Jewish topics prove popular at Ecumenical Kirchentag in Berlin

Presentations on Jewish thought, history, and contemporary life attracted many participants at the Ecumenical Kirchentag, a conference of 200,000 Protestant and Catholic Christians that met in Berlin, Germany

Jewish topics prove popular at Ecumenical Kirchentag in Berlin

Berlin - Presentations on Jewish thought, history, and contemporary life attracted many participants at the Ecumenical Kirchentag, a conference of 200,000 Protestant and Catholic Christians that met in Berlin, Germany, May 28-June 1, 2003. Some 60 seminars and discussions were presented as part of the ?Christian-Jewish Workshop,” and a mini-university on Judaism was offered.


In a session on Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity, speakers included Prof. Michael Signer of Notre Dame, U.S.A.; Prof. Micha Brumlik, Frankfurt am Main; Prof. Hanspeter Heinz, Augsburg; Rabbi Dr. Andreas Nachama, Berlin; and Prof. Peter von der Osten-Sacken, Berlin.  A memorial session for the late Prof. Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt was held, with Rabbi Dr. Albert Friedlander of London and others recalling his many contributions to interfaith dialogue and research.


This first joint conference of the Protestant Kirchentag and the Roman Catholic Katholikentag was held under  the theme ?You Shall Be a Blessing.” There were some 190,000 full-time registrants, including 5,400 guests from 90 countries, and more than 3,000 program events. A program series was also held on Christian-Muslim relations, as well as panel discussions representing the three Abrahamic faiths.


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