Orthodox & Muslims
Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria
“Theodore (Theodoros) II is the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa. He was previously a monk in the Agarathos Holy Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.” Church Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria / Denomination Eastern Orthodox Church
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Theodore_II_of_Alexandria]
Patriarch of Alexandria: In the name of true God, Christians and Muslims, united like brothers, take courage
Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa conveyed his warmest wishes to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the occasion of the start of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims.
“I would like to send my heartfelt wishes from the patriarchal holy monastery of St. George to all our brothers and sisters, to all who live in the blessed country of Egypt, as the holy period of Ramadan begins at dawn,” the Primate of Alexandria said and wished them “to have the blessing of the mercifull and great God. May they have God’s blessing in their daily prayers and in the exaltation of their hearts to the true God.”
Referring in particular to the Egyptian President, Patriarch Theodore wished God to bless the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and all his associates.
He also referred to the Egyptian government’s efforts to overcome the current global coronavirus pandemic, but also to the conditions experienced by Christians this Easter, which will be followed by the respective conditions during the Ramadan: “As different as this year’s Easter was for Christians, so the conditions in this year’s Ramadan will be different,” Patriarch Theodore emphasized.
And he concluded by addressing the Muslims of Egypt: “Best wishes, my Egyptian brothers and sisters. The sacred period of prayer and fasting begins. But, above all, it must be a period of spiritual joy, so that during all these days of prayer courage and strength will fill our hearts. And united like brothers and sisters, Christians and Muslims, in the name of the true God, we will take courage and strength to walk this path that God himself has set for us.”
Patriarch Ignatius IV
IN MEMORIAM OF HIS BEATITUDE PATRIARCH IGNATIUS IV OF ANTIOCH
“Patriarch Ignatius IV has always insisted on the fact that Arab Christians belong to the Middle East: they are not guests. They have been living and witnessing in that region, proclaiming belief in the one God, since long before Islam conquered and established itself there. Patriarch Ignatius speaks in terms of Christians and Muslims believing in one God who embraces in his providence all peoples, regardless of their beliefs.
Despite the historical difficulties that have led to mutual rejection, the Patriarch sees that life goes beyond mere controversies and disputes. Muslims and Christians in the Arab world have experienced a common life: they both trust in divine providence, and attach the same value to humility and the need to surrender oneself to God, which is what ‘Islam’ really means.
Ignatius IV speaks of plurality in the framework of love. For him, plurality is a form of obedience to the divine will. He invites Eastern Christians to share with Muslims the concerns of justice and peace and affirms that when one humbles oneself, one permits life to bear fruit despite the violence and disappointments of history. The Christians of the East have not shared the spirit of the Crusades, but that of the Cross. They did not make Christianity a closed, separate identity, but ‘the humble and radiant presence of the life-giving Cross’.
Hence they must always be in solidarity with those around them ‘without naivety, yet without hate; without compromise, yet without fear’. This solidarity should be expressed in the attitude of Antiochian Christians towards the issues troubling the Arab East to which they belong, such as the question of Palestine. Patriarch Ignatius invites Eastern Christians to acknowledge Jerusalem as the heart of humanity, a crucible where many religions and religious values interact and co-exist; he describes racism and apartheid in Palestine as ‘a stain on the brow of truth and justice’. In the context of the troubles that shake the region, he speaks of the Church of Antioch standing in the midst of the ‘bloodbath of the Middle East’ as ‘an unarmed, non-violent and confessing Church’.”
IGNATIUS IV: APOSTLE OF DIVERSITY AND OPENNESS
Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim believes that the chief concern of Arab Christians lies in translating Christianity to the Arab world, a Christianity that speaks to the Arab mind and Arab culture, that strives to convey its dogmas in a clear Arabic language that reaches the Arab mind and heart. By this, he does not mean the translation of texts into Arabic, which has been done to a certain extent. Rather, he means, "that we arrive at there being a Christianity whose addressee is the Arab person."
Starting out from his view of the concern that Arab Christians have toward the Muslims of their countries, Patriarch Hazim does not neglect to mention the negative side of the history of Muslim-Christian relations. After enumerating the controversial issues between Muslims and Christians in the past, the most important of which is Ahl al-Dhimma-- "which ensures protection, but is also marginalizing", he believes that these issues "do not prevent Muslims and Christians from cooperating on a popular level and consciously realizing that they are almost one before God, that they have the same trust in God's care-- humility and submission are the same before God."
