Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has branded the events at Gaza “a disgrace for the human race”.
The spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide spoke out on the events occurring in Gaza during a blessed ceremony on Tuesday for the reopening of the renovated Chapel of the Skete of the Transfiguration of the Savior Christ on Halki, one of the Princes’ Islands, off the coast of Istanbul, as reported in Kathimerini.
“We watch with horror the scenes of innocent civilians, of children dying from hunger, and of captives digging their graves. This is truly a disgrace for the human race, for all of humanity,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said.
He went on to acknowledge the challenges in aiming to alter the course of reality/history, while saying:
“Yet the Church never abandons hope, nor does it cease in its efforts to transfigure the world. For the world is not transformed through violence or war.”
He further added that reflecting on the past proves that anything great and noble has been accomplished by the efforts of the few who have truly shaped history.
“The world is always transfigured by the few, who are nonetheless countless; by the little leaven that ‘leavens the whole lump,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said.
Elsewhere in his speech, he stated:
“Truly, in the history of humanity, nothing great or lofty has ever been achieved without love and sacrifice. And however few we may be today, all the more love and all the greater sacrifices are needed, so that we may preserve with dignity all that our forefathers and the ages have entrusted to us.”
