27 September 2024
In the past days, we had the honour to host guests from the Holy Land, representatives of the ancient Native Christian community in Palestine. Our guests were H. E. Amira Hanania, member of the Higher Presidental Committe of Churches Affairs in Palestine, Fr. Fadi Diab, Rector of the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and Fr. Sandro Tomašević, representative of the administration of the Custody of the Holy Land.
The delegation conducted a meeting with the Slovak Parliament Committee for International Affairs, and then held a briefing for representatives of EU member states in Slovakia. The next day, we were invited as speakers to seminar in the Quo Vadis house in Bratislava, organised by the Episcopal Commission for Ecumenism of KBS and Faculty of Theology of University of Trnava. On the same day, we had the honour to meet with Mons. ICDr. Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský of Bratislava. Finally, we had the chance to visit the historical city of Nitra, nicknamed the „Betlehem of Slovakia “.
During all meetings, the delegation informed Slovak representatives of the dire situation of the Native Christian community in Palestine, that is facing extinction due to decades long occupational policies, aggression, and daily practices of illegal Israeli settlers and the IOF that affect all Palestinians, regardless of their religion. Their statements were met with sympathies, and many questions, all of which were extensively answered.