Thus, the patriarch believes that Muslims and Christians worship one God and that what gathers them together is this one, unique God who has revealed Himself in history in Christianity and Islam. In his address to Muslim leaders in Taif in 1981, he emphasizes the faith of Christians and Muslims in the one God. He opens his address by saying, "Like you, Middle Eastern Christians aim for the face of God... Like you, we long for the Creator of heaven and earth and seek to please God at all times."
He does not hesitate, when he mentions Lebanon and Jerusalem, "where all the servants of God raise up worship to the one, unique, God," to remind that mutual respect between Muslims and Christians is based on diversity: "The religions are called in principle to gather human forces to aim at sanctification and purification by divine grace. In Jerusalem, there is an important core for diverse worship and diverse presence, while in Lebanon, there is a deeply-rooted, wide, and profound space for practicing this diversity. In Jerusalem, we seek the face of God, and in Lebanon we seek Him also."
In reality, Patriarch Hazim calls for revealing the presence of Christ and the activity of the Holy Spirit, "where it appears to be absent or even rejected." With his affirmation of the presence of Christ in non-Christian religions, the patriarch emphasizes the agreement between Christians and Muslims about God's transcendence. This "divine transcendence" may be the most exemplary point of contact between believers of the two religions, since God remains a mystery that cannot be delved or comprehended and drawing near to Him is not realized except through acts of worship and humility.
In this context, Patriarch Hazim warns against falling into various types of "relativism and dissimulation" that some theologians who deny the distinctions that belong to each of the worlds religions can slip. They judge the externals of things without going into their meanings and purposes. If some religious practices intersect or over lap, here and there, one cannot negate differences between religions, both those that may be accidental and those that are essential.
The thing that might best express the thinking of Patriarch Ignatius IV is this declaration, "We call for diversity and openness and this is from the heart of our dogma." Here the patriarch combines two things that outwardly appear to be contradictory-- dogma and openness-- in order to make them complete each other without conflict. Thus, his intellectual slogan, and also the slogan of the Arab Orthodox Church, is: openness without compromising the faith.
[https://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com/2012/12/fr-georges-massouh-on-patriarch.html]
[Arabic: https://www.lebanonfiles.com/news/478291/]
Patriarch Kirill
DECR Communication Service, 05/05/2025
On 4th May 2025, while in Baku, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ met with Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims’ Board.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims’ Board
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said in response:...
“Friendship between our two countries and peoples, our two presidents’ policy and our countries’ economic, political and cultural cooperation – all these significant factors create a unique atmosphere in the relationship between Russia and your blessed country, as well as in our relations as religious leaders. I would like to reiterate that the relations between Muslims and Orthodox Christians in our two countries play an important role in strengthening inter-state ties. Therefore, by serving an important cause of establishing mutual understanding between people who believe in God we at the same time help strengthen inter-state relations and bonds between our two nations.
[https://mospat.ru/en/news/93187/]
Address by Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Russia at the meeting of Russia-Islam Strategic Vision Group
Kazan, 18th May 2023
On the 19th of May, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', who is making a Patriarchal visit to Tatarstan, took part in a meeting of Russia-Islam Strategic Vision Group held at the Kazan City Hall and addressed the audience.
Dear Rustam Nurgaliyevich,
Dear Muslim religious leaders,
dear participants in the forum,
I greet you with all my heart, happy to be here with you today, on the blessed Kazan land, and take part in this important meeting.
Russia has long-standing relations with the Muslim world. Since the Russia-Islam Strategic Vision Group was set up, the Russian Orthodox Church has been actively engaging in its work.
Our meeting takes place in Kazan. The capital of Tatarstan, perhaps like no other place in Russia, is a visual symbol of fruitful cooperation between people of different faiths for the good of their country and nation. In this city, mosques stand next to churches; Muslim and Orthodox theology is flourishing. Here Christians and Muslims work together for the benefit of the entire society.
I would like to thank esteemed Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, head of the Republic of Tatarstan, for organising this important event. Traditionally, the head of the Kazan Metropolia acts as representative of the Russian Church in the Russia-Islam Strategic Vision Group. Metropolitan Feofan of blessed memory did much in that capacity, and now his successor, Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, who is present here, is one of the Group members.
