A report on Tahrir News today titled, “Greek Orthodox Patriarch to Pope Tawadros: ‘Putin Stressed to Me Russia’s Support for Egypt During My Visit,'” discusses how, among other things, Patriarch Theodore II, the current Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, just informed Coptic Pope Tawadros II that, in his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the latter “confirmed that Russia supports Egypt and its military during this transitional period and in all international circles.”
The report further added that “General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi [the foremost man responsible for overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt] asked the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, through its relations with the heads of Orthodox churches around the world, to support Egypt on its revolutionary road to democracy.”
All of this follows an address that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave in late July before a number of top Orthodox clergy — an address that showed how Russia is increasingly becoming the greatest hope for persecuted Christians:
Putin noted that in many regions of the world, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, inter-confessional tensions were growing and the rights of religious minorities including Christians were infringed upon. “I believe” he said, “this acute problem should become a subject of close attention of the international community. Our country will continue pursuing an active creative policy towards the soonest possible settlement of conflict situations. And here, of course, the active stand, participation and support of Local Orthodox Churches and their primates are very important for us.”
Thus, and once again, the Russian leader proves himself a mature and responsible statesman, looking for peace and stability in the Middle East — even as his American counterparts warmonger and lie on behalf of Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt) and jihadis (al-Qaeda in Syria), the very same people who ruthlessly persecute Christians, not to mention despise everything the West represents.
Russian Orthodox support IS NOT GOING TO HELP. The only thing they will do is confirm Islamist delusions that Orthodox Christian minorities are conspiring against Islam.
Do Orthodox Christians in the Middle East really want the support of the corrupt Russian Orthodox Church, which is very close to the increasingly authoritarian Russian regime? Do they really want to be associated with the regime that has warred in Islamic land (Chechnya) and thus be associated with the atrocities there? (I KNOW it’s not like Russian involvement in Chechnya is some sort of anti-Muslim Crusade, especially because Russia has meddled in Orthodox Christian lands like Georgia and Ossetia as well, but Islamists see anything in which Muslims are incidentally the victims as a war against Islam.)
It will be difficult to refuse a helping hand, but the Russian Orthodox Church will be damaging to Middle Eastern Christians in the long run and should be refused. Hopefully a less dirty source of help will come their way.
Aren’t you the same person who also criticized evangelicals as being counterproductive to the cause of persecuted Christians – complaining that Mr. Ibrahim dared appear on the 700 Club? So let me see, persecuted Christians shouldn’t go to evangelicals, nor should they turn to the Orthodox? Who, then, would you have them look to for aid — secular America?? You seem to forget that secular America is embodied in the person of Barrack Hussein Obama – in other words, secular homos and liberals don’t give a damn about Christians being persecuted, and may actually welcome it in their hearts. You’re like a person who seems to acknowledge that there is a problem, but you offer no solution, and when others offer it, you say “No, no!” Maybe Christians should look to “Greek Asian Pandas” for succor??
Yes, I am the same person.
Christendom is more than right-wing evangelicals and regime-snuggling churches, so it’s a long jump to suggest that I wanted to appeal to the secular American government. Your “secular homos” slur is slightly illustrative of why certain evangelicals and Christianists (Christians who use politics to gain power for their religion and themselves) in general should not be seen as the primary and only supporters of the Islamic world’s Christians, since their intolerance and authoritarianism will cause non-Christians and secular, leftist Christians to see the exposure of Islamist persecution of Christians as nothing more than another form of bigotry (“Islamophobia”) alongside homophobia and theocratic endeavors.
That is why Mr. Ibrahim and everyone else who wants to help the Islamic world’s Christians should appeal to people other than right-wing evangelicals and corrupt churches, because then the issue gains more credibility. Though I’m not sure of how widely leftists believe this, from what I’ve seen on the Internet I have ascertained that leftists often regard the persecution of Christians by Islamists as an “Islamophobic” myth concocted by Western Christian fundamentalists through “Faux” News. It’s time to argue with EVERYONE, show EVERYONE, not just preach to the choir, that this is a human rights crisis.