stated the refusal of this country “to promote democracy through costly military operations”.

“I consider the situation in this case through the prism of the situation of Christians in these countries because I have the first-hand information and can attest to what has happened, for instance, in Iraq where Americans tried to create democracy through a military invasion. There is still no democracy whatsoever there. But under Saddam Hussein there used to live one and a half million Christians, while now there is at best one tenth of this number”, the archpastor stressed.

He also reminded the audience what happened in Libya when an attempt was made “to engraft democracy” in this country in the same way, “They threw down Muammar Qaddafi. But in Libya under Qaddafi there were Christians in it, while now there remain almost no Christians”.

“It is a very simple, very glaring illustration of how erroneous and, I would say, criminal was America’s foreign policy towards the Middle Eastern countries”, Metropolitan Hilarion said. In his opinion, if the USA abandons the policy of “promoting democracy” in this way, “it will be very positively taken not only in the Middle East but also throughout the world”.

DECR Communication Service

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Metropolitan Hilarion: USA’s attempts “to engraft democracy” in the Middle East have sharply aggravated the situation of Christians

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons