Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding

Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding
Name	Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding
Formation	1980s
Type	Research institute
Headquarters	London
Location	United Kingdom
Leader title	Director
Parent organization	St Philip's Centre

Contents

Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding is an academic and interfaith centre based in London that fosters scholarship and dialogue between Judaism and Christianity. It engages with scholars, clergy, and lay communities to examine theological, historical, and cultural intersections involving Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Rabbinic Judaism, Patristics, and Reformation studies. The institute connects with universities, seminaries, and religious bodies such as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, King's College London, University College London, and theological colleges across the United Kingdom and internationally.

History

The institute emerged amid late 20th-century changes including the aftermath of Second Vatican Council decisions such as Nostra aetate, developments in Anglican Communion relations, and renewed interest in Jewish–Christian relations after events like the Shoah. Founding figures drew on networks linked to St Philip's Centre, Westminster Abbey, Cambridge University Library, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and personalities participating in dialogues at venues like Lambeth Palace. Early collaborations involved scholars associated with Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, European University Institute, Princeton Theological Seminary, Yale Divinity School, and the Catholic University of Leuven. The institute's history intersects with major interfaith milestones including bilateral statements between Vatican delegations and World Jewish Congress delegations, consultations with World Council of Churches, and panels at conferences hosted by British Academy and Royal Historical Society.

The institute's mission emphasizes academic exchange drawing on disciplines and institutions such as Patristic studies, Biblical archaeology, Medieval studies, Modern Jewish thought, and Theology. It convenes seminars that bring together researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, University of Chicago Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, Princeton University, Columbia University, and New York University. Activities include public lectures at locations like Westminster Cathedral, workshops with clergy from Church of England, Roman Catholic Church, United Reformed Church, and outreach to communities connected with Board of Deputies of British Jews and United Synagogue. The institute engages with archival partners such as Bodleian Library, National Archives (UK), Israel State Archives, and museum collaborators including British Museum and Imperial War Museums.

Research programs span textual studies engaging Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Dead Sea Scrolls materials, historical projects connecting Medieval Spain and Converso scholarship, and contemporary studies on theological reappraisals influenced by figures like Martin Buber, Gershom Scholem, Emmanuel Levinas, Karl Barth, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Postgraduate fellowships attract students from University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, University of Birmingham, SOAS University of London, Durham University, and international institutions including Princeton Theological Seminary and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Research themes include liturgical exchange between Byzantine Rite and Western Rite, legal-historical work referencing Talmud, studies of anti-Judaism and antisemitism connected to events like the Dreyfus Affair and Kristallnacht, and modern reconciliation efforts tied to initiatives by World Jewish Congress, Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and ecumenical bodies such as the World Council of Churches.

The institute publishes monographs, edited volumes, and working papers in collaboration with presses and series affiliated with Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Brill Publishers, Walter de Gruyter, and journals like Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Jewish Quarterly Review, The Journal of Jewish Studies, Vigiliae Christianae, and Modern Theology. Annual conferences have convened panels featuring scholars from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Notre Dame, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, and institutions such as Institute for Advanced Study. The institute has organized themed symposia on topics including Christian theological responses to Shoah, Jewish biblical interpretation and Septuagint studies, and comparative liturgy involving the Book of Common Prayer and Siddur traditions.

The institute partners with ecclesial bodies including Archbishop of Canterbury's offices, Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, Anglican Communion, and Jewish organizations such as Board of Deputies of British Jews and Anti-Defamation League. It collaborates with universities and research centres like Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Cambridge Centre for Jewish Studies, Yad Vashem, Centre for the Study of Christianity and Judaism, European Association for Jewish Studies, and civic institutions including British Council. Initiatives have included joint programming with King's College London, exchange visits involving Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and dialogues convened alongside events at Parliament of the United Kingdom and civic memorials such as Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations.

Governance has involved academics and clergy drawn from universities and religious bodies including professors affiliated with King's College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Birmingham, and clergy connected to St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and diocesan offices. Directors and advisory board members have included scholars in fields tied to Jewish studies, Christian theology, Patristics, and Medieval studies, with trustees representing organizations such as St Philip's Centre, Board of Deputies of British Jews, Church of England, and academic partners like SOAS University of London and Cambridge University. Administrative collaboration has extended to research councils and funding bodies such as Arts and Humanities Research Council and charitable foundations linked to Wolfson Foundation and Leverhulme Trust.

Category:Interfaith organizations