Participants from Europe, North and South America and the Middle-East, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, joined the recent Elijah Interfaith Summer School, held in Assisi, the city of St Francis and St Claire, where we studied the theme of “Saints: Historical Reality and Spiritual Legacy.”
It was ten days of intensive learning and praying together, exploring holy sites and building a common language of discourse. Teachers from six religious traditions joined us in person and on Zoom as we asked questions about whether the phenomenon of “sainthood” was common to all religions, and, if it was, what were the characteristics common to “saints.” We spoke of the problem of history versus tradition, about higher truths, about courage and faith. We studied poetry and meditated together.
One of the final sessions was an opportunity for students to meet members of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders as they spoke about the “saints” who inspire them in their work. There was great diversity in the figures they chose to present and in the characteristics they identified as “saintly.”
Venerable Norman Fisher introduced students to his Zen teacher, who had an enormous impact on his life, Sojun Mel Weitsman, and who is “very much present” in the lives of his students:
Monsignore Anthony Figueiredo took a more conventional or well-known figure of a saint, Mother Theresa, whom he had the privilege of meeting a number of times. After explaining that for him, the essence of Christianity is that God is love, he described what he learnt from this canonized saint that continues to guide him in his religious life:
Imam Yahya Pallavicini chose to speak about his father, Abd al Wahid Pallavicini, who was one of the leading Sufi figures of his time. He spoke articulately about the important lessons his father taught him about the role of the religious leader:
Bhai Sahib Bhai Mohinder Singh spoke with reverence of Sant Baba Puran Singh Ji, whose contribution to the Sikh community in the UK is unparalleled. He was the guru who taught Mohinder Singh the most important lessons about the religious life and his obligations as a religious leader:
Shrivatsa Goswami chose to speak about 15th-century Hindu saint and Bhakti movement leader Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He explained his choice:
Rabbi Art Green also chose a figure whom he did not meet personally but someone whose influence on Jewish life is indisputable. The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, continues to inspire Rabbi Green, through his teachings, his personal qualities and his achievement in influencing so many to see the world differently:
Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein moderated the panel. The full video can be viewed here.
