Dialogue and tradition: Citizens' President visits Aramaic community

Dialogue and tradition: Citizens' President visits Aramaic community

A visit to build bridges: Antje Grotheer, the President of the Bremen Citizenship, paid a friendly visit to the Syrian Orthodox community of St. Johannes in Delmenhorst. The reason for your visit was to promote intercultural dialogue. The members of the community had invited them to present their traditions and their faith in more detail.

Grotheer was warmly welcomed and had the opportunity to explore the various areas of the community. The visit included the community hall, the event rooms and the areas dedicated to the children and adolescents of the community. Particularly noteworthy was the ballroom, in which weddings are also celebrated, which is adorned with a large map of the "Tur Abdin" region, among other things. This region in the southeast of Türkiye is known for its numerous monasteries and churches. "Tur Abdin" means something like "Mönchswald", explained bishop Julius Hanna Aydin, who led the visitors through the community.

The history of the community

The community has around 2,400 members and comprises around 550 families. It is not financed by church taxes, but is dependent on donations and an annual contribution of 100 euros per family. At the moment, the municipality in Germany is not yet considered a corporation, which makes the financial situation more difficult. "Community is the be -all and end -all," emphasized Johannes Eker from the church council and emphasized the central role of volunteer work within the community.

Another highlight of the visit was the culinary offer that the members of the community presented. Antje Grotheer was particularly interested in traditional Aramaic cuisine, which is characterized by lamb and dumplings. "You always get me about the food," she confessed with a laugh and was invited for the next meeting to enjoy the delicacies again.

After a two -hour exchange with the parishioners, Grotheer said goodbye with warm words. The bishop thanked warmly for her visit and emphasized how important it was to have such encounters in order to promote understanding and appreciation between cultures. According to the statements, this visit was a small but significant step relationship to strengthen the bridges between the different communities by getting to know and respecting each other better.

The visit of Antje Grotheer in the Syrian Orthodox community is another example of how necessary the intercultural exchange in an increasingly diverse society is. Personal contact and the conversation can help to reduce prejudices and create a harmonious coexistence, which is all the more important today.

For more information about the Syrian Orthodox community in Delmenhorst, see the report on www.weser-kurier.de .