www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News About time...

Someone stands up to the hagarenes and puts the shoe on the other foot!

http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/belief-blog/2008/Dec/03/russian-church-saudi-mosque/

A Russian church for a Saudi mosque?

This delightful story just came in thanks to getreligion.org: The Saudis have recently asked permission to build a mosque in Moscow, a city where there are only four mosques and 2 million Muslims. The Russians, however, are saying they want, in return, an Orthodox church in Saudi Arabia.

As we all know, the Saudis have a habit of constructing mosques in dozens of world capitals while forbidding houses of worship for any religion whatsoever outside its Wahabist brand of Islam. They've gotten some bad PR locally for some of the hate language in textbooks at the Saudi Academy in northern Virginia. Not only are hapless Christians terrorized and jailed for daring to hold private prayer services in Saudi Arabia, but God help them should they try to convert someone to their religion. And that's for a fellow People of
the Book: One can only guess at what the treatment of Buddhists and Hindus must be like.

Wouldn't it be so ironic if the Russians were the first Christian body to win acceptance of the right to build a church in, say, Riyadh? (Some of the Russians are calling for a church in Mecca, but the chances of any other religion getting a foothold within walking distance of the world center of Islam is less than zero.) Of course we all know the Saudis aren't about ready to let Bibles or other religious literature, let alone a church, anywhere near their homeland, but all the same, it's amusing to see the Russians give the
Saudis a taste of their own medicine.

-Julia Duin, religion editor


Alexandr

Excellent .

Bravo,
now lets consider closing all the mosques in Western lands until there is an end of the persecutions of Christians in these lands!
Stephanos I

It will be very interesting to follow this story and see how it develops

HA HA HA....


Serves them right! I HOPE that the Russians persist on this!!

Good for the bravery of the Russians!

The Saudis have recently asked permission to build a mosque in Moscow, a city where there are only four mosques and 2 million Muslims. The Russians, however, are saying they want, in return, an Orthodox church in Saudi Arabia.

rofl here - glory to God! Good for them - the Russians that is

Maybe people are finally starting to get the message. Yesterday there was an editorial page commentary in our newspaper calling for the closing of all mosques and madrassas in this country and in Western Europe.

BOB

Praised be Jesus Christ

This is great news

Not in our time!

Formalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Vatican has been languishing for years now because of this issue of "religious freedom" in the Kingdom.

The Catholic Church has been at the forefront for the allowance of Christian Churches in Saudi Arabia but the Kingdom has not budged a bit. There are between 1.5 and 2.5 million Christians, mostly Catholic immigrant workers, in the Kingdom denied of their "right" to practice their faith.

During the historic first visit of a Saudi monarch (the current King Abdullah) to the Vatican in November 2007, mention was made of "the positive and industrious presence of Christians” throughout the Kingdom, short of a formal request by Pope Benedict XVI for Churches to be allowed. (Surrounding Arab countries have allowed Catholic Churches to be built, like in Kuwait, Qatar, and in the United Arab Emirates.)

As the guardian of the 2 holiest sites of Islam, Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, the King has the final say if and when Churches will ever be allowed.

Amado

Islam does not consider other religions to be its equals in any sense; strictly speaking other religions ought not to exist in the Islamic view.

Some of the smaller countries bordering Saudi Arabia do, however, extend a modicum of religious liberty to some Christians.

In Riyadh, a few of the embassies maintain chapels or quasi-chapels for their own nationals, but are not about to open the doors to Saudi citizens.

During the Gulf War, the Americans insisted on bringing in chaplains and having services, particularly for Christians. The Saudis were unhappy about this, to put it mildly. Mohammedans yelled and screamed that this was an intolerable defilement of their "sacred country".

From the tyrrany of the Hagarenes, O Lord, deliver us!

Fr. Serge

Dear Fr. Serge:

I think the current belief among Saudi Wahhabists is that the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is, in itself, a "mosque," not to be defiled by the presence of other religions, much less of Christianity!

Amado

How bout they get Turkey to return Hagia Sophia and a Church in the Saudi Capital? Heck, if we are asking for Hell to freeze over, we might as well go for the gold.

Well, I don't think Islam is Christianity's equal and I don't think that other religions should exist, either. But unfortunately they do, and their practitioners have a right to their delusions, just as we should in the eyes of Muslims.

Truth be told, if King Abdullah ever allowed churches to be built in Saudi Arabia, jihad would be declared in many corners both within and without the Kingdom and he would be assassinated with haste. So you can't really blame the man; you've really just got to blame their entire twisted system.

Alexis

Atleast one shining star of cooperation and tolerance in the Middle East:

Gulf's first Greek Orthodox church finds Dubai home
Posted on Tue May 22 2007

Gulf News

05/20/2007 | By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Work is due to begin in about a week's time on a church that is set to be the first of its kind in the Gulf.

St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church will be built in traditional Byzantine design on land donated by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The building will cost a total of about Dh15m and already about one quarter of the final cost has been covered by donations of money, materials and labour.

John Theodory, an Arab Canadian who is chairman of the church committee, said construction would take one-and-a-half years.

"It's really something. It is quite an achievement. People have been really enthusiastic with their support by making donations or offering materials and things are really working fast now. We have enough to start on the project without hesitation," he said.

In Byzantine design

Final permission to commence construction was received about three weeks ago, and Theodory said he hoped contractors would begin preparing the site, an 1,800 square metre plot of land in Jebel Ali, later this month with actual construction set to begin next month.

Iraq has a Greek Orthodox church and there is one in a rented villa in Kuwait, but St Mary's will reportedly be the first Greek Orthodox church built in Byzantine design in the Gulf region.

Greek Orthodox Christians in the UAE so long had to use other churches for their services, which regularly attract as many as 400 people, swelling to 2,000 during major Christian events such as Easter.

The new church will have a main hall with a capacity of about 400 worshippers, plus a gallery with space for a further 100 or so.

Much of the work on the basement of the church is being done for free by a contractor, Theodory said.

Efforts will be on to raise the remaining funds to finish the construction, both by generating donations and securing materials and labour from contractors.

Services are likely to be conducted in Arabic and Greek for worshippers from Russia, Syria, Greece, the Ukraine and Cyprus, among other places.

No new mosques should be allowed in any christian country until the Turks give the Hagia Sophia back to the Ecumenical Patriarch and allow the re opening of his seminary.