Interview
“We need less words and more actions,” he says. “In my vision of interreligious dialogue and cooperation, the main aim is to pass from academic dialogue or theological dialogue to social action,” he says. “I'm very happy to see that now we are talking about the real problems of our days.”
He believes it's time to act with concrete little steps.
As an academic teacher I believe in education,” he says. “Education can change stereotypes and mindsets but we have to be honest. We have to prepare new generations to be ready not only to coexist but to cohabitate in our planet.”
Marioras also believes we have to go from the spiritual elite to the grassroots. “We need the people,” he says. “It is very easy to communicate as academics or clergy between us. But the results must go down to the grassroots, the people, everyday life.”
He also ties the hope of the Resurrection into his everyday life. “We cannot abolish death or all difficulties but we can live better because we have hope,” he said.
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Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC
Learn more about the WCC interreligious work
Current Dialogue - World Council of Churches’ journal on interreligious dialogue
*The interview with Prof. Dr Michalis Marioras is part of a video interview series recorded in Athens, Greece, during the WCC Life and Work Centenary Consultation (May 2025), exploring moral leadership, justice, and ecumenical unity. Conversations with church leaders and thinkers address global crises from an ecumenical perspective. These interviews connect historical milestones (Stockholm 1925, Nicaea) to present challenges and spiritual life. A WCC cooperation with Andreas Loudaros/Orthodoxia.Info
