WE’RE BLESSED TO HAVE ON OUR TEAM AND AMONG OUR PARTNERS ACTIVE, INSIGHTFUL LEADERS IN THE ECUMENICAL AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE MOVEMENTS.
OUR STAFF
Rev. James Loughran, SA
Associate Editor, Ecumenical Trends
Former Commissioner, Faith & Order Commission of the National Council of Churches, USA. Member of local and national dialogues between Catholics and Jews. Speaker for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Lecturer on Jewish-Catholic relations. Executive board member, Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East. Faculty, Centro Pro Unione Summer Course, Rome, Italy.
Email: JLoughran@geii.org
Dr. Aaron T. Hollander
Editor, Ecumenical Trends
Immediate Past President, North American Academy of Ecumenists. Steering Committee Member, Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network. Member, American Academy of Religion. Faculty, Centro Pro Unione Summer Course, Rome, Italy. Adjunct Faculty, Theology Department, Fordham University.
Email: AHollander@geii.org
Ms. Elizabeth Costa
Assistant to the Editors, Ecumenical Trends
Coordinator, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Email: ecosta@geii.org
Mr. Giovanni Ricci
Archivist, GEII Library
Liaison, American Theological Libraries Association
Email: gricci@geii.org
Our Partner Institutions
The Roman Catholic Franciscan religious congregation of men who direct the work of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute. The motherhouse or headquarters is located at Graymoor in Garrison, NY.
A sister institute of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute and directed by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, the “Center for Unity” is located at the Piazza Navonna in Rome. Centro Pro Unione gives access to scholars to its vast ecumenical library and resources. The collection on ecumenical dialogues is universal and as complete as possible for use in ecumenical scholarship. The website offers access for those who cannot be in Rome. Since 1993, CPU has offered a three-week summer course in English for those wishing an introduction to the ecumenical movement and interreligious dialogue.
475 Riverside Drive, New York NY is the home of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute and is a community of religious and academic institutions housed in what is called a “Class A” office building across from Riverside Church to the west of Columbia University. Built by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1960 as affordable office space for Christian organizations, TIC has developed into a well-known location for ecumenical, interfaith and educational community building.
World Ecumenical Offices and Networks
Founded during Vatican Council II as the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, the Dicastery is located at the Vatican and is the Catholic Church’s main resource for engagement with Christians of other communions and traditions as well as acting as the Catholic Church’s partner with world-wide Judaism, through its Commission on Religious Relations with the Jews. It sponsors every international ecumenical dialogue in which the Catholic Church is involved and is a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. Resources may be downloaded off its website.
www.dicasteryinterreligious.va
Founded as a Secretariat during Vatican Council II, with the publication of the Declaration of the Church’s Relationship with Non-Christians (Nostra Aetate), this Dicastery located at the Vatican is the hand of friendship and dialogue offered by the Catholic Church to non-Christian and non-Jewish religions. Its goal is to foster true understanding and dialogues for human life, peace and cooperation. It is a gathering place for all. Of special note is its Commission for Relations with Islam. Resources may be downloaded off its website.
Founded by a handful of mostly European and North American based Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox churches in 1948, the World Council of Churches has grown to over 600 member churches, many in the Global South and Asia/Pacific regions. Its roots go back to the World Missionary Conference of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910. The WCC partners with the Roman Catholic Church in its Faith and Order Commission and in the annual preparation of materials for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Based in Geneva, the WCC offers many opportunities for Christian dialogue with its Assemblies, local activities, peace, justice and integrity of creation activism and educational programming, worship resources and theological dialogue on a conciliar level. Its approach to Christian witness is ecumenical and not under the jurisdiction of any one particular church.
Founded in 1846 in the United Kingdom, the WEA brings together those churches bound by an Evangelical understanding of the nature and mission of the church, primarily based on gospel witness and a faith in the unerring word of God revealed solely and authoritatively in Scripture. Its member churches now claim 600 million adherents. With a few rare exceptions, churches united together under the banner of the WAE are not members of the World Council of Churches. Its mission is to “foster unity in Christ, strengthening identity, voice and platform for gospel witness and discipleship.” WAE has cordial relationships with the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches.
