{"id":148062,"date":"2023-01-29T15:27:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T13:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/df.news\/?p=148062"},"modified":"2023-01-29T15:27:03","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T13:27:03","slug":"religious-leaders-of-europe-highlight-impact-of-war-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/2023\/01\/29\/religious-leaders-of-europe-highlight-impact-of-war-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious leaders of Europe highlight impact of war in Ukraine\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) joined religious leaders at the European Commission on 27 January in Brussels to shed light on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the European way of life.<\/p>\n

That’s according to the CEC<\/a> press release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Participants discussed how the war in Ukraine \u2014 and the response from the European Union \u2014 has been perceived in their countries.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
They also shared their concrete experiences with the reception of Ukrainian refugees, the energy crisis, and the impact on the most vulnerable segments of society.<\/div>\n
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CEC was represented by its president Rev. Christian Krieger and Bishop \u00c5sa Nystr\u00f6m, Church of Sweden.<\/p>\n

Christian Krieger expressed his appreciation of the strong commitment and EU\u2019s clear position in handling the situation created by the invasion of Ukraine, notably regarding the economic and military solidarity, the status for refugees and the sanctions.<\/p>\n

Krieger noted the paradigm shift the war has caused in Europe, creating a special moment for EU to confirm its values and address its internal challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a time for Europe to assert and defend its values\u2014values that reflect justice, truth, and pathways to peace,\u201d he said, further addressing the impact of the war on inflation, social crises, and the heightened risk to democracies by populist discourse and radical parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafeguarding plurality, religious freedom and state of law constitutes steps towards the reconstruction of Ukraine,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The meeting concluded with discussions about the most important issues that the war in Ukraine is raising, and thoughts on what the priority issues for the EU should be.<\/p>\n

Nystr\u00f6m spoke about the effects she sees in her diocese, in the north of Sweden, in the Arctic region.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany in the younger generations are losing hope for a sustainable future,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the first things that happened when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, was that the Nordic bishops in the Barents Church Council met to assess the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

This council has been working for over 25 years and consists of nine member dioceses in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia from Lutheran and Orthodox churches.<\/p>\n

When the invasion started, it radically changed the possibilities for Nordic bishops to work together, Nystr\u00f6m lamented. \u201cThe Nordic bishops issued a joint statement, where we condemned the invasion and immediately put the work of the council on hold,\u201d she explained. \u201cThis was not only the case for the Barents Church Council, but also other organisations that work in the Arctic region.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also expressed concern about Ukrainian refugees, who are increasingly realizing that it may be a long time before they are able to return home. \u201cWhat will happen after March 2025 when the temporary protection can no longer be prolonged?\u201d Nystr\u00f6m asked.<\/p>\n

In the context of war in Ukraine, CEC is carrying out the project \u201cPathways to Peace\u201d to promote justice, reconciliation and peace. The project will strengthen CEC\u2019s role as a church-fellowship, engaging in dialogue with European institutions, raising a Christian voice to address crucial political concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) joined religious leaders at the European Commission on 27 January in Brussels to shed light on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the European way of life. That’s according to the CEC press release. Participants discussed how the war in Ukraine \u2014 and the response from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":148057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"telegram_tosend":false,"telegram_tosend_message":"","telegram_tosend_target":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5148,5142],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-148062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-church-en","8":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/df.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-3-1.jpg?fit=770%2C433&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/df.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}