Nadim Nassar, priest and author

I grew up in a peaceful Mediterranean port city. My mother is Byzantine Orthodox, and my father went to the Presbyterian church in Latakia, started by Scottish missionaries.

The religious elements in the civil war in Lebanon, where I was studying, forced me to re-examine my faith and showed me the power of God. After moving to Europe, thinking about my cultural roots in the Near East ignited the entire concept of the culture of God in my heart and mind.

My family is scattered between Syria, Holland, America, Canada, and the UK. Many Syrian families are similar; thanks to today’s technology, we’re always in touch with each other. I go to Syria two or three times a year, but I’m just starting a new ministry at St Mary Magdalene’s, Wandsworth Common.

My cousin, who lives in Germany, helped me to get a WCC [World Council of Churches] scholarship. As I was writing my Ph.D. in English, I came to Westminster College, Cambridge, for a term. They asked me to teach for another term, and appointed me as their senior chaplain to the universities in London.

In 2000, I was invited to Oberammergau, and met Bishop Michael Marshall, chaplain to the pilgrimage, and we became very good friends. That’s how the Awareness Foundation started. I’d had this vision, since I was 25, to have an organisation which would bring East and West closer. Bishop Michael and Charles Longbottom helped me to set this up in 2003 as an educational Christian charity. We work with

Article source: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/2-november/features/interviews/nadim-nassar-priest-and-author