Prince Charles visits Coptic Church in Stevenage

Prince Charles: „Christians are being deliberately persecuted by militant Islamists in the Middle East„.

 

 

 

Prince Charles visited Stevenage (December 17) to pay tribute to the “remarkable” tolerance of worshippers at the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre.

 

Visiting the centre off of Broadhall Way, the heir to the throne was joined by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad – a religious advisor to the king of Jordan who has pushed for interfaith dialogue in the Middle East. Welcomed by Bishop Angaelos, general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, he attended a brief service at the St George cathedral before greeting members of the faith. He was then gifted two icons, each bearing the image of St George. One was for himself and one was for the his grandson, the young Prince George. Bishop Angaelos said: “It is an absolute privilege to welcome you here to our Coptic Centre. “On behalf of the Coptic Orthodox Church community here we present this icon to you as a memorial of this visit”. He added that the gift was given as a sign of their “fellowship and appreciation”. Receiving the gifts, Prince Charles said: “I can’t tell you how touched I am to be given this wonderful icon and indeed the other icon for my eldest son and daughter-in-law and my small but rapidly growing grandson, George.

 

 

 

 

Christians in Middle East need our help, says Charles:

Prince says bridges with Islam being „deliberately destroyed„

 

Prince speaking at reception for Middle East Christians at Clarence House

Said he has been trying to build bridges between two religions for 20 years

But said people with a ‚vested interest‘ are trying to destroy relations

Spoke after a tour of the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in Stevenage

Joined on visit by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan 

 

 

www.dailymail.co.uk – By Daily Mail Reporter – PUBLISHED:  18 December 2013      

 

 

“All I can say is that these icons will be treasured as very special reminders of the all too brief opportunity to come and visit you all this morning, here in Stevenage. “If I may say so it’s been a great privilege to join you for a short service and also to witness the extraordinary way in which so many of you support this church in the United Kingdom. “As I discovered, so many of you travel in from a long way away every Sunday to be here. It is a remarkable demonstration I think of the importance of your church to all of you. “And the fact that so many of you support it in so many different ways, going out and feeding homeless people on the streets, and in so many others that are so often unseen and unheard”. The Prince also spoke out about the oppression suffered by Coptic Christians in the homeland of their faith, Egypt. He said: “Today I just wanted to join you to express deepest concern, deepest sympathy and solidarity with all of you. “I have heard you all have relations in Egypt and all I can tell you is that we pray with all our hearts for their safety and for their continuation in a country where the Coptic Christians have played such a vital part. “If I may say so I’ve been so full of admiration and respect for the way in which the Coptic Christians have been so full of forbearance and their long-sightedness is remarkable, and their lack of retaliation even more remarkable. “For that I think we all them all a remarkable debt not only of gratitude but of respect for living out your Christian faith in the way that you do. “So I do hope that you will give my kindly thoughts and wishes and prayers to your relations during this period of Christmas; a special time of peace. Thank you again for your welcome”.

 

 

 

 

Bishop Angaelos later added: “I am thankful for the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to our Coptic Orthodox community here today, as it celebrates its presence in, and contribution to the United Kingdom. “His visit sheds light on the increasing struggles facing Christians in the Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity. I am also appreciative of Prince Ghazi’s visit. “As we approach the Feast of the Nativity, we are also reminded that this is a time in which many in the Middle East are affected by war and conflict. “But as His Royal Highness highlighted today, Christians in the region remain resilient and faithful despite the challenges faced”. He continued: “With respect to Egypt, despite numerous attacks on their loyalty, Christians continue to be an integral and stabilising component of their society. “They have responded graciously to continued and escalating attacks, proving their commitment to a legitimate process of change. “Believing that there is always hope, we pray for this spirit of collaboration and co-operation to be a springboard. “A springboard to greater advocacy for, and representation of, those who do not have opportunities for their own voices to be heard, but rather rely on us to amplify those voices”.

 

 

 

One of those he met was London resident Huda Lassar, 51, who originally comes from Syria. She told the Advertiser: “He asked me about what’s going on in Syria and said it’s heartbreaking what is going on out there. “I said keep us in your prayers and we hope it comes to peace soon in Syria and he said, in Arabic, ‘enshallah’ meaning God Willing. “To stand and talk with me when he knew I was from Syria is wonderful, especially when he said that word in Arabic. “The Christians in the Middle East are not foreigners, we are indigenous, so if you ask a Christian when we came there we’ll say since Jesus’ time. “We don’t want to leave the Middle East, we want to live with the Muslims as our neighbours and friends”. {Source: www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk}

 

 

 

 

 

Prince Charles visits a Syriac Orthodox Church in west London

 

Prince Charles: ‚Christians are being deliberately persecuted by militant Islamists in the Middle East‘

 

The Prince was speaking following a visit to branches of Middle Eastern churches in Britain – during which he was told of Christian families being targeted in their Homelands.

 

Prince Charles has warned that Christians are being deliberately targeted by militant Islamists in the Middle East. The Prince was speaking following a visit to British branches of Middle Eastern churches – during which he was told of Christian families being murdered and intimidated in their homeland. Accompanied yesterday by Prince Ghazi of Jordan the Prince of Wales visited an Egyptian Coptic Church centre in Stevenage and the Syriac Orthodox cathedral in west London, the BBC reports. The two men spoke with members of each community who had suffered persecution in their homelands. Later at a reception at Clarence House – attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury among others – Prince Charles said he had „tried to build bridges between Islam and Christianity to dispel ignorance and misunderstanding. „The point though, surely, is that we have now reached a crisis where bridges are rapidly being deliberately destroyed by those with a vested interest in doing so. „This is achieved through intimidation, false accusation and organised persecution including to the Christian communities in the Middle East at the present time“.

 

 

 

The upheavals resulting from the Arab Spring has led to growing violence against minorities in the Middle East.

Hundreds of churches, and property owned by Christians, have been attacked and looted in countries such as Egypt.

Their are fears over the future of Christian communities in some parts of the region.

British Christians have urged the government and church leaders to do more to help those affected.

{Quelle: www.mirror.co.uk}

 

 

 

Prince Charles meets Catholicos Karekin, ends his visit to Armenia

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