Conference EVERLASTING VALUE AND PERMANENT ACTUALITY OF THE EDICT OF MILAN On the Way to the Great Jubilee in 2013 Book 2 The Edict of Milan (313-2013): A Basis for Freedom of Religion or Belief? Belgrade, September 2013 Under the auspices of His Holiness Mr. Irinej, the Serbian Patriarch EVERLASTING VALUE AND PERMANENT ACTUALITY OF THE EDICT OF MILAN – ON THE WAY TO THE GREAT JUBILEE IN 2013 BOOK 2 – THE EDICT OF MILAN (313-2013): A BASIS FOR FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF? Publisher Association of Nongovernmental Organizations of SEE – CIVIS Dobračina 15/VII, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Tel: +381 11 26 21 723, Fax: +381 11 26 26 332 www.civis-see.org For the publisher Mirjana PRLJEVIĆ Chief Editor Mirjana PRLJEVIĆ Editor Marina ĐUROVIĆ Proofreading Language Shop Translators Aleksandar SEKULIĆ Bogdan LUBARDIĆ Dragoljub BOGOSAVLJEVIĆ Miloš RADIVOJEVIĆ Marina ĐUROVIĆ Essay about Roman Emperors prepared by: Mirjana PRLJEVIĆ Miloš RADIVOJEVIĆ Design & Prepress Marko ZAKOVSKI Printed by Graphic, Novi Sad Press run: 500 pcs ISBN: 978-86-911779-1-1 The publishing of this book was supported by: Swiss Peace and Crises Management Foundation www.fondmir.com We are very grateful for the wholehearted support and thoughtfulness during the realisation of our three year project “Everlasting Value and Permanent Actuality of the Edict Of Milan – On the Way to the Great Jubilee in 2013” to His Holiness Serbian Patriarch, Mr. Irinej His Grace Bishop Irinej of Bačka and Diocese of Bačka H.E. Mоns. Stanislav Hočevar Archbishop of Belgrade and Metropolitan H.E. Orlando Antonini Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Serbia Mr. Boris Vukobrat President and Founder of the Swiss Peace and Crises Management Foundation Dr Johann Marte President of Austrian PRO ORIENTE Foundation Professor Dr Darko Tanasković Mrs. Jelena Jablanov Maksimović and Konrad Adenauer Foundation Mrs. Elizabeta Kitanović and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) H.E. Mr. Erwin Helmut Hofer Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Belgrade H.E. Mr. Clemens Koja Ambassador of the Republic of Austria in Belgrade Mr. Dragan Milošević President of the Committee for the Construction of Constantine the Great Complex, Niš Content INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 OPENING SPEECHES His Grace Bishop Irinej of Bačka ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 His Holiness Serbian Patriarch, Mr. Irinej (message) ........................................................................................................................................ 14 His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16 H.E. Bishop Aleksandr Isejin ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Professor Dr Bogoljub Šijaković ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Мr. Milorad Đurić ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Dr Johann Marte ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Mr. Boris Vukobrat ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26 I DAY - TOPIC: FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF IN THE EDICT OF MILAN FROM THE THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE His Grace Andrej, Bishop of Remesia The Edict of Milan - A Basis for Freedom of Religion or Belief? ........................................................................................................... 29 Fr. Piotr Mazurkiewicz Edict of Milan and Religious Freedom ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 35 H.E. Bishop Dr. Michael Bünker Freedom of Religion in the Edict of Milan from a Theological Perspective ............................................................................... 43 Mr. René Gutman Јudaism ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 47 Professor Mohammed Jamouchi Freedom of Religious Confession of Faith in the Edict of Milan - From a Theological Perspective - From the Edict of Milan to the Respect of Human Dignity ........................................................................................................................ 50 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 63 II DAY - TOPIC: INSTITUTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS (313-2013) Professor Dr Klaus Martin Girardet Libertas Religionis for Everybody. The Religio-Political Principle of Constantine the Great and its Consequences ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 81 Revd. Patrick Roger Schnabel Legal Interpretation of the Edict of Milan ...................................................................................................................................................................... 88 H.E. Msgr. Stanislav Hočevar Important Questions regarding the Tradition of Making Agreements between States and the Holy See .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 95 OKR’in Katrin Hatzinger Cooperation between Church and State- the German model .................................................................................................................. 99 Rev. Rüdiger Noll Cooperation between the Churches and the EU Institutions .................................................................................................................107 H.E. Bishop Athenagoras of Sinope The Relation between Church and State in Belgium as Experienced by the Orthodox Church .......................113 Dr Mutlaq Rashid Al-Qarawi Moderation in Islam ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................122 DISCUSSION ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................126 III DAY - TOPIC: THE PRESENT CHALLENGES FOR THE FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF Mr. John Kinahan Present challenges for Freedom of Religion or Belief – Christian Aspects ..............................................................................133 Reis-ul-ulema Adem Zilkić Islamophobia and the New Realities of the Contemporary World ...................................................................................................140 Professor Dr Bogoljub Šijaković Secularism, Rationality, Identity ............................................................................................................................................................................................147 DISCUSSION ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................152 PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONFERENCE Mag. Elizabeta Kitanović Religious Freedom and the European Union ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������159 Professor Dragan R. Simić The Order of the Roman Empire at the Time of the Endorsement of the Edict of Milan ........................................165 ANNEX Letters of Support ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................178