Download Greeting on the occasion of the concluding ceremony of the

Greeting on the occasion of the concluding ceremony of the Conference of the
German speaking Protestant communities in the Near East on March 27,
2010.
Your Excellency, State Minister for Science and Art, Prof. Sabine von Schorlemer,
very honored participants in the Conference of the German speaking Protestant communities in the
Near East,
Ladies and Gentlemen, dear brothers and sisters,
My dear friend and neighbor, Probst Gräbe, has asked me, as Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of
Dormition, to address a word of greeting to you. This is for me an honor and I gladly accepted. For
the Basilica of the Marian shrine on Mount Zion can easily insert itself into the framework of the
festive celebrations for the hundredth anniversary of the Empress Augusta Victoria Foundation. We
monks and the German Association of the Holy Land are celebrating the hundredth anniversary of
the dedication of our Church only one day after the Foundation on the Mount of Olives, that is, on
April 10. As it is for the Lutheran Community of the Church of the Redeemer and for the present
leadership of the Church of the Ascension at the Augusta Victoria, so is it also a matter of concern for
the Benedictines in the Holy City to make use of and to promote, to the extent that they are able, the
great riches of ecumenical dialogue and the dialogue among the three monotheistic religions
The presentation today of the new chandelier for the splendidly restored imperial festival hall by the
Minister for Science and Art of the Free State of Saxony, Prof. Sabine von Schorlemer, is for me not
only an occasion to offer congratulations on the successful restoration of this historic room. At the
same time the splendid coincidence of these two events at the Augusta Victoria – the end of your
Conference and the presentation - provides me with the theme of my greeting. Notwithstanding all
the differences in the “matter,” it is a question in both cases of something like recollection, reflection
on what is valuable, of concern and care for a precious witness to our western Christian heritage. It is
about renewing, preserving and making use of intellectual and spiritual treasures for future
generations. For it is not nice small-talk and self-praise of our own goals, but the responsibility for a
value oriented future that guides you and us in these days into the Holy City of Jerusalem.
This means that nothing less than the all decisive question of our identity and self-understanding lies
behind the efforts and concerns of the last days. Who am I? Who are we? Only someone who has a
really well-founded knowledge of his own history, knows why and how he was, how he is. He knows
about the good reasons and the negative motivations of his history and so he has the possibility to
make prudent corrections for his future. That goes for individuals and it goes also for religions and for
the structures of society, which especially the peoples, their cultures and states produce. Whoever
knows his history, knows who he is. Whoever knows his history, can from his experience and
knowledge of the past, plan for the future and shape the future. Whoever is acquainted with his
history and reflects on it with wisdom, has a healthy self-awareness, he knows his own position and
can carry on dialogue with open eyes and a big heart, confidently, calmly, relaxed and free from
miscalculation. Whoever is acquainted with his history, knows about the treasures worth preserving,
knows about the risks of mistaken self-assessment and insensitive pride. He knows about the divine
gifts of freedom and peace and the wellbeing of people. He knows about the art of balancing
between preservation and healthy development. That goes for theology in general as well as for the
dialogue among religions. It goes also for politics and for the peaceful coexistence of peoples.
The prince of German poets, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, said once, “If we wish to preserve what
we have, we will have to change much.”
You, my dear participants in the Conference of German speaking Protestant communities in the Near
East, have been occupied in recent days with the question of religious dialogue with the faithful of
Islam and of Judaism in regard to Holy Scripture. Your Reformation heritage will, I imagine, have
played an invaluable role in this. This heritage is the basis from which the spirit of wise counsel and
of strength will have served you for your future dialogue and coexistence with other religious
communities. That in any case is my heartfelt wish and prayer for you! Times have changed in the
behavior of religions with one another and we must and can dedicate ourselves anew, so that the
seed of the new way of dialogue will be fruitful for the welfare of people and above all for the
common praise of the one God! If we wish to preserve what we have, we will have to change much.
With God’s help, may you succeed in this in your life and in your tasks in your communities!
This is not less valid in the realm of politics. The careful differentiating gaze into the past of one’s
own people as well as over the contexts, the splendor and the decline of peoples, their religions and
cultures, offers a surer defining position, and should lead to a more prudent political stance in
matters both great and small. Europe seems to be forgetting its own Christian roots at the moment. I
see the danger that politics will make use of Christian theology only as a means to dialogue with
other religions – as a means to an end. However, whoever no longer lives himself from his own
spiritual roots, will in the truest sense encounter the motivations and the actions of other religions,
of their peoples and states “without understanding.”
But now back to our own history and today’s festive occasion. As always the German Christian and
political history – and here especially under Emperor Wilhelm the Second – can be seen and judged
in the Holy Land with its bright and shadowy aspects. Today, however, through the presentation of
the new chandelier for the Festival Hall of the Augusta Victoria on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem,
a splendid piece of German culture in the Holy Land is the center of attention. Not nostalgic
recollection and rigid restoration of just any kind of space, but rather the preservation and care for a
cultural didactic drama for future generations of different peoples, religions and cultures was and is
at stake. The real value, it seems to me, lies in the delight in the beauty of a precious cultural
inheritance. It is a delight that is in the truest sense edifying for every beholder. The renovation of
this historic space cost much effort and energy. It was worth it! And all who had a part in it are to be
warmly thanked!
“If we wish to preserve what we have, we must change much.” Goethe’s saying should make us
reflect. May the spirit of discernment teach us in wisdom to recognize what is worth preserving, and
bravely bring about wise changes in religion, politics and culture, in order to build together a future
worth living for all people on earth. Today’s celebration at the Augusta Victoria is an inspiring,
beautiful new beginning.