Phanar: All religions are myriads of paths leading to one God
Archbishop Elpidophoros, a representative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, believes that all religions are equal, and one should not be put above the other.
On July 15, 2021, the head of the Archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the United States, Archbishop Elpidophoros, speaking in New York at the International Religious Freedom Summit, said that all religions are "myriads of paths leading to the same place".
In a report on "religious nationalism" and "nationalistic religions," Archbishop Elpidophoros noted that in the United States, "independent religious bodies with charismatic leaders are using the public, political sphere to advance their own agendas".
On the other hand, he noted that there is a distinct "religious nationalism" in Iran, which is "a full-blown attempt at theocracy by a seeming majority".
The Phanar representative is sure that “to see a spiritual basis for the State is to create a stratification of society along religious lines, a spiritual apartheid, if you will. The result is a monolithic society unyielding to diversity”, says Archbishop Elpidophoros.
He emphasized that "you elevate one religion above all others, it is as if you decide there is only one path leading to the top of the mountain".
“The truth is you simply cannot see the myriads of paths that lead to the same destination, because you are surrounded by boulders of prejudice that obscure your view,” Archbishop Elpidophoros believes.
As reported earlier, the head of Phanar called other religions "the wealth of the sons of God" and, according to Archbishop Elpidophoros, "Patriarch Bartholomew went beyond the Abrahamic religions".
