Europe rejects Christianity as the basis for its identity, – Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev)

Europe demonstratively rejects Christianity as the basis for its identity, the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, said in an interview with RIA Novosti on May 11.

Answering the question whether Europe faces the possibility of losing its appearance due to the influx of refugees, Metropolitan Hilarion said that it is already happening. And, according to him, "this is not so much due to the influx of refugees from other countries, but because the political leadership of a number of EU countries knowingly and demonstratively rejects Christianity as the basis for their cultural identity".

The Metropolitan noted that he saw in this "a real tragedy". He recalled the words of one of the Catholic bishops that one should be afraid of weak Christianity rather than strong Islam. "In my opinion, now this is a real threat for many countries of Western Europe," added Metropolitan Hilarion.

Speaking about the United States, the Metropolitan expressed confidence that "the situation here is somewhat different, since in this country we cannot speak of weak Christianity". According to him, there are "many Christian churches and many people who are ardently convinced of the truth of the Christian faith".

He also stressed that "the current US president does not hide his belonging to Christianity".