Representatives of the religious denominations officially recognised in Romania and government officials met on Friday to discuss the prevention and combating of antisemitism and other forms of intolerance.
The delegate of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, was His Grace Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești, the Holy Synod’s general secretary.
The hierarch conveyed a message from the Patriarch of Romania, in which Patriarch Daniel said that “the Romanian Orthodox Church disapproves of antisemitic and xenophobic actions, attitudes and rhetoric in the public sphere, and reaffirms its constant commitment to fostering peace and social harmony, interreligious dialogue and peaceful coexistence, grounded in the values of love for one’s neighbour, solidarity and mutual respect”.
“The Romanian Orthodox Church considers that any form of hatred, discrimination or intolerance is contrary to the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and incompatible with the moral values that underpin the Christian faith,” Patriarch Daniel added.
The Romanian Orthodox Church delegation also included Archimandrite Augustin Coman, Patriarchal Adviser, who coordinates the Department for External Relations, Interreligious Affairs, and Romanian Communities Abroad.
Preventing antisemitism and xenophobia
Participants discussed the National Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Radicalisation and Hate Speech for the period 2024–2027.
Representatives of the Romanian government’s State Secretariat for Religious Denominations thanked the religious communities for their involvement.
“Antisemitism, xenophobia or hate speech are phenomena that have no place in any democracy, and when they occur, a democratic society must have the necessary antibodies to stop them,” the Secretariat’s representatives said.
“Faith communities are environments in which the values needed to fight such phenomena are not only cultivated, but also born.”
The meeting also agreed to continue the dialogue on a regular basis.
Photo: Facebook / Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte
