Schinas: Ecumenical Patriarch is ‘a living symbol of the values of united Europe’

The pandemic and now the war indicate the need for common initiatives and big European solutions, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said after his meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Fanar, Istanbul on Saturday.

“We will not make it, each of us separately, and there is no better way to cement this principle of common action than to draw inspiration from religious leaders of the standing of the Ecumenical Patriarch, who is a living symbol of the values of united Europe: of peaceful coexistence, of tolerance…these are the ideals we need now, more than ever before,” he said.

Noting that this was his first visit in his capacity as the EU Commission’s vice-president, Schinas said that he had briefed the Patriarch regarding the unprecedented EU initiative to provide a status of humanitarian protection to all those that escaped the war in Ukraine.

They also discussed ways in which the Orthodox faith and the Patriarch’s own leadership could be part of a peaceful prospect from the conflict, he added.
“As an Orthodox Christian I cannot accept that Orthodox Christians are bombing Orthodox monasteries and monuments,” Schinas noted.