Via the Religion News Service and Westminster Abbey:
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, is to offer a personal reflection calling for peace in the Middle East during “A service to celebrate the contribution of Christians in the Middle East” to be held at Westminster Abbey in the next hour.
Catherine Pepinster reports for Religion News Service:
Four patriarchs of Middle East churches, Coptic church leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Jewish, Muslim and Roman Catholic leaders from Britain will also attend the service. There they will hear the prince urge an end to extremism in the region and speak of the importance of Christians staying in the part of the world where Christianity was founded.
The plight of persecuted Christians is a cause that has become dear to the prince over many years. He met refugees on several occasions, hosting them and charity officials from the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need at his homes in London and Scotland. But this is the first time he has spoken from the pulpit on the subject during a church service. …
At Christmas two years ago, Prince Charles spoke on BBC radio about his concerns for religious refugees.
“The suffering doesn’t end when they arrive seeking refuge in a foreign land,” he said. “We are now seeing the rise of many populist groups across the world that are increasingly aggressive toward those who adhere to a minority faith.”
Westminster Abbey tweeted in anticipation of the prince’s remarks earlier today.
The Prince of Wales has worked over many years to encourage greater understanding between people of different religions, both in Britain and abroad, visiting many churches and meeting their congregations. pic.twitter.com/QjK04zYk4V
— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) December 4, 2018
Read more at Religion News Service and Westminster Abbey on Twitter.
Featured image via Westminster Abbey on Twitter