Tbilisi / Moscow
In Tbilisi in October 2014, 10 leaders of various religions (including not only Christians but also Yazidis, Jews and Muslims) were invited to visit with Georgian President Georgii Marvelashvili and his wife about violence in Georgian society, including violence against women, and what religious communities might do about it. Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen represented the Lutheran church there. The reason for the president to issue this invitation was the wave of violent murders of women that have shaken up Georgian society over the past few months. These acts of violence were committed in the family, and the Georgian president asked the opinions of religious leaders about the reasons for this. The common opinion was seen as being the tension in society between traditional society, which puts men in the foreground, and the reality of the situation on the ground, where many men are not together with their families or are out of work and women take on the responsibility of supporting the family. Bishop Kiderlin noted that it was very interesting to see that none of the religious leaders disagreed with the position of the representative of the Muslim community, who said that religions do not support the traditional privileges of men and moreover, that all religions, including Islam, support equal respect and equal rights between men and women. The president also agreed and asked participants to find ways to call their congregational members to respect women and to maintain equal access to education. Bishop Kiderlin pointed out the need for congregations to do pastoral care in order to find a way of solving problems without violence.
In Moscow on October 16th Archbishop Dietrich Brauer took part in the conference organized by the city of Moscow - “Religion and Peace.” The theme of the conference were the questions of peace and war and also the place of religion in modern large cities and the service work of denominations. Dietrich Brauer presented the work of the St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Moscow and spoke about the contribution of the Lutheran church to the life of the city – kindergartens, Christian theater, a place for exhibitions and organ concerns. In this way the Lutheran church is not only developing its own, individual spiritual life, but also is strengthening the ties among people, uniting them in Christian community and spreading the good news in contemporary secular society.
In Tbilisi in October 2014, 10 leaders of various religions (including not only Christians but also Yazidis, Jews and Muslims) were invited to visit with Georgian President Georgii Marvelashvili and his wife about violence in Georgian society, including violence against women, and what religious communities might do about it. Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen represented the Lutheran church there. The reason for the president to issue this invitation was the wave of violent murders of women that have shaken up Georgian society over the past few months. These acts of violence were committed in the family, and the Georgian president asked the opinions of religious leaders about the reasons for this. The common opinion was seen as being the tension in society between traditional society, which puts men in the foreground, and the reality of the situation on the ground, where many men are not together with their families or are out of work and women take on the responsibility of supporting the family. Bishop Kiderlin noted that it was very interesting to see that none of the religious leaders disagreed with the position of the representative of the Muslim community, who said that religions do not support the traditional privileges of men and moreover, that all religions, including Islam, support equal respect and equal rights between men and women. The president also agreed and asked participants to find ways to call their congregational members to respect women and to maintain equal access to education. Bishop Kiderlin pointed out the need for congregations to do pastoral care in order to find a way of solving problems without violence.
In Moscow on October 16th Archbishop Dietrich Brauer took part in the conference organized by the city of Moscow - “Religion and Peace.” The theme of the conference were the questions of peace and war and also the place of religion in modern large cities and the service work of denominations. Dietrich Brauer presented the work of the St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Moscow and spoke about the contribution of the Lutheran church to the life of the city – kindergartens, Christian theater, a place for exhibitions and organ concerns. In this way the Lutheran church is not only developing its own, individual spiritual life, but also is strengthening the ties among people, uniting them in Christian community and spreading the good news in contemporary secular society.
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