Henri Teissier, Archbishop Emeritus of Algiers, witness to Algerian news during the “
black decade
” and convinced artisan of Islamic-Christian dialogue, died Tuesday, December 1.
Bishop Teissier, 91, suffered a stroke on Monday and was admitted to the Herriot hospital in Lyon, where he "
left
" Tuesday "
at 6 am
", Catholic sources told AFP in the diocese of Lyon and Algiers.
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“
We are losing a father and a brother, the one who guided, led and accompanied us for many years in this church in Algeria during the war (of independence), the 'black decade' ... He was very close to everyone
, ”Bishop Paul Desfarges, his successor, told AFP.
Archbishop of Algiers from 1988 to 2008, Mgr Teissier was the direct witness of the atrocities of the "
black decade
" (1992-2002) which saw the death of around 200,000 people, including many civilians, victims of attacks or alleged massacres. Islamist groups that clashed with the security forces.
"
If, on October 29, 1993, when the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) sent us a letter ordering us to leave the country before December 1, we had left, there would be no more Christians in Algeria.
He confided three years ago to the Middle East Eye news site.
"
During the dark times, Mgr Teissier remained in Algeria, thus showing his solidarity with the Algerian people
", underlined the former minister and intellectual Mustapha Cheriff.
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The assassination of the Trappist monks of Tibhirine by the GIA or that of the Bishop of Oran Pierre Claverie in 1996 will have been "
a suffering, which he kept to the end
", confided Father Christian Delorme, figure of interreligious dialogue in Lyon.
A total of 19 priests and nuns of the diocese of Algiers, now beatified, were killed in the 1990s. Born July 21, 1929 in Lyon in a family from Philippeville (current Algerian municipality of Skikda), Henri Teissier spent his childhood and part of his youth in Algeria, where his father was an officer.
"
Incredible energy
"
After studying Arabic, oriental languages then Islamic sciences at the University of Cairo, he began as a priest in Algiers during the war (from 1958 to 1962), vicar in the popular district of Belcourt.
In 1962, he set up a house open to Arab-Muslim culture, to "
dialogue with the Algerians
" which he directed until 1972, when he became bishop of Oran.
In 1966 he opted for Algerian nationality.
“
Algeria is my hope.
It is the place where I can make my small contribution to universal reconciliation and fraternity.
It is the part of humanity that I have been given to serve and love
”,
this excellent Arabist and specialist in Islam
confided in the newspaper
La Croix
in 2003
.
He was very attached to the defense of Eastern Christians.
Retired since 2012, "
he made the round trip (between Lyon and Algiers) but because of the Covid, he could not return,
" said Bishop Desfarges.
He was preparing to return in December to lead a retreat with all the priests of Algeria.
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All the testimonies evoke a prelate of great humility, warmth, inexhaustible on Algeria and the dialogue between religions.
Father Delorme describes “
a simple and humorous man
” who still had “
incredible energy
”.
"
He did not stop, he was to give a conference next week in Blois on the subject of the book he had just released on Emir Abdelkader
".
In sending his condolences, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad paid tribute to "
a passionate about the history of Algeria
" and to "
a defender of the values of tolerance, coexistence and interfaith dialogue
".
The French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, paid tribute in a tweet to a "
prominent figure of Algeria and its Church, benchmark of courage during the dark years
".
For his part, the French Ambassador to Algeria, François Gouyette, greeted on Twitter "
a man of peace
".
Bishop Teissier's funeral will take place on Saturday morning at the Saint-Jean Primatiale in Lyon.
His body will be repatriated to Algeria, where a tribute will be paid to him by the local church.
