Newsarchive Member Updates
(05.07.2010) European Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett has just ended his four-day visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. During his visit he met with the interim president and participated in the inauguration ceremony together with some 2000 people from inside and outside Kyrgyzstan. More
(30.06.2010) European Council of Religious Leaders Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett, will for the next four days be visiting Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It is the interim president Rosa Otunbayeva who has invited Bishop Stålsett. The ECRL Moderator will have meetings with the interim government and the acting president as well as with the religious leaders in the country and representatives from civil society. More
(24.06.2010) As part of religious leaders' effort to exercise stronger, more visible and practical leadership in response to the HIV pandemic, some 37 high level religious leaders have addressed the heads of the G8 states; Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States. ECRL Moderator Bishop Gunnar Stålsett and ECRL member Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh are among the signatories together with Religions for Peace Co-Presidents The Most Rev. John Onaiyekan, RC Archbishop of Abuja, and Rabbi David Rosen, The Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Honorary Advisor on Interreligious Affairs. More
(28.04.2010) On Wednesday 28 April ECRL concluded its annual meeting in Istanbul and issued the Istanbul Declaration on Tolerance: Our Commitment to Justice, Equality and Sharing which also reflects the meeting’s main theme.
“Tolerance is an active recognition of diversity and means respecting the otherness of the other with whom we differ religiously, culturally, or otherwise, with compassion and benevolence. Tolerance does not mean unconditional approval of the ideas of others nor of the way they live their lives. Tolerance means respecting the other’s human rights, but not necessarily sharing his or her viewpoints.”
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(26.04.2010) The European Council of Religious Leaders - Religions for Peace annual meeting opened in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday 26 April 2010. The meeting lasts until Wednesday and the main theme is “At the Crossroads: Justice, Equality and Sharing as a Basis for Cultures of Peace”.
Dr A Hadi Adanali, the adviser to the Turkish Prime Minister on intercultural affairs, gave the key note address in the opening session of the meeting. He presented the Turkish government’s initiatives linked to the Alliance of Civilisation process; “The first decade of the 21st century has seen a growing recognition of the role of religion in the meeting of cultures,” he said, and also emphasised the necessity in our time for religious leaders to understand and interact with youth culture.
In his report to the council, ECRL Moderator Bishop Gunnar Stålsett, placed the work of the council within the context or present day challenges for religions in Europe:
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(26.04.2010) In a session during the council meeting in Istanbul on 26 April 2010 the Executive Committee of the European Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ECRL) appointed Mr. Stein Villumstad as a new General Secretary from 1. January 2011. Mr. Villumstad is currently Deputy Secretary General of Religions for Peace International. “It is with honour and humility I accept the appointment as the new General Secretary of ECRL. Since its inception ECRL has proven its importance in promoting peace and social cohesion in Europe. I will use my experience from a global Religions for Peace perspective to the best of my ability to further promote the vision of ECRL,” said Mr. Villumstad who is present at the ECRL meeting.
ECRL Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett said: ”With the appointment of Mr. Stein Villumstad ECRL is blessed with an exceptionally skilled person with broad experience including the experience from development and church work with Norwegian Church Aid and global interreligious work with Religions for Peace International.”
Mr. Villumstad will succeed Revd Vebjørn L. Horsfjord who will leave ECRL 30 November 2010 to take up a position as a research fellow in theology at the University of Oslo. In the council meeting in Istanbul members expressed their gratitude to Revd Horsfjord for his dedicated service to ECRL over the last four years.
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(16.04.2010) The European Council of Religious Leaders - Religions for Peace will meet for their annual meeting on 26 - 28 April 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting is generously hosted by ECRL member HE Prof. Dr Ali Bardakoglu, President of Religious Affairs in Turkey.
The main theme of the council meeting will be: “At the Crossroads: Justice, Equality and Sharing as a Basis for Cultures of Peace”, and the council will address the issue of minorities’ situation in Europe including the banning of minarets in Switzerland November 2009.
