Meet Palestinian Melkite Christian Archbishop Elias Chacour, and pray with pilgrims who will have the opportunity to converse with him face-to-face during the Spiritual Directors International Interfaith Pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine, 7 October-November 2010.  

While sharing an evening meal during Ramadan, the Archbishop said, "It's not a command to live together, rather a great privilege." What do you think?

An ambassador for non-violence, Archbishop Chacour has a vision and passion to build peace through education. He is the founder of the Mar Elias Educational Institutions, open to all the children of Israel; Jewish, Christian and Muslim, and author of Blood Brothers and We Belong to this Land. He has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize (1986, 1989, 1994). In 1994 he received the World Methodist Peace Prize. In May 2001 he received the Niwano Peace Prize awarded by a prestigious Buddhist group in Japan. Father Chacour is the Archbishop of the Melkite Catholic Church in Haifa, Israel.

Watch the video, "Archbishop Elias Chacour, Unity Within Diversity: Myth or Reality?" produced by Calvin College:

When Archbishop Elias Chacour was invited to meet with the SDI pilgrim group, he responded with enthusiasm and congratulated Spiritual Directors International for bringing an interfaith group from around the world to Israel and Palestine in order to build friendship and peace through compassionate listening. In this photograph he stands with Rev. Joan Deming during a 2010 trip to Washington.

Please pray for the men and women who will enter into the SDI "A Journey to the Heart: Inner Paths to Compassion, Connection, and Peace" pilgrimage.