ВFrom 22 to 26 June, Skopje hosted the Fourth World Conference on Religious Dialogue and Cooperation, which this year was dedicated to the highly relevant and complex theme: “Religion as a Weapon of War: Past, Present and Future.”
The official opening of the Conference took place on 22 June at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in Skopje. Addresses were delivered by His Beatitude Stefan, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia and of Justiniana Prima, and by the head of the Islamic Religious Community, Reis-ul-Ulema Shaqir Fetai. The working sessions of this major academic gathering were held at the Macedonian Village complex.
The international conference was organised by the Centre for Intercultural Studies and Research at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, part of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The organisation of this exceptionally important event was led by distinguished professors from the Faculty of Philosophy, foremost among them Prof. Dr Zoran Matevski and Prof. Dr Ratko Duev.
This year, the Conference brought together 79 eminent professors, scholars, researchers and diplomats from several continents. Among them were a number of prominent figures and internationally recognised authorities: Prof. Massimo Introvigne of Italy, founder and managing director of the Centre for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) and one of the world’s foremost experts on new religious movements; Prof. Pablo Argárate of Austria, holder of the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for South-East Europe; Prof. James Kay of the United States, former dean and vice-president of the renowned Princeton Theological Seminary; Prof. Balázs M. Mezei of Hungary, one of the most distinguished contemporary philosophers of religion; and Prof. Mark K. Lee of the United States, dean and president of Bexley Seabury Seminary, who also served as the keynote speaker.
The gathering also brought together numerous researchers from the United States, Canada, Israel, Iran, Taiwan, Argentina, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and other countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America.
With the blessing of her Elder, His Grace Bishop Partenij of Antania, Nun Efimija of the Monastery of St George the Victorious in Rajčica also participated in this significant international academic forum, presenting her scholarly paper during an official plenary session.
Sister Efimija’s paper, entitled “From Individual Freedom to State Weapon: International Legal Standards and the Instrumentalisation of the Christian Ethos in Armed Conflicts,” attracted considerable interest among scholars and specialists.
In her presentation, Sister Efimija addressed one of the greatest paradoxes of the present day: how the Christian ethos, which in its ontological foundation is rooted in peace and love, becomes instrumentalised in times of acute security crises and employed as a means of pursuing military and political objectives, thereby endangering fundamental human rights and religious freedoms. The principal focus of her paper was the strict three-part test applied by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as well as the mechanisms of international law intended to prevent this troubling trend.
Stavrophore Protopresbyter Boban Mitevski also presented a paper during the working sessions. His paper was entitled “Security Planning and Risk Assessment in Religious Communities in the Republic of North Macedonia: A Review of the MOC-OA.”
Nun Efimija’s participation in this important international academic forum offers further testimony to the vibrant mission of our monasteries, which actively contribute to contemporary intellectual and theological discussions concerning the preservation of human dignity and authentic Christian values.
