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Thursday, 27 May 2021

A CORNERSTONE FOR CHURCH, SYNAGOGUE AND MOSQUE

Kuehn Malvezzi House of One Plateau / Ansicht Scharrenstraße, am Petriplatz
Kuehn Malvezzi House of One / Zentralraum
Kuehn Malvezzi House of One / Archäologische Halle

Symbolic start of construction of the multifaith center House of One in Berlin will be celebrated on May 27, 2021

 

 

Jews, Christians and Muslims will lay the foundation stone for the House of One on May 27, 2021, in the heart of the German capital Berlin. "This is an important step toward the structural completion of our interfaith peace project," Rabbi Andreas Nachama, chairman of the House of One Foundation Board, said Tuesday. "We have already been active in interfaith dialogue for many years, and contribute in our daily work to more understanding, tolerance and togetherness in our society." It is therefore all the more gratifying to soon be able to accompany the erection of this built symbol of that work of understanding.

The President of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Schäuble, and the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 our guest of honor, Azza Karam, General Secretary of "Religions for Peace", won't be able to participate in the ceremony. She recorded her speech prior to the event. It will be screened after the live event.

 

Further Participants:

Bishop Christian Stäblein, (EKBO)
Rabbi Walter Homolka, Rector Abraham Geiger College
Ercan Karakoyun, Chairman, Stiftung Dialog und Bildung
Johannes Kuehn, Kuehn Malvezzi Architects
Rabbi Andreas Nachama, Executive Board House of One
Rev. Gregor Hohberg, Executive Board House of One
Imam Kadir Sanci, Chairman Executive Board House of One
Roland Stolte, Director of Concept House of One

As well as all the staff members of the House of One.

 

EVENT PROGRAMME I MAY 27 2021

 

9 AM   
Morning Prayer from the Mosque of Kultur Akademie e.V. with Imam Kadir Sanci

Morning Prayer

 

1 PM
Midday Prayer from St. Mary's Church with Pastor Gregor Hohberg

Midday Prayer

 

3 PM
Zoom I Digital Q&A Session: What I have always wanted to know about House of One (register: grundsteinlegung@house-of-one.org)

Q&A Session

 

6 PM
Livestream I Keynote speech of the philosopher Wilhelm Schmid: "Religions provide us with answers - but what is the initial question? What House of One is all about"

Keynote speech

 

7 PM
Evening Prayer with Rabbi Andreas Nachama from the synagogue Sukkat Schalom, Berlin

Evening Prayer

 

 

Rev. Gregor Hohberg from of the House of One commented on the upcoming event with the following words: "We are very happy to have come this far thanks to great support from many sides and with God's help." For ten years, he said, the House of One has already been setting the tone in terms of interreligious encounters. Now this work will soon be more visible day by day."And this joy about the now also structural growth of this unique religious peace project increases with every stone that will be laid for the house." The House of One will be built on the historic foundations of the former St. Peter's Church. The church, which was damaged in World War II, was completely demolished in GDR times.

Originally, this groundbreaking ceremony should have taken place on April 14 this year. Due to Covid-19 it had to be canceled. This date would have been the anniversary of the premiere of Lessing's drama "Nathan the Wise" in Berlin in 1783. This work of literature is a plea for humanism and peaceful understanding between religions and society. "It was then that Berlin opened up for the first performance of Les-sing's important work, which was very controversial at the time," said Imam Kadir Sanci of the House of One. "Today, Berlin is opening up once again to a special path of understanding among the religions." This openness, he said, will not only affect the three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam – whose representatives established the House of One Foundation. It goes far beyond that and invites all those of other faiths and non-beliefs to engage in dialogue.

 

Financing is mostly secured

 

Four years are envisaged for the construction of the House of One. The total cost of the building sums up to 47 million Euro. Last Friday, the German Bundestag approved another 10 million Euro for the building. The total amount contributed by the federal government to the construction now amounts to 20 million Euro. The state of Berlin had pledged a further 10 million Euro. With private donations and other contributions, a large part of the construction costs has now been covered. The remaining gap of nearly eight million Euro is to be closed by a large capital campaign.

 

Last archaeological excavations

 

Before the foundation stone is laid, archaeologists will return to the site at the beginning of 2021. A small area of this site, which is one of the oldest in Berlin, has not yet been scientifically investigated. Where once stood a mighty plane tree, which had to be cut down last year, the archaelogists expect, among other things, further grave finds in the former cemetery of the St. Peter’s church. Almost 4000 skeletons had already been recovered during the first phase of excavation, which lasted several years.

 

Invitation to people of all faith

 

With the House of One, a new type of sacred building is being built with a synagogue, a church and a mosque under one roof - connected by a meeting space in the center of the building that is open to all. People of other religions and world views as well as the secular urban society are explicitly invited and included in this fourth room.

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