Berlin: Pastor, Rabbi and Imam Plan to Build Interfaith House of Worship

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Aug 01, 2014

Berlin: Pastor, Rabbi and Imam Plan to Build Interfaith House of Worship

A priest, a rabbi, and an imam have sparked a campaign to combine their three unique religions into one house of worship in Berlin. 

The project, called the “House of One” hopes to unite people of different religions together in the one building that will hold a church, synagogue and mosque. A shared meeting hall will connect the meeting places. 

Pastor Gregor Hohberg of Berlin’s St. Petri parish said, "We have noticed, as a community here in the middle of the city, that a lot of people want to meet people from different backgrounds and religions and that there is a strong desire to show that people from different religions can get along. We want to make a point and show that religions can be a cause of peace."

Hohberg has joined with Rabbi Tovia Ben Chorin and Imam Kadir Sanci to put the idea of the House of One into motion. 

Chorin said, "I believe in the power of dialogue. In the world we live in we have two possibilities: war or peace. Peace is a process and in order to achieve it, you have to talk to each other."

Sanci expressed a similar desire for people to overcome their differences. "It is very important for us to overcome all the negative news in the world. I have the wish, for my children, my family, for myself and for everyone, that diversity becomes a reality and that people will accept each other in their otherness,” he said. 

The House of One is being funded solely by donations; the estimated cost of construction is $58.3 million. So far, $48,800 has been raised by supporters of the project. 

Publication date: August 1, 2014



Berlin: Pastor, Rabbi and Imam Plan to Build Interfaith House of Worship