Religious pluralism

By George Gilson

Those who are at all familiar with the Eastern Orthodox Church are well aware that Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of America long before becoming leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in the US was one of its most eminent and respected hierarchs.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou held a telephone call with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios on Friday whom she thanked for wishing her well in her new post.
Sakellaropoulou also expressing her solidarity with the Greek diaspora and the Church amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At least 20 people were killed and 48 wounded Friday by a powerful suicide blast apparently targeting the Shia Hazara ethnic minority at a crowded fruit market in Pakistan's Quetta city, officials said.

The Muslim call to prayer will sound from a bell tower at North Carolina's Duke University every Friday, starting from Jan. 16, CNN has reported on its website.

The Duke Muslim Students Association will issue the call for the weekly service, it reported.

The call will last three minutes and will be only "moderately amplified," the university has elaborated.

The head of Turkey?s Directorate General for Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has said inter-religious dialogue is "not possible" between Islam and Christianity, saying a relationship based on justice and rights should instead be built.

At a time of strained relations between Muslims and majority communities in Europe, the Roman Pontiff has singled out Albania as a country where different faiths coexist more happily.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan keeps hosting very important heads of state who want to see all Muslims dead – last week, the guest was Pope Francis and this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pope Francis is set to become the fourth Pope to visit Turkey, after the Vatican published details of an upcoming three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet at the Vatican and pray for peace together at an unprecedented gathering on June 8, the Vatican said on May 30.