Sins Before our Eyes

At a forum in Istanbul the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I have pledged to fight modern slavery signing a joint declaration.

Titled “Sins Before our Eyes” the forum opened up discussion on the tragedy of modern slavery. “Slavery is all around us, but we are too blind to see it. The enslaved are next to us in the streets, but we are too ignorant to walk alongside them. It is still a living reality in all of our communities; our sin lies in blindness and ignorance” said Archbishop Welby.

The forum brought together distinguished scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to discuss modern slavery and emphasize the protection of human dignity and freedom as of vital importance for the Church as well as worldwide religious and human-rights communities. 

Together they have vowed to:

• Condemn all forms of human enslavement
• Commend the efforts of the international community
• Pray for all victims
• Repent for not doing enough to curb modern day slavery
• Appeal to governments to implement strict modern day slavery laws
• Urge members of the Orthodox Church and Church of England to become educated, raise awareness and take action
• Commit to establish a joint taskforce for modern day slavery, looking at ways for how the Orthodox Church and the Church of England can work together

Pictured, The Archbishop of Canterbury (left) alongside His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople

The full article is avaliable on the Anglican news website