To live not as possessors of the truth but as seekers of God. Such is the call of Metropolitan Georges Khodr of Mount Lebanon who, drawing on his experience, pleads for religious pluralism within an open society.
Is sharing the same land, with respect for everyone’s convictions, now a utopia? The Middle East, with its fractures, might lead one to think so. Georges Khodr, who lives his Orthodox Christianity at the heart of a torn Lebanon, nevertheless continues to work for the advent of a peaceful diversity.
To the identity-based approach to religion and the temptation of a powerful Church, he opposes the vision of communities that are humble and open to the sufferings of their neighbour. The Metropolitan lives this openness in particular in his understanding of Muslims, inviting us to discover without prejudice the lines of convergence between Christianity and Islam.
The texts gathered here, written over the years and as circumstances dictated, call for inner renewal through an ever more authentic encounter with God who is Love. For only such divine love can become the leaven of the true Church, giving its members the means to act in a plural society and to sow it with the peace that comes from above.
Edition prepared by Olga Lossky
Now a centenarian, Metropolitan Georges Khodr is a major figure in Lebanon and beyond. Founder of the Orthodox Youth Movement (MJO), Bishop of Mount Lebanon, he has been engaged in dialogue with Islam. A recognized theologian and author of numerous works in Arabic, he has notably published Et si je disais les chemins de l’enfance and L’appel de l’Esprit with Éditions du Cerf.