By Faith and Hospitality: the Monastic Tradition as a Model for Interreligious Encounter / Pierre-François de Béthune

In his Epistle to the Corinthians, written around the year 100CE, Clement of Rome remarked that 'it is by faith and hospitality that Abraham became the son of the Covenant'. Not by faith alone, but also by a hospitality that had its origin in faith. Today, more than ever, it is important that our faith is linked to hospitality: to welcoming the stranger in our midst.

The tradition of hospitality has always been considered a sacred duty in all of humanity's cultures and religions. The stranger and the guest have a right to sanctuary and are seen as directly connected to God, who is present in them. For some years interfaith meetings have been held in monasteries. No longer a matter of casual encounter when individuals venturing abroad are received in monasteries of another faith background, but now as a part of a program of structured and often official interchange.

This book testifies to the fruitfulness of such an approach for interreligious dialogue.  The real challenge, as elsewhere, is the confrontation with a post-Christian world, which we must respond to with the magnanimous hospitality with which Abraham received the angels.