St Christopher’s Cathedral and the organisation This is Bahrain joined forces to mark the UN Day of Tolerance today, hosting a celebration of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s multifaith, multicultural society.

The Reverend Rob Penrith—the Cathedral locum priest, who arrived only on Wednesday—embraced the event with an opening address on the theme of “What tolerance means to me”.

There was wonderful music—a solo by Destiny Ovunda Chuku and a performance by the National Evangelical Church United Voices—and moving interfaith prayers for peace.

Speakers included members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahado Church, the National Evangelical English Language Church, the Tamil Community, and the Bahrain Buddhist Community, as well addresses by Captain Tom Cook—chaplain to the US Fifth Fleet, the Reverend Newton Ndlovu—chaplain to the British Royal Navy Base Bahrain, and Gulf Daily News chief editor Stanley Szecowka.

Riyadh Ahmed Al Marzooq, member of the Supreme Committee for Disability Affairs also addressed the gathering, along with representatives from the Al Raja and the British School in Bahrain. (Click on images below to enlarge photo.)