In the wake of escalating conflict in the Middle East, representatives of the Anglican Communion on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Multi-Religious Council of Leaders have issued this statement about the status of refugees.
We have witnessed a ‘cycle of violence’ expanding at ‘terrifying speed’ across the Middle East. When our brother, Archbishop Hosam Naoum Anglican - Archbishop in Jerusalem and Primate of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, wrote these words over a week ago, the impact of conflict and oppression in the Middle East already weighed heavily upon us. Now, the cycles of destruction are even greater. The United Nations are reporting hundreds of thousands of people displaced. 190 children have been killed since the escalation including over 180 in Iran, seven in Lebanon, three in Israel and one in Kuwait.
We write because of a special concern God has placed on our hearts for people forced to flee their homes—a concern reflected in our roles as members of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Multi-Religious Council of Leaders.
This escalating violence will create yet more waves of refugees, vulnerable in ways many of us cannot imagine. Those who suffer most will be women and children. Many will show ingenuity and resilience in overcoming challenges they have to face, but they should not have to. Their suffering must convict leaders of the need for restraint, including restraint from those leaders most vocally opposed to accepting refugees.
In a joint statement with other worldwide Christian communions, the Anglican Communion urged for sustained efforts towards ‘the gift of peace’ given that ‘the world is approaching a dangerous tipping point - a time when violence becomes the norm and death and suffering of people and communities condoned’. We must step back from this tipping point.
We return to a statement we made at the UNHCR’s Global Refugee Forum Progress Review meeting in December of last year. Christ calls us to welcome refugees. We invite you to join with us in offering hospitality to all forced from their homes by violence; in supporting refugee ministries around the world, including through churches; and working towards policies that will bring peace and flourishing in lands now wracked by violence.
The Most Revd Maimbo Mndolwa, Archbishop and Primate of Tanzania.
The Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, Bishop of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe.
The Most Revd Maimbo Mndolwa, Archbishop and Primate of Tanzania (left) and the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, bishop of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (right)
Download the full statement