Ecumenical encounter: young people from the Middle East spend a week in Austria

Vienna/Salzburg/St. Pölten/Linz/Graz, 08.02.23 As part of a three-day workshop in St. Pölten and a diverse cultural and encounter program, around 25 young Christian women and men from the Middle East were able to get to know Austria in the past few days and at the same time develop perspectives for their home countries.

How do young people from the Middle East experience the political, economic, social and ecclesial situation in their home countries, what would they like to change and how? These questions were the subject of a workshop at the St. Pölten-based educational center St. Hippolyt. The PRO ORIENTE Foundation invited 25 young women and men from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine to Austria. PRO ORIENTE had already organized six youth workshops in the Middle East last year. More than 150 young Christians were able to participate in these events in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the Holy Land. Some of the participants now came to St. Pölten to continue their work together, to exchange ideas across borders and to network.

During a day trip, the young people also visited Vienna, where they met with Austrian young people, visited St. Stephen's Cathedral and were guests of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Schönborn celebrated a service with the young adults and their companions in the St. Andrew's Chapel in the Archbishop's Palace. In his sermon he encouraged them to work for a better future in their home countries. After the workshop had ended, the young women and men were guests in Linz, Salzburg, Vienna, and Graz—divided into small groups—before they returned to their home countries.

Participants in St. Pölten included members of the Anglican, Armenian Apostolic, Chaldean Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Lutheran, Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Syrian Catholic and Syrian Orthodox Churches. The group was accompanied by theologians from the ecumenically oriented “We Choose Abundant Life” group from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt, as well as by PRO ORIENTE program director Viola Raheb. The latter, together with Fr. Gabriel Hachem, the group's coordinator, is also the main initiator and responsible party for the overall project, which PRO ORIENTE is implementing in cooperation with the “We Choose Abundant Life” group.

At the end of the first day of the workshop, there was a meeting with a group of young Christians from St. Pölten, where the respective situations of young people in the churches in both Austria and the Middle East were exchanged.

Common challenges in the Middle East

What became clear during the workshop in St. Pölten was that young people feel they are not taken seriously enough by their own church leaders. The general feeling was that young people have too few opportunities to help shape church life and to participate in decision-making. The young people identified a great need for action. Another urgent topic that transcends national and church boundaries was the role of women in church and society.

The participants also agreed that they know far too little about each other. In the countries of the Orient, Christians in the various churches largely keep to themselves. Contacts with members of sister churches are rare. “And when we do know something about one another, it is mainly about what divides us,” one participant put it succinctly.

The difficult economic conditions in the Middle East were also mentioned as one of the major challenges confronting young people in all the countries of their home region, albeit in different ways. The participants regretted that many young people now see emigration as their only prospect for the future. The vast majority of young women and men in St. Pölten emphasized, however, that they want to work for a better future in their home countries.

Corruption is a major problem in almost all countries of the Middle East – on the one hand in politics and society in general, but on the other hand also in some churches, as the participants noted. The fact that many Middle Eastern societies are still organized in clans also hinders the development of the countries. This affects all people in these countries, regardless of religion.

The young people in all countries spoke urgently in favor of equal civil rights and duties for all. With regard to church leadership, the young people were also convinced that the churches should turn even more to the poor. They called on Christian politicians not to put self-interest at the center of their activities, but rather the common good.

Military service, traditions, corruption

Of course, there were also specific challenges in individual countries that were addressed at the workshop. In Syria, for example, military service currently lasts at least eight years. The young people from Palestine reported, among other things, on Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territories, which is taking more and more land away from the Palestinian population. They spoke of a lack of justice and the absence of the rule of law.

A young Iraqi Christian woman reported on the difficulties she faced as a young, unveiled student at the University of Mosul. Many social traditions make life difficult for women. In Iraq, for example, it is impossible for Christian women to travel alone overnight.

This was the first time that the young people from different countries and churches had come into contact with each other. All the participants were convinced that such contacts should definitely be expanded. They spoke out in favor of ecumenical youth forums, for example.

In addition, the participants emphasized that it was a very powerful experience for them to pray together and to get to know the different liturgical traditions by singing songs from the represented churches during the worship services. This also applied to the closing service at the end of the workshop, which was presided over by the Episcopal Vicar of the Diocese of St. Pölten for Schools, Universities and Student Chaplaincy, Fr. Patrick Schöder OSB, who also conveyed warm greetings from the Bishop of the Diocese, Alois Schwarz, who was unable to attend.

Encounters in Salzburg

At the invitation of the Salzburg PRO ORIENTE Section, a group of seven finally spent a few days in Salzburg. The young women and men met, among others, with local confirmands and took part in a celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. They also met members of the Ecumenical Working Group of Salzburg and got to know the good ecumenical climate in Salzburg. At the “Beth Suryoye” (Syrian House) on Müllner hill, the collaboration with the Syrian Orthodox Church in the field of Syrian Studies at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Salzburg was presented. A visit to the Dürrnberg brought the young people into contact with the history of Salzburg. After experiencing salt mining in the Celtic village “Salina”, they also visited the salt mine. Afterwards, the group visited the Silent Night Museum in Hallein, where the guests sang “Silent Night” in Arabic. Finally, the young people attended an evening concert in the Great University Hall in Salzburg.

Guests in Upper Austria and Styria

Five members of the Middle East group were guests in Upper Austria. Among other things, they met with students at the University College of Education of the Diocese of Linz and the Catholic Private University Linz and visited Schlägl Abbey. In intensive exchange, the students reported on their experiences of being Christians in difficult social circumstances and heard about the situation of the Church in Upper Austria. The visit to Upper Austria was organized by the Linz PRO ORIENTE section.

In Graz, another group was a guest at the Episcopal Augustinum Education Campus and at Caritas, among other places. A highlight of the visit was the excursion to the Cistercian monastery of Rein, where the young people met with some members of the convent and with Abbot Philipp Helm for a discussion after an extensive tour. The visit to Styria was organized by the Graz PRO ORIENTE section. Members of the section, above all the chairman Peter Piffl-Percevic, accompanied the young people during these days.

Varied program in Vienna

A fourth group was a guest in Vienna for a few days. The days were organized by the “Church in Dialogue” team (Pastoral Office of the Archdiocese of Vienna). The group visited, among other places, the Hildegard Burjan parish, where Pastor Martin Rupprecht introduced the multinational and intercultural community. During the visit to the Flora Fries educational campus, director Maria Schelkshorn-Magas presented the concept of the schools, with a particular focus on the “make:peace!” project and an exchange with students from different countries. This was followed by a visit to the “peppa” girls' center, a Caritas facility that has existed since 2009, where girls and young women are offered a protected space, joint leisure activities and counseling. At a dinner with Markus Beranek, head of the Archdiocese of Vienna's pastoral office, Daniel Vychytil from the pastoral office provided information about the situation of refugees in Austria. Finally, the group met with young Austrian Christians who also work on ecumenical and interreligious projects in their churches and communities. The encounter concluded with everyone praying the Lord's Prayer together in their respective languages.