| St. Gregorios Orthodox Syrian Church of India
in Oak Park, Illinois held an inter-faith seminar on November 23, 2002 in
memory of the late Metropolitan Dr. Paulos Mar Gregorios. The topic of the
Seminar was "Pluralism, Unity, and the World." Father V. M. Abraham welcomed the gathering. Rev. Fr. John-Brian Paprock gave an insightful and scholarly presentation, "Embracing All Humanity: The Vision of Paulos Mar Gregorios in the 21st Century". Swami Varadananda (Vivekananda Vedanta Society, Chicago) talked on "A Hindu Perspective of Pluralism and Unity". Dr. Javeed Akhtar, MD, Executive Director of ISPI (an Islamic Think-Tank) gave a Muslim perspective based on the teachings of the Holy Quoran. Mr. Rajinder Singh Mago, an active member of the Parliament of World's Religions spoke on the Sikh Perspective on Pluralism and Unity. All the presentations were very well received by an enthusiastic audience which later on participated in an open discussion with the speakers. Dr. Joseph Thomas led the Panel discussion and Mrs. Mary Mathews thanked the speakers and the participants. (Report by Dr.Joseph Thomas)
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