Multi-religious Peace Prayer in front of Brandenburg Gate

On Anti-War Day, September 1, the House of One invited to a multi-faith prayer for peace in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Thirteen representatives from different Christian churches, mosque communities, the Berlin Forum of Religions, Jewish communities, Bahai and Hindus prayed for peace for the people in Ukraine, but also for peace on a small scale, in the closest environment. Evangelical Baptist Bishop Malkhaz from Georgia, who was the recipient of the first House of One Peace Award the night before, was also among those praying, as was Bishop Christopher Cocksworth, who had traveled from Coventry, England to Berlin.

Referring to Berlin, Superintendent Silke Radosh-Hinder said on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance, "Infinite suffering has emanated from this place. That must be a lesson for us to be part of a reconciliation."

Imam Osman Örs of the House of One called for unity among religious communities. God, he said, "wanted us to be different." "We need to understand that these differences are a richness."

Further participants were Superintendant Silke Radosh-Hinder, Reverend Juni Hoppe, Reverend Maike Schöfer, Hindu Indra Bahia, Bahai Susan Amsler-Parsia-Parsi, Cantor Esther Hirsch, Bishop Ilia from Tbilisi/Georgia and Kathrin Janert of the Tri-Faith Kindergarden Initiative.

84 years ago, on Sept. 1, 1939, the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland. This marked the beginning of World War II. In the Federal Republic, starting in 1957, the day was observed by trade unions and peace initiatives as Anti-War Day; in the GDR, it was observed as World Peace Day.