Abstract
Etty Hillesum and Christian de Chergé of the Tibhirine monastery in Algeria shared a common belief; they were both convinced that God requires our help in this world and that He places his hope in us. The author explores what it means to be present with Him at the margins of human existence, in solidarity with those who are discarded, and to witness the greatness of life wherever it is violated. He concludes that both Etty Hillesum and Christian de Chergé laid the foundation for a theology of hope in their writings.
Keywords: Christian de Chergé, theology, hope, God, destiny, faith, Etty Hillesum
I became acquainted with Etty Hillesum's writings in 2002. I was struck by her intelligence and wit, by the quality of her writing, and her capacity to look at life and herself right in the eye. I was impressed by her love of life, her commitment, her faith, and her courage. Etty Hillesum becomes alive with all her passion for the reader, and her diaries and letters can truly become a transformative experience for the reader. This is why she is truly a gift to the literary world.
At the time of their tragic deaths, Etty Hillesum was 29 years old and the Trappist monk, brother Christian de Chergé, was 59. The witness of their lives leads us along one of the most demanding roads of human existence: the gift of one's self for others, which originates in an unshakeable certainty that love is possible and that all are worthy of it. This is the essence of the remarkable stories of Christian de Chergé and Etty Hillesum. They are two travelling companions along an uncharted pathway of existence.
Christian de Chergé
Christian de Chergé entered the Trappist monastery of Aiguebelle in France on 20 August 1969. Two years later, he was assigned to the monastery of Our Lady of Atlas in Algeria, and in 1986 he became the monastery's prior. Having lived in Algeria with his parents as a child, it was he who asked to return to Algeria as a monk. Christian de Chergé and six of his Trappist brothers were kidnapped by the AIG (Armed Islamic Group) on 27 March 1996. On 23 May of the same year, the AIG sent out a communiqué saying: “We have slit the throats of the seven monks.”