Founded in 1947, the PWF now brings together 76 independent member churches in 47 countries. As an ecumenical fellowship among Pentecostal Christians, it has moved towards a larger understanding of the encounter for unity among all Christians and participates especially in gatherings of the Global Christian Forum.
The Global Christian Forum aims to create a place, independent of existing structures, for the growing unity of the global church. It brings together for the first time various “families” within Christianity represented by the Catholic Church, The Baptist World Alliance and World Alliance of Evangelicals, The World Council of Churches, Orthodox Christianity, Pentecostals, Anglicans and ecumenical associations, for praise, witness and testimony in mutual respect and support. Presently based in Maryland, USA. Gatherings are by invitation to persons representing the families above. The most recent was in Accra, Ghana in April 2024.
www.nationalcouncilofchurches.us
Based now in Washington, DC, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA was established in 1950, as a successor to the Federal Council of Churches (1908). For many decades it was housed at the Interchurch Center in New York. The NCC has since its founding been at the forefront of Christian activism in the United States as a voice for mainline Protestant, historically African-American and Orthodox churches. It has played a major role in the quest to end racism and secure equity and justice for all people. It’s theological outreach, through Faith and Order programming, allows non-members, such as the Catholic Church, to exercise theological input on the way to unity. The NCC is the publisher of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Works on behalf of ecumenical and interreligious relationships between the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the USA and other American nationally-organized churches, councils and institutes. Source of information for American Catholic engagement in ecumenism.
www.churchesunitinginchrist.org
Originating in an ecumenical movement called Consultation on Church Union (COCU – 1962), Churches Uniting in Christ was founded anew in 2002 to bring together Episcopalians, Lutherans, Protestant Communities of the Reformation, Methodists and historically African American Churches together for common witness. It remains a hope from the days of COCU to find a way towards mutual recognition of ministry and sacraments.
www.christianchurchestogether.org
Officially launched in 2007, Christian Churches Together is a “big tent” concept for ecumenical encounter among as many Christian denominations, churches and communions in the USA as wish to participate in annual Forums. The concept, initiated in 2001, was to make welcome Christians who had not traditionally been involved in the mainline ecumenical movement in the United States with those churches that had already formed ecumenical relationships. A key element for keeping this network together is that all statements must be approved unanimously. It has gained in popularity and fellowship.
Religions for Peace is based at the Interchurch Center in New York. Since its inception in 1970, RFP has been guided by a vision of a world where faith communities cooperate effectively for peace. The programs of RFP unleash the power of good will among the world’s religions for the doing of good for others, especially in local times of crisis, war and disaster.
Meeting every year since 1969 (Pandemic excepted), at the suggestion of Catholic Diocesan Ecumenical Officers in the USA, this gathering brings together those who work for the churches and communions on a local but official level to discuss the latest trends, controversies and successes of the ecumenical movement. It is a fellowship of local ecumenists from across the United States (Canadians are also welcome). Still the work primarily of Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist local ecumenists, the National Workshop moves each year from city to city, lasting three nights and three days.
Descending in spirit from the First Parliament of the World’s Religions at the Chicago Columbia Exhibition of 1893, the present-day organization and gatherings began in 1993. The Parliament invites people of every religious belief to come and give workshops, study groups, exhibits and to invite others to participate in their forms of worship at the assemblies held in different cities around the world normally every three years. In between, committees continue to contribute studies, reports and statements on world events, particularly on justice, peace and the healing of our climate and environment.
