Four thousand people attended a prayer vigil for the persecuted Christians of the East, which was held Sunday night at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, according to Tommy Scholtes, Press Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Belgium.

The evening, chaired by Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, was entitled “Eastern Christians united with Western Christians: the same faith, the same prayer, the same solidarity for life and peace in the East “.

“This vigil was symbolically unique as ever national basilica was filled with so many different people from religious persuasions. Young Muslims also came to show their sympathy. Anglican bishops, Orthodox and Catholic, Eastern and Western, all gave the blessing at the end of the ceremony, united in a common cause and in a very quiet moment, “said Father Tommy Scholtes.

Clergy of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches (Syriac, Chaldean, Melkite and Armenian) also attended the prayer vigil mainly devoted to the Christians of Iraq and Syria threatened and persecuted.

Of political figures were also present, including Celine FREMAULT, Brussels Minister of the Environment (CDH), Isabelle Durant, MP Denis Ducarme Brussels and Ecolo, MP.

Belga News Agency