The Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London has argued that creating a word or concept to describe the persecution of Christians will help the issue be tackled as
His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos' comments follow the Government's announcement on Friday that it is going to spend £12 million promoting freedom of religion or belief around the world.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Archbishop Angaelos said that without an expression to describe Christian persecution, it was "left to happen" and is "not seen as the phenomenon which we know it is".
"We know it's a phenomenon in many countries, just as deplorable as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anything else that targets people precisely for their faith and so therefore must be addressed at the same level."
The Archbishop claimed a new phrase would allow people of "all faiths" to work together to stop the persecution of Christians in a simpler way.
He added: "You can't have a hashtag that says 'persecution of Christians...x, y or z'."
Asked if he had thought of a suitable word or phrase, the Archbishop said: "Not yet...this can't be mine, I can't own it alone."
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Article by Eno Adeogun
Eno Adeogun is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
