Archbishop visits Armenia, Syria and Lebanon

Laying a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan,
where the Archbishop also planted a tree

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, completed a visit to Armenia, Syria and Lebanon in September.

In a gruelling schedule of visits, meetings and services the Archbishop spent time with senior politicians, Church leaders, senior Muslim clerics, refugees and communities and community projects ranging from prison inmates and chaplains in Armenia, to people with learning disabilities living in a L'Arche community in Damascus.

Dr Williams heard from the President of Syria, Dr Bashar al Asad, how Syria was dealing with major instability in the region. Their discussions covered the prospects for moves towards peace in the region, the importance of the freedom of expression of religion in society and models of religious pluralism.

In a meeting with 300 Iraqi Christian refugees at the Syrian Orthodox monastery at Ma'aret Sednaya, the Archbishop heard of the plight of some of the one and a half million refugees who have fled Iraq for Syria since 2003.

In Lebanon, the Archbishop met Palestinian refugees at the Dibayeh camp outside Beirut. Most had lived there, or in other camps, all their adult lives, some since 1948. Others had been born and raised their own children in the camp. Despite the best efforts of some aid agencies, support for the camps was drying up. The Archbishop is to raise the question of better coordination of aid to the camps with aid agencies.

Under threat

Dr Williams had discussions with a number of Muslim religious leaders in Syria and Lebanon, including the Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Ahmad Hassun. In Armenia the Archbishop signed a joint communiqué with Catholicos of All Armenians, HH Karekin II, committing their churches to an early resumption of the theological Dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the family of Orthodox Oriental Churches. During his visit, Dr Williams was able to discuss practical steps towards this goal with other members of the Oriental Orthodox family, whose agreement is needed for the Dialogue to resume.

Meetings in Syria and Lebanon with other Church leaders enabled the Archbishop to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges facing these communities.

The Archbishop, together with Catholicos Karekin II and members of the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, laid a wreath at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, where Dr Williams also planted a tree. He met with the Armenian President, His Excellency Robert S Kocharian, and Prime Minister His Excellency Serz Sargsyan.

On his return to the UK Dr Williams said that the plight of Christians in the region was causing wide concern: "The presence of Christians in communities like Iraq and Syria is actually part of what you might call a pluralist, tolerant, co-existent tradition in Middle-Eastern Arab society which is itself under threat. So it’s not just about Christians. What’s at stake is much more than the future of just the Christian community. But everywhere you go in the Middle-East, Christian people will say the main problem we face is the catastrophic drainage of Christians from this region."

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