SPEAKERS
Posted on 08/19/2014 1:46:48 PM PDT by NYer
The mission of IDC is threefold: awareness, advocacy and unity. First, IDC hopes to increase awareness among our fellow citizens, the media, and policymakers about the faith and courage of those persecuted individuals and communities in the Middle East, particularly Christians and religious minorities, whose plight is worsening by the day.
We are told in Hebrews 13 to continue to remember those mistreated as if we ourselves are suffering. As Christians, we are called to band together to shine a bright light on this ongoing, deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and to make it an issue of urgency for our fellow faithful Christians and policymakers alike.
IDC will serve as their advocates, in the hope that in doing so we can inspire action and commitment to bring hope and justice to our brethren in our shared faith. Those of us engaged in this endeavor are blessed to live in a nation founded on a principle of religious freedom, so we view it as a duty and an honor to aid, protect and promote Christian and religious minority communities struggling to survive in their ancient homelands. And IDC hopes to foster unity of Christians in the United States and throughout the world.
The Summit presented by IDC with the participation of the Vatican’s Congregation for Oriental Churches, with the cooperation of our honored brothers and sisters from the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Maronite Catholic Church, Armenian Catholic and Orthodox churches, Anglican, and Evangelical Christian denominations, and will begin with an ecumenical prayer service, followed by a reception at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. The Summit will culminate with an event on Capitol Hill, and include a question and answer sessions and opportunities to meet key policy makers. It is also an opportunity for the various attendees to examine how best to engage our Muslim brothers and sisters, who also suffer terribly from the violent extremism that plagues much of the region.
Among the distinguished speakers already committed to attend include His Eminence and Beatitude Bechara Boutros al-Rahi - Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II - Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, His Eminence Leonard Cardinal Sandri - Prefect of the Holy See’s Congregation for Oriental Churches, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I - Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, His Beatitude Moran Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan - Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syrians, His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, His Excellency, Bishop Emeritus Ibrahim Ibrahim of the Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle, James Zogby, Congressman Ted Deutch, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, and Ambassador Tom Farr of Georgetown University, Nina Shea of The Hudson Institute, and Nermien Riad of Coptic Orphans.
This two-day Summit will provide an opportunity to join with the Diaspora of Christian and religious minority communities to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters, and to hear from distinguished lay and religious speakers on the front lines of providing humanitarian relief, shaping public policy, or ministering to the spiritual needs of those suffering at the hands of brutal regimes focused on extinguishing the light of faith in the land where Christ lived, taught and sacrificed for us.
The Plight of Christians - IDC Summit Video
Prayer/Mass intention!!
This truly is an amazing gathering of individuals from across the globe. It is the first time this will be held in the US. The most important message of this summit is that we must abandon prejudices and pull together in a unified response to what has to be the most oppressive predator in recent history.
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