The presence of many renown scholars, diplomats and policy-makers will make these next few days very interesting in that they will bring up some thorny issues and offer solutions at the same time. Attention will be focused on the modern Republic of Turkey and the conditions for the religious populations of Alevi Muslims, Armenians, Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Jews, Protestants and Syriacs.
We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and drove out of Brussels to Chevetogne. We then spent some time visiting The Monastery of Chevetogne which was founded in 1925 by Dom Lambert Beauduin (1873-1960). This monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Mont Cesar (Louvain) was previously deeply involved with the liturgical movement in Belgium. When he came to know the Orthodox Christian East, he realized the extent to which the Churches were divided, and started to work for a foundation of a monastery devoted to Christian unity between Rome and the Orthodox Christian world. In the Monastery, there is a Byzantine church built as a permanent and visible sign of the constant prayer for unity of the Christian community and for all to see the spiritual treasures of the Christian East. The Church is dedicated to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (1957).
Upon our return to Brussels, we enjoyed lunch then began an orientation tour of this fabulous city! The tour included a walking visit of the Grand Place and its Corporation Houses. The Grand Place is Brussels’ top tourist attraction, due to the Gothic magnificence of the Town Hall and the late 17th Century Baroque guildhouses surrounding the square. Everyone could appreciate the Palace’s majestic front gates and monumental staircase. The original Palace has been enhanced over the years by the addition of contemporary pieces of installation art commissioned by Queen Paolo. Worth mentioning is Jan Fabre’s ceiling, covered with 1.5 million wing-cases from Thai scarab beetles.
Among the sites we saw with our motorcoach tour are the Royal Square, the Sablon area, the Palace of Justice, the Royal Palace of Brussels, where the King works, and the European Union Buildings. The European Union is a miniature city-within-a-city. The European Parliament, which proudly overlooks the European District, is the largest Parliament in the world. Its members represent 492 million citizens in 27 member states.
In addition, we saw the Atomium, one of the symbols of Belgium and a remnant of the 1958 World Exposition in Brussels. It overlooks the cityscape from a height of approximately 300 feet. It symbolizes Modernist optimism and is considered one of the most important buildings of the 1950’s. Five of its nine spheres are open to the public. One sphere houses a permanent exhibition about the 1958 Exposition. Another is home to temporary exhibitions about science, progress and the future. The topmost sphere contains a viewing gallery with a unique panoramic view of Brussels. In the evening, 2,970 flashing lights make the city look magical!
From there we continued to the Chinese Pavilion and the Japanese Tower. The Chinese Pavilion was commissioned by King Leopold II. The halls are designed in Louis XIV-style and decorated with Chinese motifs, chinaware and silverware. The Japanese Tower is a pagoda inspired by a construction Leopold saw at the Paris Exposition of 1900. King Leopold II asked its architect, Alexandre Marcel, to build him a similar one in Laeken. Onwards to the Royal Palace of Laeken, the official home of the Belgium Royal Family. The castle was built between 1782 - 1784 by Charles de Wailly. The French architect Charles Girault gave it its present outline in 1902. It has been the royal residence since the accession to the throne of King Leopold I in 1831. Next we saw several religious buildings, such as the Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral.
In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Leuven, brought the relics of Saint Gudula here. The patron Saints of the church, Archangel Michael and the martyr St. Gudula, are also the patron Saints of the city of Brussels. Among the last stops was the Jubilee Arch in Jubel Park. We returned to the hotel after a very full and inspiring day of fellowship and sightseeing.
Aside from all of this today I had the privilege of meeting some of the speakers at the conference and did short video and audio interviews with them that are posted here. Tomorrow and Wednesday when we attend the conference at the EU we will attempt to bring you as many of the talks as humanly possible. Truly this is a marvelous and intriguing conference. Great thanks to George Rockas for organizing a true line up of stellar individual speakers assisted by John Savitsanos. I for one am very impressed as I know you will be too.
Interviews included are:
Mine Yildirim
Representative of the Protestant Community
Member, Committee of Religious and Legal Affairs
Association of Protestant Churches
Istanbul, Turkey
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Dr. Emre Oktem,
Assistant Professor, Galatasaray University
Istanbul, Turkey
Moderator for Panel Discussion: The Specific Religious Freedom Issues and
Concerns of the following Minorities: Alevi Muslim ;Armenian; Catholic ; Greek Orthodox ; Jewish ; Protestant ; and Syriac.
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Johnny Messo Representative of the Syriac Community
President of the Syriac Universal Alliance
Hengelo, Netherlands
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Muna B. Ndulo Professor of Law, Cornell University
Director of Cornell’s Institute for African Development
Human Rights Advocate and Humanitarian
Legal and Human Rights Perspectives
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Mustafa Akyol Journalist and Political Commentator
Istanbul, Turkey
The View from the Turkish Side of the Bridge: Obstacles and Prospects
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Dr. Bican Sahin Assistant Professor, Hacettepe University
President, Association of Liberal Thinking
Ankara, Turkey
Are Religious Minorities Compatible with a secular Turkish State?
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Dr. Steven Ealy Senior Fellow, Liberty Fund
Indianapolis, Indiana
Moderator
Symposium : Interactive Dialogue regarding Religious Freedom in Turkey.
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After the interviews were completed we gathered for dinner in one of the ball rooms of the hotel to hear His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America who offered some moving comments as we open the conference. Tomorrow we all rise early for a 7:30 AM departure for the EU. Please keep the speakers and the participants of this pilgrimage in your prayers.
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America
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