So says Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev at the opening session of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.
Many Christians worldwide look to Christian leaders in the hope that they will defend Christianity against the challenges that it faces. It is not our task to defend Sharia law, or to commend alternative lifestyles or to promote secular values. Our holy mission is to preach what Christ preached, to teach what the apostles taught and to propagate what the holy Fathers propagated. It is this witness which people are expecting of us.
In the shadow of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent comments this bears further reading.
