The XIV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions presided over by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, was held on June 9, 2015.
The Session was attended by:
REPRESENTATIVES OF ISLAM
Monqith Mahmood al-Sakkar – Advisor of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences of the Muslim World League;
Abdullah Fahad al-Lheedan- Adviser to the Minister of Islamic Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
Ali Mohammad Helmi– General Director of the Center for Interreligious Dialogue of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Gouda Abdelghany Basyouny Aly – President of the Egypt University of Islamic Culture Nur-Mubarak;
Ma Jie - Employee of China Islamic Association;
Alam Shah Fakhre– President of the Jamiat Shabab-e-Islam in state of Bihar branch, Imam-khatib of the Shahi mosque of the Bhagalpur city, India;
Muhammad Zia Ul-Haq – Director General of the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University in Islamabad.
REPRESENTATIVES OF CHRISTIANITY
Emmanuel Adamakis– Metropolitan of France, representative of His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch;
Khaled Akasheh– Bureau Chief for Islam, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See;
Richard Atkinson– Bishop of Bedford, Representative of the Anglican Church;
Roman Bogdasarov– Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for External Church and Society Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Head of the Interreligious Council of the Secretariat of Russia;
Marcos Hovhannisyan– Head of the Diocese of Ukraine of the Armenian Apostolic Church;
Yuri Novgorodov– Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan, representative of the Lutheran World Federation.
REPRESENTATIVE OF JUDAISM
Shlomo Menachem Kook – Representative of the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel.
REPRESENTATIVES OF BUDDHISM
Phallop Thaiarry – Secretary-General of the World Fellowship of Buddhists;
Wang Li –Deputy Head of the International Department of the Buddhist Association of China;
Yang Ki Hoon– Permanent representative of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in Central Asia;
Sainkhuu Davaapurev - Employee of the Asian International Buddhist Center, Mongolia.
REPRESENTATIVE OF TAOISM
Zhao Xiaoyang – Head of the International Department of Taoist Association of China.
REPRESENTATIVE OF SHINTOISM
Katsuji Iwahashi – Head of International Cooperation Section, Japan Association of Shinto Shrines, Jinja Honcho.
REPRESENTATIVE OF HINDUISM
Kala Dhananjay Acharya – Director of the Indian Culture Centre “K.J.Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham”.
INVITED GUESTS
Emberti Gialoretti- Coordinator of the Department for “Islamic-Christian Dialogue”, coordinator of the Departments “Northern Europe and Central Asia” of the Community of Saint’Egidio, Italy;
Tariq al-Ansari –Ambassador, Chief of Cabinet of the United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations;
Xue Hui - Head of the first section of International Cooperation Department of the State Administration for Religious Affairs of the People’s Republic of China;
Aleksander(Aleksander Mogilev)– Head of the Metropolitan district of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan;
Yerzhan Mayamerov– Supreme Mufti, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan;
Tomasz Peta– Archbishop, Metropolitan of the archdiocese of Holy Mary in Astana, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Kazakhstan;
Yeshaya Cohen– Chief Rabbi and Head Chabad Schliach of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Euro-Asian Rabbinical Conference.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
Baglan Mailybaev – Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Congress;
Yerzhan Ashikbayev – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Head of the Secretariat;
Marat Azilkhanov – Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Commissioner for Promoting the Objectives and Goals of the Congress.
At the XIV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress the following agenda was approved:
- Changes in the composition of the Council of Religious Leaders.
- Outlining the Agenda of the II Session of the Council of Religious Leaders.
- Outlining the Agenda of the V Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Approval of the draft Declaration by the participants of the V Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Agreeing on the dates of the XV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Agreeing on the year of the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
- Adoption of the Minutes of the XIV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
At the XIV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress participants had fruitful exchange of views and opinions on issues of the Agenda. All participants of the Session of the Secretariat took part in discussions on the above-mentioned issues.
The following decisions were taken based on the suggestions of the participants of the XIV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress:
I. To include the newly elected religious leaders of Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the Council of Religious Leaders:
- His Excellency Ayatollah Mohsen Mohammadi Araghi, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought;
- His Grace, The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury;
- His Excellency Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel;
- Supreme Mufti of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Mayamerov.
Also to include His Eminence Emmanuel Adamakis Metropolitan of France, representative of His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, in the Council of Religious Leaders.
II. To outline the Agenda of the II Session of the Council of Religious Leaders.
III. To outline the Agenda of the V Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
IV. To approve the draft Declaration by the participants of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
V. To hold the XV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in the first half of 2016.
VI. To hold the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in 2018.
VII. To adopt the Minutes of the XIV Session of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
VIII. To inform the religious leaders about the decisions taken.