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(13.11.2009) The council meeting will be generously hosted by ECRL member Professor Dr Ali Bardakoglu. More
(21.10.2009) The executive committee of the European Council of Religious Leaders met in Tirana, Albania on 21 October 2009 under the headline “a Culture of Peace” continuing deliberations started in the council meeting in Lille, France last May. Among important issues on the agenda was a Code on Holy Sites. “How we deal with holy sites is a burning issue in Albania. We can immediately endorse this document,” said Archbishop Anastasios, the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church. The document offers a vision of a code of conduct on holy sites, dealing especially with situations when two or more religions share the same space. It has been developed through a two year process involving religious leaders from Europe and the Middle East. UNESCO has already endorsed the docent and The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights has invited ECRL to study and endorse it. The executive committee voted to receive the document with appreciation and recommend it for study within the Religions for Peace network. More
(20.10.2009) ECRL hold their biannual executive committee meeting in Tirana, Albania 21 – 22 October 2009. The executive committee will address the current situation in Europe by going into the theme “A Culture of Peace”. This is a continuation of a discussion the council began in Lille, France in May this year. The executive committee will hear Mr Etienne de Jonghe, representing Godfried Cardinal Danneels and former Director of Pax Christie International speak on the theme. The executive committee will also study “Code of Conduct for Holy Sites” and take care of business issues including finance and plans for 2010. More
(27.05.2009) Wednesday 27 May 2009 ECRL concluded their annual council meeting, in Lille, France issuing the Lille Declaration on a Culture of Peace which also reflects the meeting’s main theme.
Tuesday morning Dr. Fedrico Mayor, former Director General of UNESCO and currently Co-President for the high level group of the Alliance of Civilisations in his keynote address said that a culture of peace must be built by all and he called upon the religious leaders to take part. Dr. Mayor says: “We must move from talk to action. Building a culture of peace requires that we share the resources between all peoples, that we care for each other and that we dare to act.”
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(26.05.2009) Monday 25 May 2009 the European Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ECRL) annual meeting opened in Lille, France. The meeting will last until Wednesday and the main theme is “the Role of Religions in a Culture of Peace in Europe”.
In his opening speech the Moderator, Bishop Emeritus Gunnar Stålsett said that religions do have a role in building a culture of peace in Europe. Bishop Srålsett says: “This is an invitation to speak about not only the problems facing Europe today, but also with hope for the future. We approach this theme with all due humility as we recognize that religion also in our European history up to our days has been exploited for hatred and violence. Ours is the task to define the positive potential of faith in the personal life for the many millions of Europeans and the positive role religion may play in shaping the present and the future of this continent. Here the leadership of all faith communities has a great responsibility, and it is our unique role as a council to sustain this mission. To reach this sacred goal we seek the cooperation with a great network of networks on local and national levels. It is with great satisfaction we have seen the strengthening of links to such pan-European institutions as the European Commission and the Council of Europe. We believe that there are positive synergies to be developed which could serve a common vision for Europe as a continent of peace, reconciliation and hope.”
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(20.05.2009) Religions for Peace – European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL) hold their annual Council Meeting in Lille, France 25 – 27 May 2009.
Tuesday morning on the 26th Dr. Fedrico Mayor, former Director General of UNESCO and currently Co-President for the high level group of the Alliance of Civilisations will give a keynote address on the council meeting’s main theme: “the Role of Religions in a Culture of Peace in Europe.” This part of the meeting is open to the press.
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(15.04.2009) ECRL General Secretary Vebjørn Horsfjord has announced to members that Dr. Federico Mayor will give the key note address at the Council’s annual meeting which is being planned for Lille, France, on 25 to 27 May. Dr. Mayor is the former Director General of UNESCO and currently Co-President for the high level group of the Alliance of Civilisations. He will speak on the main theme of the meeting: “The Role of Religions within a Culture of Peace in Europe”. More
(05.03.2009) This edition of the European Council of Religious Leaders’ Secretariat Update consists of two sections. The first includes short pieces of information on a range of the activities of the secretariat and other information of interest to ECRL associates. The news section covers the period of the last eight months. The second section includes more generic information about ECRL. More
