A PROPOSAL FOR THE DEFENSE OF 
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE WORLD

By Rev. Fr. Daniel Na
Protoprerbyter of Ecumenical Patriarchate
Orthodox Metropolis of Korea

The theme of the WCC’s 10th General Assembly «God of life, lead us to justice and peace» touches the hearts of Christians all over the world, especially the hearts of the Orthodox faithful, because nowadays the Orthodox Church is being persecuted in various countries in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. I will mention four examples:

1. Let us first look at the case of Syria, a country whose Christian roots go back to the early Church. As it is mentioned in the book of Acts (11:26) it was at Antioch of Syria where the followers of Jesus Christ were first called "Christians". In other words, in this area, where presently there is a horrible and unjust civil war going on, with casualties of mainly Orthodox Christians, Christians have existed since the first Century AD. Today, unfortunately, extremist islamist guerrillas burn churches and kill innocent civilians. That is the main reason why so many Syrian Christians leave their homeland seeking refuge in nearby countries. Political analysts forecast that, if this situation continues, Christianity in Syria is in danger of disappearing. Allow me also to remind you that on April 22nd of this year, two prominent Orthodox Bishops, who were trying to give humanitarian aid to war victims, were kidnapped by Muslim rebels and they have been missing since then.

2. The same is happening in Pakistan, Iraq and Egypt. In Egypt, “Muslim brothers” assassinate Orthodox Copts in cold blood without any justification. The recent Egyptian government gave orders to close the doors of the historic Holy Monastery of Sinai to the pilgrims in order to protect the orthodox monks from the fury of the Muslims.

3. The third example of violence against the Orthodox Church comes from a Balkan country. His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Albania is anguished over the fate and security of his Church in Albania. On August 16th at the town of Premeti in Albania, public clerks of the Albanian Judicial Enforcement Service, beat the priests and forcibly removed believers from the Church of the Virgin Mary. Then, they uploaded the church’s sacred items and images onto a truck and closed the door of the church with bricks, because the local Albanian authorities wanted to convert the Orthodox Church into a cultural center.

4. The fourth and final example has to do with the tormented Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholmew has had to endure for the last forty two years the closing of the Theological School in Halki-Turkey. The illegal closure of the Orthodox Theological School of Halki, which was the only educational institution for the training of clergy of the Patriarchate, by the Government of Turkey in 1971, has resulted in a shortage of priests for the Patriarchate.

What is happening in other countries sounds very strange to us who live in Korea. This is because in our country, with the grace of God, we enjoy full religious freedom. We are grateful to God for this great gift, which may seem obvious to us, but some decades ago it was not.

It is necessary to struggle for the defense and preservation of religious freedom. That is, we Christians must proclaim through our life and words the great values of Christian virtues of justice and peace. Furthermore, we must denounce with outspokenness, regardless of any personal cost, the injustice and the war on religion anywhere in the world.

As an example of practical application of what was mentioned above, please allow me to make the following comments, after which I would like to finish my speech. The example concerns the activity of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea in North Korea and her efforts to create friendly relations with our brother- neighbors.

When in 2002 the government of North Korea decided to built the Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity in Pyongyang, the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea, with the consent of the Government of South Korea, sent many essential items, such as a crane, electricity generators, air conditioners, radiators, bricks, tiles, etc. I personally visited North Korea three times to accompany the shipment of these items together with the previous Metropolitan of Korea His Eminence Soterios Trambas along with other Orthodox clergy and lay members of our Church.

When the building of the Holy Trinity church in Pyoengyang was completed, we were invited once more to visit the country and celebrated a prelatic Divine Liturgy there. This event was a natural development, as the Orthodox Church of Korea has been under the Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since 1955 after a decision made by the local faithful in a general assembly. Next year we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of this event. At the same time we will celebrate the establishment of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea (of North and South, of course) by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

At this point I’d like to say a few words about the drama that my country has been through for many centuries. And this drama is the result of antagonism between the three powerful surrounding countries. Each one of them tried to subordinate the Korean Peninsula to its own hegemony. The result was that for centuries Koreans were obliged to pay taxes to the Chinese government. Then the Russian-Japanese war broke out. The Japanese prevailed and they occupied North and South Korea for 35 harsh years. During the Second World War the Japanese were defeated and the Russian regime imposed communism to North Korea that lasts to this day.

Therefore, I’d like to express the following fervent wish and prayer of the Christians of Korea, which we are making known today to all: The political bloody and destructive competition of the past which was to the detriment of our country should in no way be followed by religious – ecclesiastical rivalries on jurisdiction. The entire Korean peninsula, North and South is inhabited by a single people with a single national consciousness, the same blood and the same language. Ten million Koreans currently residing in South Korea, have their families in North Korea, from where they were forced to escape to the south in order to save themselves. Let therefore, the entire Korean peninsula be peaceful, away from ecclesiastical authorities of foreign countries, to move on united as one Church, under one bishop, as the Holy and Ecclesiastical Canons dictate, in order to fulfill her great and holy mission in this extreme corner of mainland Asia. Only in this way we will walk together, particularly because today, even though there is political separation, the Orthodox of South and North Korea are united and keep excellent brotherly relations between us. Once more, we ask from the bottom of our hearts, do not let anyone from any foreign country try to cause problems which scandalize the faithful, especially those of a weak consience.

Finally, for the prevalence of religious freedom in the world, apart from our own struggle, we definitely need help from on High. To this end, we pray fervently in the daily services of our Orthodox Metropolis of Korea "for the reunification of North and South Korea and the prevalence of justice and peace in the world," hoping that with the help of God there will be better days in the future. Thank you very much.