THE CHURCH is organising a major ecumenical conference next month at which messages from the Pope, the Dalai Lama and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will be beamed in by satellite, the Archbishopric confirmed yesterday.
The conference, which is being organised by the Kykkos Research Centre, will take place from March 8-11 and will host some of the biggest names in religion and politics in the region.
Those slated to attend the conference include Orthodox Patriarchs from Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East. Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist leaders are also expected to attend, along with high-ranking representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Armenian and Maronite churches.
In addition to religious leaders, politicians from the region will also be attending, including Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, Greek Culture and Education Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Greek party leaders and Athens Mayor Demetris Avraamopoulos.
Local representation will include President Glafcos Clerides and House President Demetris Christofias. The highlight of the conference will be the satellite messages from the Pope, the Patriarch and the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist’s exiled spiritual leader.
The conference will focus on religion and civilisation, with topics including the future of religion and politics, globalisation as a challenge and a threat and the prospects for ecumenical dialogue in the 21st century.
Frixos Constantinides, a spokesman for the Kykkos centre, yesterday declined to reveal further details, which he said would be officially announced shortly.
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