At the 15th General Assembly of the World Hellenic Inter-parliamentary Association (WHIA), held in the Senate Chamber of the Hellenic Parliament, Metropolitan Ioannis of Zambia and Mozambique was present as the representative of Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa.
The Metropolitan conveyed warm greetings and a message from the Alexandrian Primate to the Greek parliamentarians of the Diaspora, emphasizing the profound significance of WHIA as an institution of unity and support for Hellenism worldwide.
Among other points, the Patriarch of Alexandria referred to the escalating challenge facing the Orthodox Church of Africa due to the unilateral incursion of the Russian Church into the canonical jurisdiction of the Alexandrian Throne and its two-thousand-year-old history.
“Historical distortion, persecution, systemic discrimination, the undermining of long-established ecclesiastical legal structures, unprovoked violence against the faithful, invasions and violations of canonical boundaries are afflicting the historic Patriarchates and Orthodoxy as a whole…”
Addressing the members of the Assembly, Metropolitan Ioannis presented a special report on the situation prevailing in Africa and proposed the adoption of a specific paragraph in the resolution, calling:
“Upon the Governments of African States to protect and respect the religious freedoms of the faithful and to safeguard the legal status of the Greek Orthodox churches under the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.”
An appeal and international call to action was made to:
The Hellenic Parliament and the members of WHIA
The European Union
The United Nations
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
The African Union (AU)
The Pan-African Parliament
International Parliamentary Organizations and Interparliamentary Unions
to undertake concrete commitments and actions to protect religious freedom, preserve the canonical order of the Orthodox Church on the African continent, and confront the provocative intervention of the Russian Church, which is causing division within the region’s ecclesiastical and cultural fabric.
In concluding his address, Metropolitan Ioannis expressed confidence that the united voice of Greek parliamentarians worldwide can play a decisive role in defending the Orthodox Patriarchates and in promoting peace, coexistence, and respect among religious communities in Africa.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