As we look at what is going on in the world, we cannot but see that Western interference in the affairs of other countries, in particular, the Middle East has had sorrowful consequences. Less than a month ago it was the 10th anniversary of the abduction of two metropolitans of Aleppo in Syria. Metropolitans Paul of the Orthodox Church of Antioch and Mar Gregorios Yohanna were kidnapped by terrorists and we still do not know what happened to those remarkable religious leaders. The so-called “Arab Spring” only brought sorrow and countless tribulations to people of those countries, the majority of them Muslims. The Western forces were trying to use a religious factor to destroy those countries’ statehood, to sow enmity and provoke divisions on religious grounds in society. It resulted in an outburst of brutality and violence, and a surge in terror attacks committed under religious slogans. Our own history and the history of other countries clearly show that such approach is inadmissible. We – Christians and Muslims – have to stand against extremism, and in this regard the work of the Russia-Islam Strategic Vision Group is of particular value and significance.
For decades, the Moscow Patriarchate has been maintaining brotherly relations with Islamic leaders and organisations. In recent years, these contacts have intensified considerably. It is gratifying to note that every such meeting is held in the atmosphere of mutual understanding. The Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate has been taking part in this work for many years. In November 2018, the Expert Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for Cooperation with the Islamic World was established. Not long ago, we met with the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the head of the Muslim World League. This February, Russian and Iranian theologians held their 12th meeting in Moscow, continuing the dialogue that began more than 25 years ago.
Almost 25 years ago the Interreligious Council of Russia was established. My brothers, leaders of the Islamic and Judaic communities in Russia, and I founded it in December 1998. The Council helps the leaders of traditional religions – Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism – to coordinate their work, exchange views on various topical issues and appeal to authorities and society on behalf of our faithful. The Patriarch is the Honorary Chairman of this organisation. Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk represents Orthodox Christians in the Council’s Presidium. Muslims are represented by the heads of the major Muslims’ Spiritual Boards, including the Mufti of Tatarstan and the head of the Muslim Coordinating Centre for the North Caucasus.
Why does the Russian Orthodox Church maintain such close relations with the Muslim Ummah in and outside Russia? Because our fundamental values are alike. Orthodox Christians and Muslims strive to act according to God’s will. It is an essential principle of our life. We are conservative in a good way, for Orthodox Christians and Muslims resolutely reject any attempts to make sin a social norm. For us the unnatural confusion of the sexes and the so-called LGBT ideology are absolutely unacceptable. We seek to preserve traditional, God-commanded form of family. Whatever is used to justify the egoistic attitude to people and to the world, it is evident that it substitutes serving God for serving one’s passions, which turns a person into a prisoner of his or her own vices.
Faithful to our spiritual ideals, we can work together in opposing the sophisticated propaganda of individualism and the worship of the human being. Orthodox Christians and Muslims are called to uphold their moral values, live up to the ideals of good, love, mercy, justice and mutual respect. We, Christians and Muslims, know and confess that God is the true Creator of the world and the Only Lawmaker. Where God is forgotten, there evil reigns.
A great Russian writer whose influence on our self-awareness was enormous – Fyodor Dostoevsky – expressed this simple but profound idea: If there is now God, then everything is permitted. “If there is no God, then I am god,” says one of the characters, Alexei Kirillov, in his novel Demons. The origin of such thought pattern goes back to the Renaissance period in the European history. However, misinterpreted, freedom made humans slaves of their own passions. And what today is coming to various countries under the guise of freedom is destruction and chaos.
I have stated this many times and will say it again – the 21st century’s main challenge comes from the godless secular world and is posed to the traditional system of values rooted in religion. To oppose it, we need to ensure consolidation of those forces in society that are committed to their traditions. If we do not wish to see the victory of evil and the development of a universal cult of sin and egoism, then we should give to this challenge a spiritual rebuff, for our joint efforts can save the world from self-destruction. In this respect Christians and Muslims have sufficient potential – religious, cultural, human, intellectual and economic.
To conclude my speech, I would like to express hope that Russia and the Islamic world will develop and broaden their cooperation. The Russian Orthodox Church, which represents the interests of millions of its faithful, is ready to promote it in all possible ways and to exchange experience and knowledge. I believe that today, amid the crisis in international relations, a new possibility is unfolding for us to influence the global agenda so that preservation of the intransient moral values could become one of its primary concerns.
I wish you all successful work.
Thank you for your attention.
