The Tantur Institute for Ecumenical Studies is situated on the main road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem and serves as a welcoming place in the Holy Land for visitors from all over the world, including:
- scholars in a variety of disciplines
- teachers, students, and conference attendees
- spiritual sojourners of all Christian faiths
Tantur offers programs of continuing education and spiritual renewal for:
- clergy and members of religious communities
- laity seeking enrichment in the land where Jesus lived and taught
On 7-14 May, overlapping (but not competing with!) Pope Benedict’s historic visit to the Holy Land, the Tantur Ecumenical Institute offered a unique working/walking conference entitled, “Paul in his Milieu: Land, Religion and Culture.” Typically, “In the Footsteps of St. Paul” tours travel over miles of Greek and Turkish sites associated with Paul’s trips in Asia Minor. But in this year of Paul, Tantur decided to bring together some of the leading English-speaking Biblical scholars to reflect on the text of Paul’s letters in the context where he spent a good part of his ministry. From references in the Acts of the Apostles and his letters, Paul’s ministry included Jerusalem, Antipatris (near modern-day Peta Tikva), Caesarea Maritima, Acco (Ptolemeis), and Jish (one tradition claims that Paul’s parents were born in this Galilee Maronite village). Tantur was able to offer stimulating lectures from, and discussions with, James D.G. Dunn, Morna Hooker (both members of the British Trust for Tantur), Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, Paul Nadim Tarazi, Christian Eeckhout, Paula Fredriksen, Jesper Svartvik, and David Aune. Very special about this conference was its combination of field trips (including some of our speakers) to the places where Paul exercised his ministry. Even with the challenge of the logistics around the Papal Visit (and we scheduled our program so that conference participants could attend events in Bethlehem and Jerusalem), the Tantur auditorium was frequently close-to-full with local Jews and Christians taking part in the public lectures part of the conference. What now is Tantur planning? In addition to our regular programming, outlined on different parts of this website, we are looking forward to a very special program in spring 2010 on “Learning to Preach in the Fifth Gospel.” If you are interested in learning more about this exciting opportunity, please send us an email at tantur@netvision.net.il so that we may update you, as details are set. You are welcome at Tantur!
