His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has sent the following greeting to the organizers, participants and guests of the V World Holocaust Forum:
To the organizers, participants and guests of the V World Holocaust Forum
23 January 2020, Jerusalem
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
I greet all of you as you have gathered in Jerusalem for events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust.
The memory of that terrible event of the 20th century is important today as well. Most distressingly, we are becoming witnesses to a revival of radical ideologies not only on the level of particular terrorist groups, but also on the scale of whole states. The problem of appropriation of exclusive rights by particular political or religious figures is very acute in our days. Against this background, there are increasing new precedents of anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and hate for other religious traditions.
Alas, the world community has tolerated in the 21st century the persecution of Christians whose rights including the right to life are violated in many regions of the globe – in the Middle East, in Africa and in Asia. Recalling the genocide of the Jews, it is impossible for us to ignore today’s genocide of Christians.
We should learn lessons from the terrible pages of the world history so that nobody and never could allow the destruction of innocent people and trample upon the human dignity.
In these commemorative days, I join the Jewish people and share their grief.
+ KIRILL
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
