An Israeli airstrike hit the grounds of the historic Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City.

0:00 Speaker 1 With us this Sunday morning is Father Alex Carlusos, representing the Greek Orthodox SiGe Diocese of North America and as well as the Patriarch of Constantinople. Good morning, Father Alex. Nice to catch you nice and early before church this morning.

0:19 Tell us there’s so much suffering in the Middle East. The Muslims are suffering, the Israelis are suffering, but the untold story is that the Christians are suffering a great deal. Can you fill in all America back then?

0:36 Speaker 2 Well, indeed, the Christians have been suffering. But you know, we’re all, as they say it in the ab Abraham Accords, we’re all sons and daughters of Abraham spiritually and cultural. We go back to our the patriarch of what they consider the monofistic faiths, the Jewish, the christ and the Muslims.

1:02 And indeed, everybody’s grieving in the world about what’s going on. But the Christians have suffered. At one time. Of course, Christ was born in Bethlehem. The Holy Lands are called the Holy Lands for millions around or billions around the world because of Christ’s birth, his death, and resurrection, and it was many many years just filled with Christians but

1:29 now between the conflicts that continuously occur between the Muslim and the Jewish communities, the fighting of Indeed, we said, the sons and daughters of Abraham, you have this great conflict. For example, the hospital that was inadvertently bonded, how whatever tragic that was. That hospital was a Anglican Episcopal hospital in Gaza, so it shows the Christian roots. The church

2:01 that was destroyed, not destroyed, but the walls are badly damaged. Over twenty people were murdered the Saint port Fedia’s Greek Orthodox church. That church was there since eleven fifty so now and that was predominantly a Christian world, and now it’s less and less. So there’s been a movement out because people want to live freely. We take, for example,

2:31 we can make this phone call early in the morning and talk about these issues openly and freely. But unfortunately there are parts of the world, and now in the Middle East, where people can’t talk civilly, people can’t express to each other different opinions. So the tragedy is that the Christians are leaving the Holy Land, and the greatest

2:54 population of Christians are when Christians from the round are around the world gathered there as pilgrims. It’s not that they live there, it’s that there are more people visiting the Holy Lands that are Christians than actually live there today.

3:12 Speaker 1 So where where are they actually moving to? If it’s a.

3:19 Speaker 2 Well, well, yeah, they’re moving to different Christians.

3:23 Speaker 1 There are a lot of Christians in the Middle East, and so they’re being uh, I guess moved.

3:33 Speaker 2 Well what happens is is that they’re looking for opportunities. They would stay there if they had no children, but once you have children, then you move to a better place so your child could have a better future. Just like your mom and dad left the island of Niso and Greece, which is one of the most beautiful places

3:56 in the world, but they wanted their son to achieve the great American dream. So to the Palestinians, so to the Jewish Israelis, and so the Muslims, because they’re Palestinian Christians, they’re Palestinian Muslims. And so what they do is they move on to different places in Europe. They go to Greece, many of them. So this is what happens when there’s

4:21 constant conflict. Can you imagine every day we’re concerned about the streets of New York because of the insanities going on here. But can you imagine bombings that you go to the hospital and all of a sudden a bomb hits you when your child is about ready to be born or your mother is about ready to die. Or

4:45 can you imagine going to a church or a synagogue or a temple, or whether it’s a mosque and can’t feel safe even in the mosque. And we saw that that occurred in the synagogues, for example, in Pittsburgh and across the country because of anti Semitism. So this is a real different struggle. We need great leadership from our

5:11 political leaders. Are religious leaders, the religious leaders you should know, John, the Christian religious leaders and patriarchs faioful as you know very well. And you were there when Pope Francis prayed with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the Holy Lens at the Holy Sepulcher. You were there. You’re one of the few hundred people from around the world that were allowed into

5:38 that service. They prayed for peace, they prayed for shalom. But this unfortunately there where the Holy Sepulcher, where the light, the unwinning light of Christ goes to the world to bring joy and peace. There’s no joy right now, and there’s no peace. It’s a real struggle. But the Christians want to remain. They’re steadfast in their faith that’s been

6:03 there for two thousand years since the Resurrection of Christ. All the shrines in the Holy Lands are in Greek Orthodox hands because they are the oldest religious establishment outside of let’s say, the brothers and sisters of the Hebrave Faith.

6:22 But the Christians want to remain, they’ll struggle to remain. We pray for them to have peace, and the only way for them to have peace is our Muslim brothers and sisters to have peace, our Jewish brothers and sisters to have peace. We condemn what happened when Hamas abducted these people. Innocent people are slaughtered and murdered. We have

6:46 to respond to them. But again I remind everybody what a Hindu said, Gandhi, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Leave the world have blind and toothless. Let’s keep our eyes open and let’s have a radiant smile. In the name of God and the name of Love, in the name of our humanity. We

7:12 need to survive as brothers disasters.

7:16 Speaker 1 Thank you so much for giving us an update, in giving us a prayer and lighting extra candle in church when you’re in church.

7:25 Speaker 2 Thank you, John, God bless you. My love to Margaret that gets my mother, friend,