Tent of religions

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Multi-religious prayer for the Week of Fraternity 2015

The tent of religions is an interreligious meeting place for Jews, Christians and Muslims in the form of a tent, which is located on St. Mark's Square in Bamberg . It formed the center of the “God's Garden of Religions” at the State Garden Show 2012 in Bamberg and was one of the main attractions. In 2014, in agreement with the City of Bamberg, it was re-erected on St. Mark's Square in front of the building of the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Bamberg and has since served as a place for interreligious events of the three monotheistic religions.

The tent

Common identification space

Believers of different religions do not meet in the tent of religions as "guests" in the church , mosque , synagogue or even on "neutral" ground. Rather, the tent of religions forms a common space for identification on an equal level.

This is not a solid building, but an artistically and sophisticated construction shell. The tent provides the constant framework for interreligious encounters as well as multi-religious celebrations and is intended to help ensure that good cooperation between the religious communities becomes the norm in society. But also prayers and services organized by one of the three religions take place in the “tent of religions” in the constant and conscious presence of the others.

Nomadic tradition

The three monotheistic religions Judaism , Christianity and Islam have nomadic roots. The most important dwelling of the nomads is still the tent, where friends and strangers are given hospitality . To meet friends and strangers and to grant each other hospitality is therefore also the guiding principle for the tent of religions.

Artistic design and execution

The tent was erected from a metal frame and a special tarpaulin. This resulted in three identical bud leaves, which together form the shape of a bud. Each sheet stands for one of the three religions. The two Bamberg graphic designers Bernhard Kümmelmann and Christine Kaufmann (bureau visuel) were responsible for the artistic design of the tent. The architectural and technical implementation was carried out by KTA Kiefer, and the Prebeck company was responsible for the structural implementation.

The Jewish side

"Bud leaf" of the Jewish side

The "bud leaf" for Judaism shows the beginning of the creation story from the book of Genesis in Hebrew script on a dark blue background : "In the beginning God created heaven and earth ..." In the foreground is a gold, seven-armed candlestick: the menorah . The menorah, a candelabra in tree form, in connection with the Ten Commandments and the construction of the Tabernacle in the second book of Exodus in the Torah mentioned. It was a ritual object in the Jerusalem temple and has remained a symbol of Judaism even after the temple was destroyed in AD 70.

The Christian side

"Bud leaf" on the Christian side

The "bud leaf", which stands for Christians , shows an excerpt from the Bamberg Apocalypse , a manuscript created around the year 1000, on a purple background . The content is the revelation of John . The Latin manuscript was made in the scriptorium of the Reichenau monastery and was a gift from Emperor Heinrich II and his wife Kunigunde to the St. Stephan monastery in Bamberg. A cross lights up above the text , the common symbol of all Christian denominations. It stands for salvation through Jesus Christ . The Greek letters Alpha and Omega refer to Christ, the beginning and completion of creation.

The Islamic side

"Bud leaf" of the Islamic side

A sentence by the Prophet Mohammed, written in Arabic calligraphy , stands for Islam : “ Allah is beautiful and loves the beautiful!” The golden yellow background evokes associations with the golden domes of the mosques. Because of the strict ban on images in Islam , only calligraphy is used as a decorative element.

Similarities of the three bud leaves

The three “bud leaves” of the tent of religions interlock. They each create a reference to creation and remind us that Islam, Judaism and Christianity are religions of the book , i. H. have holy scriptures as the basis of their faith: the Koran , the Torah and the Christian Bible . The connection of the three sheets to a tent should be a visible sign that interreligious encounters are taking place in Bamberg and that peaceful and constructive coexistence is possible.

History of origin

GottesGarten at the State Garden Show 2012 in Bamberg

An ecumenical project group for the Archdiocese of Bamberg and the Evangelical Lutheran Church was planning an ecumenical project group on the initiative of the then Gaustadt pastor Matthias Wünsche (Catholic) and his official brother Winfried Geyer (Evangelical Lutheran) . Deanery Bamberg since April 2008 under the working title "Paradise Garden" a contribution of the two denominations to the State Horticultural Show 2012 in Bamberg.

