Greek Orthodox Christians Pray With Muslims At Same Service – Russian Prayer Beads

Unity In God - Image Source Pravmir.com 

Perhaps one of the most interesting stories that I recently ran into was that of peace, love, and the true meaning of Christ’s love. Whether you’re in agreement with orthodoxy, pray with Russian Prayer Beads or you’re just a spiritual journeyman, consider how some news doesn’t get into the mainstream. For instance, this story that was posted on pravmir.com about Muslims and Christians praying at the same service.

The article was posted earlier this year, and it was fascinating to see the reaction. Readers of the site had a lot of negativity to throw at the notion that a person of Orthodox faith would in fact pray with Muslims, calling Islam heretical. Is Islam a matter of heresy? That’s something that some will debate, and miss the power of the union of two faiths.

I do not wish to argue about the issue, but rather express reverence in the response that comes from Archpriest Panayiotis Papageorgiou PH.D. in response to the negativity. He cites a love and peace between people. Even going as far as to remind that Jesus spoke about love, and mercy to the “least of these”, and you know what, that makes a lot of sense.

Perhaps instead of arguing, we can gather together and show grace, and mercy to those that are struggling. The context of the joint prayer meeting, with priests clutching Russian Prayer Beads, and Muslims bowing in honor of Allah, showcases a beauty in that God is infinite, and our finite minds try to put the words and ideas into a box.

If ever there was an example of God’s grace, it’s found in this image from pravmir.com (above). It highlights how God is not isolated to just one arena. Why would these two religious groups join for prayer? It was because of thousands of Syrian refugees that drowned trying to escape tyranny. Now, if that’s not a reason to clutch your Russian Prayer Beads and pray a bit for God to give them mercy, I don’t know what is.

Acknowledgement

Papageorgiou, Panayiotis, PH.D. "The Joint Prayer of Muslims and Orthodox Christians: Violation of Canons or Expression of Love?" A Russian Orthodox Church Website RSS. Pravmir.com, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Dec. 2015.

Further Reading

http://www.pravmir.com/the-joint-prayer-of-muslims-and-orthodox-christians-violation-of-canons-or-expression-of-love/

For the Unity of All: Contributions to the Theological Dialogue between East and West by John Panteleimon Manoussakis (paperback)