Paul-Gordon Chandler
Encyclopedia
Paul-Gordon Chandler is an author, a U.S. Episcopal priest, interfaith advocate and social entrepreneur living and working in the Middle East. He grew up in Muslim West Africa (Senegal), and has lived and worked extensively throughout the Islamic world with churches, religious publishing and Christian relief and development agencies. His acclaimed book on Muslim/Christian relations is Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Exploring a New Path Between Two Faiths.
He is currently the Rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist/Maadi in Cairo
, Egypt
, within the Episcopal
Diocese of Egypt & North Africa. St. John’s Church/Maadi is the international English-speaking Episcopal/Anglican church in southern Cairo with an international congregation of over 20 nationalities from many denominations and church traditions.
Immediately prior to this role, he served as the President/CEO of Partners International (PI), an international and ecumenical development prganization that exists to assist and empower indigenous faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in over 70 countries. Before serving with PI, he was the U.S. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBS Publishing (now Biblica), a publishing and distribution non-profit that works in over 500 languages, and the sponsor of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.
Prior to that he worked with the Anglican Church for five years. From 1995-1997, he worked with SPCK in London, England as the Director of SPCK Worldwide, an international publishing agency of the Church of England involved in publishing and communications in the UK and throughout the Two-Thirds World. Before this, from 1993–1995, he served in Tunisia
, North Africa, as the Rector of St. George's Episcopal/Anglican Church in Tunis/Carthage and Chaplain to the British Embassy. St. George’s Church was the only English-speaking church in Tunisia, a Muslim
majority country, and served as the international church congregation to internationals from over 30 nationalities living and working in Tunisia. Prior to that, he worked with the IBS Publishing as Director of International Programs and served for several years directing translation, publishing and distribution projects throughout the world, in over 100 countries.
He is actively engaged in exploring and encouraging the interplay between “Faith and the Arts” within the context of interfaith, encouraging Muslims and Christians to journey together through the Arts. He started an interfaith arts initiative called Caravan that serves as a catalyst toward building bridges of understanding and respect between Christians and Muslims, West and East, through the Arts.
He studied at Wheaton College
where he majored in Biblical/Theological Studies (B.A. 1986) and also at Chichester Theological College (Church of England institution) in England
.
Paul-Gordon Chandler’s acclaimed book on Muslim/Christian relations, titled Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Exploring a New Path Between Two Faiths (published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2008) focuses on what we can be learned from the life and thought of Mazhar Mallouhi, the well known Syrian Arab novelist and “Sufi Muslim follower of Christ”. His first book was God’s Global Mosaic, What We Can Learn from Christians Around the World, published by InterVarsity Press (IVP) in January 2000. His most recent book is titled Songs In Waiting: Spiritual Reflections on Christ's Birth...A Celebration of Middle Eastern Canticles, published by Morehouse Publishing in July 2009. He has begun work on another book which will focus on the spiritual journey of Kahlil Gibran, the early 20th century Lebanese writer and mystic of Christian background (best known in the West for his book "The Prophet"). Additionally he has written numerous articles in various publications.
Life
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, within the Episcopal
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
Diocese of Egypt & North Africa. St. John’s Church/Maadi is the international English-speaking Episcopal/Anglican church in southern Cairo with an international congregation of over 20 nationalities from many denominations and church traditions.
Immediately prior to this role, he served as the President/CEO of Partners International (PI), an international and ecumenical development prganization that exists to assist and empower indigenous faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in over 70 countries. Before serving with PI, he was the U.S. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBS Publishing (now Biblica), a publishing and distribution non-profit that works in over 500 languages, and the sponsor of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.
Prior to that he worked with the Anglican Church for five years. From 1995-1997, he worked with SPCK in London, England as the Director of SPCK Worldwide, an international publishing agency of the Church of England involved in publishing and communications in the UK and throughout the Two-Thirds World. Before this, from 1993–1995, he served in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, North Africa, as the Rector of St. George's Episcopal/Anglican Church in Tunis/Carthage and Chaplain to the British Embassy. St. George’s Church was the only English-speaking church in Tunisia, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
majority country, and served as the international church congregation to internationals from over 30 nationalities living and working in Tunisia. Prior to that, he worked with the IBS Publishing as Director of International Programs and served for several years directing translation, publishing and distribution projects throughout the world, in over 100 countries.
He is actively engaged in exploring and encouraging the interplay between “Faith and the Arts” within the context of interfaith, encouraging Muslims and Christians to journey together through the Arts. He started an interfaith arts initiative called Caravan that serves as a catalyst toward building bridges of understanding and respect between Christians and Muslims, West and East, through the Arts.
He studied at Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
where he majored in Biblical/Theological Studies (B.A. 1986) and also at Chichester Theological College (Church of England institution) in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Books
Listing
- God's Global Mosaic, What We Can Learn from Christians Around the World
- Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Exploring a New Path Between Two Faiths
- Songs In Waiting: Spiritual Reflections on Christ's Birth...A Celebration of Middle Eastern Canticles