Documentary Featuring World Religious Leaders Available on DVD in December

November - December 2008

 
In God’s Name , the documentary featuring Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson and 11 other world religious leaders, which aired on CBS network television December 23, 2007, will be available on DVD beginning Dec. 16, 2008.

Filmmaker brothers Jules (left) and Gedeon Naudet with Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. Hanson is also the President of the Lutheran World Federation, a global communion of Christian churches with 68.3 million members in 140 churches.The documentary, produced by brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, explores the complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of 12 of the world’s most influential spiritual leaders.

On September 11 2001 the two brothers were caught in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Jules was shooting inside when the South Tower fell. “On September 11, we faced death and thought we had lost each other,” remembers Jules. “This harrowing experience was the first step in a journey that would take us around the world searching for answers to the meaning of life.”

The quest took them to Egypt, England, India, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Russia, the Vatican, South Carolina and Illinois. The 12 leaders featured in the special are:

  1. Alexei II, patriarch of Moscow and head of the Russian Orthodox Church
  2. Amma, a Hindu spiritual leader
  3. Pope Benedict XVI
  4. The Dalai Lama
  5. Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a Shi’ite Muslim leader
  6. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation
  7. Michihisa Kitashirakawa, Jingu Daiguji of the Shinto Grand Shrine of Ise
  8. Yona Metzger, Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel
  9. Dr. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention
  10. Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, sheikh of Al-Azhar and a prominent Sunni Muslim leader
  11. Joginder Singh Vedanti, jathedar of the Akal Takht, the Sikhs’ highest authority
  12. Dr. Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England

The DVD and a book of photographs is offered through National Geographic and will be available at retail outlets across the country and online. Find more information about the program and download a study guide at www.elca.org/ingodsname.