13th Annual General Assembly of the I.A.O.
21 - 25 June 2006, Venice, Italy

Central subject of the Assembly: "THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE ORTHODOX CULTURE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW EUROPE"

The General Assembly was held at the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post Byzantine Studies in Venice.

The Assembly was presided by the President of the I.A.O. General Assembly Mr. Sergei Popov, MP. Parliamentary delegations from the following 18 parliaments - members of the I.A.O participated in the Assembly: Greece, Russian Federation, Cyprus, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Georgia, Estonia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Palestinian Authority, Poland, Romania, Syria as well as members of Parliament from: Australia, Uganda and the USA .

A representative of 'SYNDESMOS' (The World Fellowship of Youth) participated in the Assembly with the status of observer.

In addition, the Metropolitan Gennadios of Italy, Exarch of South Europe, the Mayor of Venice prof. Mr. Massimo Cacciari and the President of the Hellenic Community of Venice Mr. Demetrios Zafiropoulos were invited and participated in the works of the Assembly. Greeting messages by His All Holiness The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as well as by the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, Alexios II, the President of the Russian State Duma Mr. Boris Grizlov, and the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches Rev. dr. Samuel Kobia were addressed during the inaugural ceremony.

The ceremony was concluded with the opening of the photographic exhibition on the subject: "The Christian heritage of Kosovo and Metohi - a shared responsibility", presented at the premises of the Hellenic Institute.

The following reports were presented on the central subject:

« The Byzantine heritage in Russia and the Slavic world: Continuity and innovation » by the Dean of the History department of the Moscow State University of Lomonosov, prof. Sergei P. Karpov.

«The contribution of Byzantium in the development of history and the cultural identity of Europe» by the Professor of History-Archaeology Department at the Aristotelian University of Thessalonica, prof. Mrs. Alkmini Stavridou-Zafraka.

1. During the works, the General Assembly agreed to include the newly constituted I.A.O Committee on Mass Media to the I.A.O International Secretariat.

2. The works of the General Assembly were concluded with the elections of the members of the I.A.O organs for a two year tenure.

President of the General Assembly: Sergei Popov (Russian Federation)

Secretary General: Stylianos - Angelos Papathemelis (Greece)

Alternate Secretary: Nicholaos Nikolopoulos (Greece) Treasurer: Dimitrios Georgakopoulos (Greece)

Advisors: Dr. Kostas Mygdalis (Greece),
Prof. Valery Alexeev (Russian Federation)

International Secretariat:
Boris Plokhotniouk (Russian Federation) Eleftherios Christoforou (Cyprus)
Alexandrs Bartashevics (Latvia)
Katerina Samoilyk (Ukraine)
Jordan Tzonev (Bulgaria)
Audeh Quawas (Jordan)

Committees of the International Secretariat:

3. The General Assembly unanimously decided to realise the I.A.O 14th General Assembly in Astana, Kazakhstan.

4. The General Assembly adopted the following resolution:

Resolution - Conclusions

We, participants of the 13th annual General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, held in Venice (Italy), 21-23 June 2006:

Having discussed current problems, of the orthodox community in Europe and the modern world and ways to confront complex oppositions and challenges of our times,

Welcoming the accession to united Europe of new states with Orthodox in majority populations, a fact that will allow them to express their identity in Europe,

Evaluating the moral and cultural values of Christianity and orthodoxy as an important condition for the construction of a new Europe,

Recalling, in the framework of the construction of a new Europe, the importance of the European Union's Neighbourhood Policy with its eastern and southern neighbouring countries of the Mediterranean, which sets ambitious objectives based on commitments to shared values and effective implementation of political, economic, social and institutional reforms:

1. We consider essential to declare, that the European culture constitutes a shared property of humanity; the modern world is founded on its values and ideals, which mostly have been shaped by the Orthodox Christianity; Nowadays these values may contribute substantially in averting the danger of the prevalence of a new pretentious form of mass culture, which denies the traditional values of family, religion and culture in its total.

2. We call upon the Parliaments and the local Orthodox churches to closely collaborate in order to strengthen the influence of spiritual experience of Orthodoxy in the social-public and cultural life, thus restoring the Christian values in social life.

3. We draw the attention of international political centres to the fact that the cultural identity of each orthodox population as shaped during history, is not and cannot be competitive compared to identities of other populations or states.

4. We protest on the disastrous consequences of the contemptuous and scornful attitude against holy places, which triggers the increase of extremism and fanaticism.

5. We consider important I.A.O's active participation in the international, political, religious and cultural fora, international organisations and unions as well as in bilateral cooperation with the social and cultural organisations and unions, aiming at attracting attention to the long standing cultural and spiritual foundations of Orthodoxy, having shaped values and living standards for many populations and countries of the Central and Eastern Europe, as well as their extended proliferation towards the West.

6. We confirm readiness to contribute towards promotion and protection the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and liberties of Christian communities, their churches and their, religious, political and parliamentary leaders, particularly the Orthodox, in the Middle East and North Africa, to encourage their time-lasting presence in the region, and to promote their role as an institution of dialogue of cultures and values with Islam and Muslims.

Venice, 23 June 2006

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE I.A.O WORK

- The President of the Russian Federation Mr. V. V. Putin during his inaugural speech at the World Summit of Religious Leaders held in Moscow 3 - 6 July 2006 recognised I.A.O's contribution to the global dynamics: ".We believe that constructive dialogue is also needed in the international arena. Moreover, Russia is already in the process of actively collaborating with the Organisation of Islamic Conference, the Eastern-Christian forum and the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. ".

- The same spirit characterised the inaugural speech of the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. K. Papoulias at the political conference organised by the I.A.O "Nation, Religions - Orthodoxy and the new European reality" held in Athens, 17 - 19 April 2005.

- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union adopted a resolution for the development of Interparliamentary co-operation in the Balkans, recognizing the I.A.O as an Assembly, which contributes to the speeding up of the democratisation process in the Balkans. (number 126/14 June 2005).