37th Protestant "Kirchentag" in Germany

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) will publish a resolution on occasion of the 37th Protestant "Kirchentag" (Church Day) in Germany. The title will be "Save lives by means of an interreligious dialogue by building future perspectives – in Germany and in the Middle East!", and the human rights organization has clear demands to the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and to federal politics. They should promote a peaceful coexistence of religions, provide a safe haven for victims of persecution, and put an end to arms exports to Turkey.

"The big churches in Germany can and must do more for their brothers and sisters in the Middle East," stated Lina Stotz, one of the STP's experts on ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities and nationalities. "An interreligious dialogue and political initiatives could strengthen the religious minorities and give them hope." To ensure that the people can feel safe in their home country, it will be necessary to put an end to the violence and to rebuild the cities.

The STP's resolution is also supported by His Excellency Bishop Anba Damian, Diocesan Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of northern Germany, and Ali Ertan Toprak, President of the Federal Association of Immigrant Associations in Germany (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Immigrantenverbände in Deutschland e.V.). Bishop Damian is supposed to present the resolution in the course of the Church Day celebration.

The resolution will be put to the vote during the event "Wie politisch darf Religion sein? Visionen für die Gesellschaft" (How political can religion be? Visions for society). The event is open to all visitors – and everyone present will be entitled to vote. If there are more than 500 participants, the resolution can be passed by majority vote. The event will take place on Saturday, June 22 (from 11 am to 1 pm) at the Zentrum Weltanschauungen, St. Ewaldi, Egbertstraße 15, Dortmund/Aplerbeck. Before the vote, Wolfgang Schäuble and Margot Käßmann will be on the podium to hold a debate.

"We are calling on all visitors of the Kirchentag to support our initiative for the Christian people in the Middle East," stated Lina Stotz. "At our booth at the Markt der Möglichkeiten, we will provide information regarding the situation of the minorities in Syria and Iraq – and, of course, about the resolution." During the Kirchentag (June 20 to 22), the STP's information booth can be found at booth H1 in Hall 4 of the Westfalenhallen ("Markt der Möglichkeiten").

The full text of the resolution is available here.

Visit www.gfbv.de/de/Kirchentag for further information as well as our detailed human rights report on the situation of Christians in Iraq and Syria.

For further information, please contact Lina Stotz (on site): +49 (0)151 – 5616 04 02.

Header image: STP (2015)