The International Conference on the Crisis in the Middle East concluded its deliberations on Friday, 11 September 2014, with the intervention of the Five Middle East Patriarchs.

His Holiness Aram I, who concluded the conference, spoke once more of the urgency for the international community to adopt a comprehensive strategy to respond to the violence in the Middle East. He stated that “The current violence is not a concern for Christians only, nor for the Middle East, nor for Islam. It is a concern for all of humanity.”

Aram  I offered the following five points to be considered by the international community in their strategic planning for the Middle East:

1. Any democratization process in the region should be gradual and consider the specifities of the region.
2. Any process should respect the religious and cultural pluralism of the region, which must be constitutionally guaranteed.
3. Cooperation between the monotheistic religions should be strengthened.
4. The international community, in cooperation with the Muslim states, should plan long-term and short-term strategies.
5. Activities of the diaspora communities in support of their churches in the Middle East should be supported.

In his conclusion, His Holiness Aram I said, “We have not come only to ask for the support of the international community for Christians in the Middle East, but to seek ways as religions and governments to overcome violence together and to stop the exploitation of religion by extremist movements.”

For the full text of His Holiness Aram I lecture, please  visit: Link