Posts
"Muhammad wrote many ridiculous books." - St. John of Damascus
The official website of the Patriarchate of Alexandria has reported that Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa met with the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, on February 28, 2010 on a visit he made to Sudan. The Patriarch thanked the President for his love for Greece and the Greeks, while at the same time thanks was given by the President to the Patriarch for his love for the Sudanese people. The Patriarch also bestowed upon the President his prayer and blessing for his continued service towards Sudan and its future success.
So far so good. But...
As a gesture of good will the Patriarch gave the President a Koran with the official seal of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
It seems it has become fashionable for our Patriarchs to give Koran's as gifts to Muslim leaders. As I have mentioned before, it is one thing to make a gesture of good will, and a totally different thing for an Orthodox Christian leader to give to a Muslim the gift of a book that at its core blasphemes what Orthodox Christians believe. And the President isn't even a religious leader, but a political leader. There is absolutely no excuse for such a scandalous and blasphemous action.
Haraam!
ReplyDeleteWatch also here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9f_4jPvGEA
At around minute 3:50
Repeat offender. Did it also with the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslim Board. These are our leaders... :-(
This is a practice becoming all too common these days, and it only makes our hierarchs look like hypocritical idiots.
ReplyDeleteThanks OrthoScooter for the video, I wasn't aware this was on youtube. I found it interesting how he gave the CEO of Coca Cola a Koran because he is a Muslim, but the CEO of Coke was smart enough to give a piece of memorabelia from Coke history to the Patriarch and stay clear of religion in his gift giving - as it should be!
I pray he steers well clear of the US Senate, lest he give Harry Reid a copy of the Book of Mormon...
ReplyDeleteΒλέπεις, Γιάννη μου, γιατί κράτω τέτοιες <> θέσεις; Δεν πάμε καθόλου καλά. Κάτι έχει αλλάξει. Δεν βαδίζουμε πια στον δρόμο των πατέρων μας. Και πιστεύω ότι αυτή η νέα γραμμή αρχισε ν' ακολουθείται πριν από περίπου 100 χρόνια...
As a Greek Orthodox Christian I hold no objections to Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria giving the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, the Koran as a gift. We live in a world full of hatred and it's not just about race but the religious beliefs we have. In reality there is only one God and only one Haven and Hell if you want to go further. As the Patriarch resides in a place full of Muslims and Jews I think his thoughts and gestures go towards creating a environment of understanding and acceptance of other peoples faith on this planet.
ReplyDeleteTo make a statement the Koran blasphemes the Orthodox Church is wrong. The Koran believes and recognizes Jesus Christ as a Messiah but what the Koran states is that Jesus is considered a Messenger of God who had been sent to guide the People of Israel but is not God.
Let us get our facts right before we make wrong statements.
G. Lazarides, if you do not think the Koran contains heresies and blasphemies, then it seems like you have not read it. But the fact that you even pointed one of many out in your comment kind of leaves me dumbfounded how you can make such an ignorant statement.
ReplyDeleteG. Lazaridis is 100% wrong. Saying that Christ is not God is blasphemy and giving the Koran as a gift is outrageous. The patriarchs of Alexandria and Constantinople should be put on trial and defrocked for heresy and blasphemy.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a bit of an extreme statement AVB34.
ReplyDeleteIt is extreme only to modern sentiments. I have no doubt that in earlier (pre-ecumenism) days this is exactly what would have happened, indeed this is what the Fathers prescribe in such cases.
ReplyDeleteThen you must also erroneously believe that these Patriarchs reject the divinity of Christ and accept Muhammad as their Prophet. There is nothing in the canons about giving a thoughtless gift which looks bad in public eyes, unless that gift is given as a denial of their Orthodox faith, which we (should) know is not true.
ReplyDelete