The Jubilee of the birth of Christ should not be a triumphal celebration of the domination of one culture over others. The Orthodox priest stressed the need for dialogue to bring this about. The Archmandrite of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Nazaret Shahan Sarkisian, presented his reflections on the situation in the Middle East. He emphasized several points for consideration in this regard. All the churches find themselves in permanent contact and dialogue with non-Christians, with many implications.
Service is the primary means to witness for the Christian churches in the Middle East.
Rev. Agustina Lumentut of the Central Sulawesi Christian Church in Indonesia presented her contribution in writing a few days later. The Synod Fathers have taken all of the comments of the fraternal delegates to heart in their discussions. The exact contents will not be made public until after approval by the general assembly, but sources indicate that the recommendations cover the wide array of topics considered in the Synod. In addition to specific points on China, Iraq, Jerusalem, and countries suffering active persecution of Christians, the document discusses the strategy for evangelization in Asia in more general terms. The final message is to be made public on Wednesday.