Scholarly Networks
The NAAE is a community of ecumenical scholars and activists from a wide variety of Christian traditions across North America. It promotes scholarship, church life, and pastoral practice in the service of Christian Unity and brings together ecumenists, theologians, liturgists, graduate students, church officials, clergy, religious and laity actively pursuing Christian unity. They gather in an annual themed conference each autumn in different locations throughout North America. The papers are published in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies. Attending the Conference makes one a member and members receive a complimentary subscription to the Journal.
Ecclesiological Investigations brings together quality research and inspiring debates in ecclesiology worldwide from a network of international scholars, research centers and projects in the field. The Network seeks to promote studies, research, dialogue and collaboration in ecclesiology across the broad spectrum of the Christian tradition. It exists to promote genuinely collaborative ecclesiology in national, international, intra-ecclesial and ecumenical contexts. EI remains closely associated with the American Academy of Religion, within which the concept of EI was introduced in 2005. There are frequent meetings of EI in cities throughout the world.
The Association for Interreligious / Interfaith Studies is a collaboration of scholars, practitioners, and activists committed to advancing the academic field of interreligious and interfaith studies.
Founded at a meeting in Boston of the American Academy of Religion by Jennifer Howe Peace, the scholar members gather at least once per year in different cities across the United States.
The AAR is the largest scholarly society dedicated to the academic study of religion, with more than 6,000 members around the world. The AAR’s mission is to foster excellence in the academic study of religion and enhance the public understanding of religion. Initially an association for scholars of Biblical Studies, today AAR supports those who study any and all religions. It is not a faith-based organization. The expertise of our membership spans virtually all religions, and AAR neither endorses nor condemns any religious belief or practice. The annual meetings are normally in November.
Other Ecumenical and Interreligious Institutes
Associated with campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, the Dialogue Institute is a partner agency of The Journal of Ecumenical Studies, founded in 1964. The Dialogue Institute engages religious, civic, and academic leaders in practicing the skills of respectful dialogue and critical thinking
Based at The Interchurch Center in New York City, ICNY is a secular non-profit organization with a mission to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city’s grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities.
The Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Hellenic College-Holy Cross seeks to facilitate and advance dialogue with other Christian churches and faith communities, particularly around theological and ethical, as well as pastoral and practical dimensions of contemporary issues and social challenges.
A center of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, the Jay Phillips Center is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of interreligious relations and understanding. The center collaborates with the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota to promote the public understanding of interreligious relations through dialogue, encounter, and civic engagement.
The Pluralism Project is a program of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. An ongoing research effort, the Pluralism Project studies and interprets religious diversity and interfaith relations in the United States. It conducts research with the help of students, in collaboration with others in our field, and in partnership with religious communities and interfaith organizations.
An institute within and sponsored by the World Council of Churches and located in Switzerland, Bossey has a long history in offering degree instruction and ecumenical formation experiences on various levels and in different languages
Located on a hill in the municipality of Jerusalem, just north of Bethlehem, the Tantur Ecumeniucal Institute is an “oasis” where one can come to be refreshed in heart, mind, and spirit. It is also a place where one can “encounter” the rich sacredness of others, their faith traditions and holy sites, while experiencing a personal renewal. Its programs immerse participants in The Tantur Experience, combining class-based lectures and seminars with field trips, community encounter, and free time, all to allow for a rich spiritual and educational journey through the Holy Land.
Elijah’s mission is to foster unity in diversity, creating a harmonious world. Elijah’s message: The world’s great religions radiate wisdom that can heal the world. Deep level spiritual conversation across interreligious lines enriches our inner lives, enhances our prayer and opens our hearts.
The Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue is an interreligious organization based in Jerusalem which promotes an inclusive society for all religious, ethnic and national groups. Through education, encounter, research and consulting, the Rossing Center promotes better relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.
An institute of Trinity College, Dublin, with programming also in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the ISE is a community of scholars and supporters who together align the best of our minds, our experiences and our understandings to create a learning environment in which those who are inspired to make Peace and pursue Reconciliation may be as well-equipped as possible to undertake that journey. It offers graduate degree programming and grassroots service to reconciliation between divided communities.