[https://mospat.ru/en/news/90360/]
For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church
§56 Though the Orthodox Church seeks deeper bonds of amity with all faiths, it recognizes her unique responsibility with regard to the other two “peoples of the book,” the Abrahamic traditions of Islam and Judaism, with which it has longstanding dialogues and alongside which it has lived for millennia. Therefore, the Church can and does engage the beauty and spiritual truths of Islam in all its multiple traditions, acknowledging points of contact with it especially in its affirmation of the Virgin Birth (Quran 3:47, 19:16-21, 21:91) and its recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, Messenger, Word, and Spirit of God (4:171). Although Orthodoxy cannot agree with Islam in its rejection of the Incarnation and of God as Trinity, it is nevertheless able to pursue meaningful dialogue with all parts of the Islamic Ummah regarding the proper understanding of these central Christian teachings. It believes that the common roots of Christianity and Islam in the Middle East, the common affirmation of the message of the unity of God, as well as the common recognition of the holiness and truth of God’s Word and his Prophets, the importance of prayer and ascesis, as well as the struggle to discern the will of God in all things, invite Islam and Orthodoxy to enter into an intimate conversation for the advancement of peace and understanding among all peoples.
[https://www.goarch.org/social-ethos]
Muslims claim that the bible is corrupted. If this implies that the Quran is divinely inspired in the same way as Scripture, that is problematic.
FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church
LETTER OF APPROVAL BY THE HOLY AND SACRED SYNOD
To the very reverend John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne, our beloved son in the Lord: may God’s grace and peace be with you.
Having formally evaluated in session of the Holy and Sacred Synod the draft document “For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church,” created with your initiative, proposal and participation by a group of theologians specifically charged with this task, in the spirit and context of the decisions of the Holy and Great Council convened in Crete, with a view to developing, cultivating and disseminating its teaching, through this Patriarchal Letter and by Synodal Decree, we hereby express to you and all members of this editorial and scholarly Commission that labored so selflessly our commendation and congratulations as well as our wholehearted gratitude for this extraordinary response and the submission of this exceptional essay.
Therefore, upon favorably assessing this comprehensive document, which provides the parameters and guidelines for the social responsibility of our Church before the complex challenges and problems of today’s world, without at the same time overlooking the favorable potential and positive perspectives of contemporary civilization, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate approves its formal publication as the fruit of a collective theological achievement.
Wherefore, through our Patriarchal blessing, we invest upon you and all those who worked tirelessly for the fulfilment of this profound task the grace and illumination of the All-Holy Spirit of wisdom and prudence.
At the Phanar, on January 18, 2020
Your fervent supplicant before God
BARTHOLOMEW
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
VI. Ecumenical Relations and Relations with Other Faiths
58 The story of other non-Orthodox Christian religious traditions is not yet finished, and Orthodoxy affirms that like other non-Orthodox Christian bodies they only find their coherence and clarity within the Orthodox Church. As for other religions, the Orthodox Church takes encouragement from the words of the Apostle Paul to the Athenians at the Areopagus: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). From this the Church is given license to proclaim that the true God in whom all humanity lives and moves and has its being is worshipped by peoples everywhere, Christian and non-Christian alike. And this makes her only more eager to make all persons and peoples aware that the face of this one true God shines forth unobscured in the face of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Church—illumined by that radiance—enters into dialogue with other faiths fully prepared to be instructed by many of their own speculative, cultural, and spiritual achievements. It may be that, just as the Church of the early centuries profited from and in time baptized many of the philosophical, religious, and cultural riches of pre-Christian Europe, Asia Minor, and the Near East, so too may it now discover new ways of articulating the deposit of faith or new ways of thinking about its cultural expressions and conceptual forms by exposure to, say, the great philosophies and faiths of India, or to the traditions of China and the greater Far East, or to the spiritual experiences of tribal peoples throughout the world, and so on. Again, as Justin Martyr insisted, whatsoever is true and godly is welcome to us, for the Logos is everywhere and shines forth in all places.
[https://www.goarch.org/social-ethos?fbclid=IwAR2RSPrgYRhPfAgT9p2iIQkd9wqtOYJ74Gtjnpmyq9xYdxshwqr6U1FJFiY / https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yf-dXdoWQf8DLdV9bz4xW2XbCe0nLJIU/view?fbclid=IwY2xjawM3EnwBHe42ROjo1XTjM8qL8dmRjrw1XJX8G8ITWdJe4yCH7llsyBn-o7f0XScPXw&pli=1]
