CAIRO (CNS) -- Christian church representatives meeting in Cairo called for peace in the region and for preserving coexistence.

The Executive Council of the Middle East Council of Churches urged "heads of state and religious and political decision-makers in the world, Arabs and Muslims" to work toward the preservation of religious pluralism, saying it is "the most precious treasure of the East." In a Nov. 5 statement, the Christian leaders invited them "to face the forces of darkness, destruction and extremism."

The leaders stressed that interfaith dialogue is "the essential pillar of relations with our partners and compatriots."

In their statement, the leaders thanked Pope Francis for the attention he gives to Christians in the Middle East. They also noted that they prayed that the war stops in Syria and Iraq; for peace in the Holy Land, especially in Jerusalem; for a just settlement of the Palestinian cause; for the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide; and also for an end to the Turkish occupation of Cyprus.

The leaders also called for the election of a new president in Lebanon, which has been without a head of state since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. They noted that it is the only post held by a Christian in the region.

Those attending the meeting, hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church, headed by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, included Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan; Catholicos Aram of Cilicia, patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church; Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem; and Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran Church in the Holy Land.