Phanar: All religions are myriads of paths leading to one God

Archbishop Elpidophoros. Photo: doxologiainfonews.com

Archbishop Elpidophoros. Photo: doxologiainfonews.com

On July 15, 2021, the head of the Archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the United States, Archbishop Elpidophoros, speaking in New York at the International Religious Freedom Summit, said that all religions are "myriads of paths leading to the same place".

In a report on "religious nationalism" and "nationalistic religions," Archbishop Elpidophoros noted that in the United States, "independent religious bodies with charismatic leaders are using the public, political sphere to advance their own agendas".

On the other hand, he noted that there is a distinct "religious nationalism" in Iran, which is "a full-blown attempt at theocracy by a seeming majority".

The Phanar representative is sure that “to see a spiritual basis for the State is to create a stratification of society along religious lines, a spiritual apartheid, if you will. The result is a monolithic society unyielding to diversity”, says Archbishop Elpidophoros.

He emphasized that "you elevate one religion above all others, it is as if you decide there is only one path leading to the top of the mountain".

“The truth is you simply cannot see the myriads of paths that lead to the same destination, because you are surrounded by boulders of prejudice that obscure your view,” Archbishop Elpidophoros believes.

As reported earlier, the head of Phanar called other religions "the wealth of the sons of God" and, according to Archbishop Elpidophoros, "Patriarch Bartholomew went beyond the Abrahamic religions".

Read also

Conference on the OCU issue underway in Greece

Participants at the conference have called for an appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew, urging him to acknowledge the mistake of creating the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

In Zabolottia, over 100 parishioners of seized church hold outdoor liturgy

The rector celebrated the Divine Liturgy in a parishioner’s yard after the church was seized by OCU militants.

UOC Primate: The Church cooperates with the state but does not serve it

During his sermon on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized the importance of conciliarity and the Church’s freedom.

Jehovah’s witness in Ukraine sentenced to 3 years in jail for draft dodging

The Netishyn Court did not take into account the religious beliefs of the 38-year-old believer.

Yelensky: The destruction of UOC cannot be a violation of religious freedom

The DESS head acknowledged that national security cannot serve as grounds for restricting freedom of religion.

Footage of UOC church seizure in Zabolottia published online

Raiders from the OCU attacked UOC parishioners and then spent half an hour breaking locks under police protection.