INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS
AMICIZIA EBRAICO-CRISTIANA DI ROMA
2015 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ROME
“The 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate:
The Past, Present, and Future of the Christian-Jewish Relationship”
June 28 – July 1, 2015
In collaboration with:
COMMISSION OF THE HOLY SEE FOR RELIGIOUS RELATIONS WITH THE JEWS
CONFERENCE THEME
Thursday, 28 October 1965. That was the day – a landmark in interreligious history.
On that day, Pope Paul VI promulgated the Second Vatican Council's "Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions." Commonly known by its opening Latin words, Nostra Aetate ("In Our Time"), this statement profoundly revolutionized relations between Jews and Catholics. It also gave enormous impetus to the interreligious efforts already begun in other Christian traditions and inspired new initiatives for dialogue among religious communities around the globe.
Over the next fifty years, often faltering and falling backwards, Christians and Jews took their first baby steps in learning how to walk together. Perhaps "in our time" of 2015, we are leaving toddlerhood and are now able to run toward a future of mutual encouragement that our forebears could not have imagined. We have much to celebrate, and many challenges and much work lie ahead, but it is undeniable that a new and historically unprecedented rapport between Christians and Jews is growing.
That is why the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) will hold its 2015 annual conference in Rome. Our Italian partners, the Amicizia Ebraico-Cristiana di Roma, are hard at work, eager to share the music, art, and history of the Eternal City with us.
On the golden jubilee of Nostra Aetate, we will converse and study together about the past, present, and future of the Christian-Jewish relationship. We will honor pioneers, consider present issues, and chart our course ahead. We will consider the broader ecumenical impact of the Declaration among the diverse branches within both Christianity and Judaism. Following our wonderful gathering last year in Buenos Aires, where we experienced the growth of deep companionship between Jews and Christians, we will meet in the Vatican with Pope Francis, whose words that "dialogue and friendship with the children of Israel are part of the life of Jesus’ disciples" can inspire our walking together in the coming decades.
As you will see from the conference program, we will gather with specialists and friends from many countries, including colleagues from ICCJ’s International Abrahamic Forum (IAF) and our Young Leadership Council (YLC). We will learn together and encourage one another on our journey.
In 2015 "all [Christian-Jewish] roads lead to Rome"!
Come join us for this historic conference!
Philip A. Cunningham
Dr. Philip A. Cunningham, President of the ICCJ