At their first meeting, the initially only Christian participants voted for this project to be a multi-religious undertaking together with the Jews and Muslims in Bamberg, since statements about paradise are made in all of these three monotheistic religions. Muslims and Jews from Bamberg's communities accepted their invitation, so that from the second meeting onwards, representatives of all of Bamberg's monotheistic religions were sitting at one table. With this step, a joint project of three religions was brought into being for the first time in the history of the state horticultural shows: the Catholic and Protestant Church, the Israelite religious community and the Turkish-Islamic community of Bamberg, which has been part of the "Bamberg Alliance against Right-Wing Extremism" since 2007 sitting, presented themselves in the “God's Garden of Religions” and invited the visitors to the state horticultural show to “touch paradise”.

The idea of ​​paradise as a theological leitmotif

The name “GottesGarten” referred primarily to paradise as God's garden (“ Garden of Eden ” in the first books of the Old Testament, which Jews and Christians shared, and to the paradise described in many places in the Koran and the rich tradition of gardens in Arab culture). In addition, the chosen name was reminiscent of the " Gottesgarten am Obermain" (the landscape between Vierzehnheiligen and Banz monastery, Bad Staffelstein and Lichtenfels).

In keeping with the old idea of ​​paradise as an irrigated garden, the God's Garden of Religions was on the bank of the newly created fish passage . At the request of the initiators of God's garden, three artificial islands were created at this point so that the fish passage was divided into four watercourses and thus reproduced the four rivers of paradise (see 1. Book of Moses [= Genesis] 2: 10-14; cf. in the New Testament the book of Revelation [= Apocalypse] 22.1 and in the Koran the sura 47.15). In the middle of God's garden, the meeting tent opened for the guests of the state horticultural show. In addition, a “place of silence” invited to come to rest and to deal with prayers and texts of the religions.

With water as the central element for enabling life in the desert, with the opportunity to experience peace and quiet, and the meeting tent as the center and place of hospitality, the common nomadic roots with their essential elements of the three religions originating from the Middle East have become sensible experience.

opening

Opening ceremony on April 26, 2012

At the same time as the state horticultural show, the meeting tent was opened on April 26, 2012 with a multi-religious celebration with religious attaché Cafer Acar, Imam Ihsan Uçar, Dean Otfried Sperl, regional bishop Dorothea Greiner, Archbishop Ludwig Schick , rabbi Yael-Antje Deusel, Chasan Arieh Rudolph and regional dean Gerhard Förch opens. The Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer attended the celebration as a prominent guest .

Main events

At the center of the “GottesGarten” project was the tent of encounters, in which almost 600 events took place up to October 7th, among which multi-religious prayers, discussion forums and dialogue events were particularly committed to getting to know one another, understanding and promoting tolerance.

Time after the state horticultural show

At the end of the state horticultural show, the ERBA site was again made fully accessible to the public. All buildings had to be dismantled so that the meeting tent was initially stored in a warehouse.

Re-erection as "tent of religions"

In order to enable the re-erection of the “tent of religions” desired by many visitors and those involved in the state horticultural show, the founding meeting of the non-profit association “tent of religions” took place on January 28, 2013 in the rooms of the Protestant student community on St. Mark's Square. The aim of the association is to promote interreligious and intercultural encounters in Bamberg. For this purpose, the tent was rebuilt with funding and support from the city of Bamberg and the Upper Franconian Foundation and with private donations and has since been filled with life through events in the spirit of dialogue and brotherhood between the three monotheistic religions.

The tent was given its new purpose with the official multi-religious inauguration ceremony on June 22, 2014, which also served as a commemorative ceremony for the deceased chairman of the Israelite religious community in Bamberg, Heinrich Olmer. Since the tent is outside, the regular event season extends from April to October.

Place of multi-religious events

Since the re-erection, multi-religious events have been held regularly in the tent of religions (requests for peace, lectures and dialogue events and events by the religious communities involved, such as the breaking of the fast by the Turkish-Muslim mosque community in Bamberg at the end of Ramadan).

Citizen Award 2017 of the Bavarian State Parliament

On October 19, 2017 the Förderverein Zelt der Religionen eV received the Citizens' Prize of the Bavarian State Parliament (2nd prize) from State Parliament President Barbara Stamm, which had the motto: "My faith. Your faith. No faith. - Our country! Civic engagement and ideological discourse for a society of respect and understanding ".

