Dépasser la perte : le quotidien algérien de Christophe Lebreton
Overcome the Loss: The Algerian Everyday Life of Christophe Lebreton

Summary/Abstract: Christophe Lebreton was the youngest of the monks of the Tibhirine monastery kidnapped and killed during the Algerian civil war. In this article, I will present the attitude resulting from political non-alignment and Cistercian spirituality that Lebreton takes with regard to the war and then move on to the description of the daily life experienced among Muslims, as it is represented in the writings of the young monk. I ultimately argue that Lebreton’s Algerian experience and his vocation as a Christian monk are two facets of the same desire to overcome the loss. It seems legitimate to see the idea of the monastery that Lebreton draws up in his writings as an attempt to overcome through spirituality the historical, cultural and political conditions of the Algerian reality. Renunciation of the earthly world and the constructive sublimation of loss lead to the construction of a universe which allows love of Muslim neighbor to be realized.

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