Meeting with Michael Roth
On December 7th the Bishop of the Church, Rev. Jerzy Samiec, met in the Lutheran Center with the German Minister for European Affairs, Michael Roth.
On December 7th the Bishop of the Church, Rev. Jerzy Samiec, met in the Lutheran Center with the German Minister for European Affairs, Michael Roth, who was accompanied by Martin Kremer, Head of Division for Central Europe in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Alexander Abel, minister Roth’s coworker in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Marco Gutekunst, Deputy Head of the Political Department in the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Warsaw.
Among the Polish participants there were also Prof. Rev. Bogusław Milerski, Rector of the Christian Academy of Theology in Warsaw, Prof. Jarosław Płuciennik, professor at the Łódź University, member of the Church Synod, and Mrs. Ewa Śliwka, director of the Consistory Office.
During the meeting, the Bishop of the Church presented the current situation of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland and the activities that are planned for the anniversary of the 500 years of the Reformation. Minister Roth assured that the German Embassy is open and ready to engage in the central commemorations, that were to take place in Warsaw on October 27-29, 2016.
The participants also briefly discussed the situation of refugees in Europe. The Bishop of the Church stated that the position of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, and also of other member Churches of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Polish Episcopal Conference is explicit – material aid and receiving people who escape from the areas of war are the Christian duties that result from God’s commandment to love one another. The Bishop of the Church expressed his grieve that the Polish government represents an opposite position.
The participants underlined also that the Polish membership in the European Union is very important to the Polish nation, and the values represented by the Union, which have their roots in Christianity, should remain. From this perspective, it is important to build civil society in Poland and Europe and to strengthen the feeling of solidarity between the European societies.
In this process the Churches play and should plan an important role. They build their identity on the Christian values of love, solidarity, mercy and responsibility. After all, human rights are Christ’s issue.