The European Council of Religious Leaders held its annual meeting in
Berlin from the 11th to the 13th of December 2023 with the theme:
“Religion as a dividing or a connecting factor in European societies and
communities”. The meeting took place at the Hotel Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Haus, which was named after the distinguished pastor and theologian
Dietrich Bonhoeffer who paid the ultimate price. He was executed by the
Nazis, for refusing to compromise with the Nazi regime, remaining true
to his moral principles, in religion, and in his Christian beliefs.
Permanent member of ECRL Council is His Eminence Metropolitan Ioannis of
Thermopylae, Director of the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of
Greece. This year, the main concern of the ECRL meeting was the
ever-increasing polarization and divisions in European societies –
communities, as well as what religious and inter-religious bodies could
do so as to contribute to strengthening stability and social harmony in
Europe but also beyond the European continent.
The ECRL strongly condemned Hamas and any act of terrorism that takes
the lives of innocent people. The participants expressed their
solidarity with all the innocent victims of the ongoing armed conflict,
both on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. At the same time, they called
for the immediate release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire to
allow humanitarian aid to reach the suffering people.
At the same time, the ECRL Council reiterated its support for the
Ukrainian people and resistance to the Russian invasion, while deciding
to continue encouraging religious actors on all sides to support
Russia’s complete withdrawal from Ukrainian lands and creating a
sustainable road map for truth, justice, peace and reconciliation.
Mr. Sergios Voilas, as the permanent scientific associate, represented
the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece.