See also

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ God's Garden of Religions at the State Garden Show 2012 in Bamberg (ed.), Touching Paradise (brochure for the State Garden Show 2012), Bamberg 2012, p. 6f.
  2. ↑ KTA Kiefer, Textile Architektur, Radolfzell
  3. ↑ Prebeck GmbH, Building with steel sheets / Furth
  4. ↑ www.gottesgarten-bamberg.de/projekt.php
  5. ↑ project group "God's Garden" (Ed.): God's Garden of Religions. Touching paradise. Brochure for the State Garden Show 2012, p. 4f.
  6. ^ Förderverein Zelt der Religionen eV, Eisgrube 16, 96049 Bamberg
  7. ↑ Articles of Association of January 28, 2013, Section 2 Paragraph 1
  8. ↑ Marion Krüger-Hundrup: Symbol for good cooperation. Franconian Day, Edition A, January 21, 2013, p. 7
  9. ↑ The tent is back. Franconian Day, Edition A, June 10, 2014, p. 11
  10. ↑ So z. B. the multi-religious prayer for peace on the occasion of the attacks on the editors of the magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 11, 2015. Cf. Bamberg sets a sign of peace, in: Fränkischer Tag (Edition A), January 12, 2015, p. 9 and Kirchhof, Andreas, Brotherly Peace instead of Terror, in: Heinrichsblatt 122 (2015), No. 4 of January 25, 2015, p. 17
  11. ↑ So on the subject of "Ascension of Jesus - Ascension of Muhammad" on May 6, 2015, see also: Beyond beer-loving men's rounds, in: Fränkischer Tag (Issue A), 14./15. May 2015, p. 12
  12. ↑ Friends of the Tent of Religions (ed.), Tent of Religions. Program 2015, see Tent of Religions - Calendar of Events
  13. ↑ Press release of the Bavarian State Parliament, October 19, 2017, see [1]

Literature and press

  • God's Garden of Religions at the State Garden Show 2012 in Bamberg (ed.), Touching Paradise (brochure for the State Garden Show 2012), Bamberg 2012
  • Second German television (ZDF), Evang. Divine service, May 13, 2012
  • TV Oberfranken (TVO), Church in Bavaria ... the ecumenical television magazine, April 22, 2012
  • TV Oberfranken (TVO), Church in Bavaria ... the ecumenical television magazine, May 6, 2012
  • TV Oberfranken (TVO), Grüß Gott Oberfranken, 23 May 2012
  • Krüger-Hundrup, Marion, The paradise is in Bamberg, in: Fränkischer Tag (edition A) from 9/10. April 2011, p. 14
  • "God's Garden of Religions". Three religions present a program together at the State Garden Show 2012 in Bamberg, in: Heinrichsblatt 118 (2011), No. 49 of December 4, 2011, p. 3
  • Magazine for the State Garden Show 2012, issue 7, November 2011, p. 5
  • “Now something new is growing again.” Ecumenical Vespers to kick off the Ecumenical Creation Time at the State Garden Show, in: Heinrichsblatt 119 (2012), No. 35 of August 26, 2012, p. 13
  • What a summer. Magazine for the State Garden Show 2012, issue 9, November 2012, p. 9
  • Förderverein Landesgartenschau Bamberg eV (Ed.), An island blooms. From the spinning mill to the State Garden Show, Bamberg 2012, pp. 5, 8f, 34 and 111
  • Krüger-Hundrup, Marion, symbol for the good togetherness, in: Fränkischer Tag (edition A) of January 21, 2013, p. 7
  • Bridges of togetherness, in: Fränkischer Tag (Edition A) from 8./9. March 2014, p. 11
  • The tent is back, in: Fränkischer Tag (Issue A) of June 10, 2014, p. 11
  • Ortner, Ulrich, tent of religions, in: Bürgererverein 4. Distrikt eV (Ed.), 64. Bamberger Sandkerwa 21. – 25. August 2014 (Festschrift), pp. 33–35

Coordinates: 49 ° 53 '45.5 "  N , 10 ° 53' 2.4"  E