Paul-Gordon Chandler

is a U.S. Episcopal priest working in the Middle East. He grew up in Muslim French-speaking West Africa, and has lived and worked extensively throughout the Islamic world with churches, ecumenical publishing and faith-based relief and development agencies.

Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, affiliated with the U.S. Episcopal Church, currently serves as the Rector of the 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 and its international congregation of over 20 nationalities welcomes people from many denominations and church traditions, primarily from the diplomatic, aid and business communities.

Prior to this role, he served as the President/CEO of Partners International (PI), an international and ecumenical non-profit that exists to assist and empower indigenous faith-based non-governmental organizations in over 70 countries in the Two Thirds World. Before serving with PI, he was the U.S. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of International Bible Society (IBS), a faith-based non-profit involved in publishing, distributing and translating the Scriptures in over 500 languages, and the sponsor of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, the best-selling English translation worldwide.

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 historic international publishing and grant-making organization of the Church of England, involved in publishing and communications in the U.K. and throughout the Two-Thirds World.

Prior to SPCK, 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 this Muslim majority country, and served as the international church congregation to internationals from over 30 nationalities living and working in Tunisia. Before taking up the role with the Anglican Church in Tunisia, North Africa, he worked with the International Bible Society as Director of International Programs and served for several years directing translation, publishing and distribution projects throughout the world, in over 100 countries.

Paul-Gordon, an American, spent the first eighteen years of his life in French-speaking West Africa, in Senegal, a Muslim majority country. He studied at Wheaton College where he majored in Theological Studies and at Chichester Theological Seminary (Church of England institution) in England and is an ordained Episcopal priest. He is married and has two children.

Paul-Gordon is the author of God’s Global Mosaic: What We Can Learn from Christians Around the World,published by InterVarsity Press (IVP) in January of 2000. His second book, titled Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Exploring a New Path Between Two Faiths, published by Cowley Publications (an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield) in September 2007, is in the field of Christian and Islamic relations and focuses on what we can learn from the life and thought of Mazhar Mallouhi, the well known Syrian Arab novelist and “Muslim follower of Christ”.

His most recent book, titled Songs in Waiting: Spiritual Reflections on Christ’s Birth... A Celebration of Middle Eastern Canticles, was published in July 2009 by Morehouse Publishing.  Additionally he has written numerous articles in various publications.

A personal passion of Paul-Gordon’s is to explore and encourage the interplay between Faith and the Arts—and more specifically within the context of interfaith, encouraging Muslims and Christians to journey together through the Arts. In this regard, he has started an informal initiative called Caravan to serve as a catalyst to build bridges of understanding and respect between Christians and Muslims, West and East, through the Arts—visual and literary. This entails developing creative opportunities that highlight Faith and the Arts that bring together Christians and Muslims---holding exhibitions, seminars, lectures, exchanges, serving as a patron, etc.