Archbishop in Istanbul

Building Bridges Participants

The eighth meeting in the series of Building Bridges seminars (which was supported by Georgetown University, Washington) focussed on discussion of the relationship between religion and science from Christian and Muslim perspectives.  It met between Tuesday 16 June and Thursday 18 June at Bahcesehir University.

At the invitation of the Archbishop Christian and Islamic scholars from both theological and scientific backgrounds met for reflection and dialogue on the relationship between religion and science. As in previous Building Bridges seminars a number of scriptural texts, supplemented by historical and contemporary texts from the Christian and Islamic traditions, were used as the basis for discussion in a programme that included public lectures and private sessions. The proceedings of the Seminar will be published in due course.

The Archbishop's stay as the guest of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul was the third opportunity for them to spend time together deepening an already close and warm personal relationship, as well as strengthening the ties between the Anglican Communion and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Archbishop's first official visit to the Patriarchate was in November 2003.  The Ecumenical Patriarch made a return visit to Lambeth Palace in January 2007 to celebrate the publication of the major Anglican/Orthodox Agreed Statement, The Church of the Triune God.

Notes to editors:

Previous Building Bridges seminars:

2009 – Istanbul: Science and Religion: Christian and Muslim Perspectives

2008 – Rome: Communicating the Word: Revelation, Translation and Interpretation in Christianity and Islam

2007 – Singapore: Humanity in context: Christian and Muslim perspectives on being human

2006 - Georgetown University, USA: Justice and Rights: Scriptural Foundations,

Evolving Traditions, The Modern World

2005 – Sarajevo:

Believers and Citizens: Faith and National Identity in Christian and Muslim Perspective

Seeking the Common Good: Governance and Justice in Muslim and Christian Perspective

Caring together for the World we share

2004 - Georgetown University, USA

Scriptures in Dialogue

What is Prophecy?

Jesus and Muhammad: The Sufficiency of Prophecy

2003 - Doha, Qatar

Listening to God – Learning from Scripture

Interpreting the Scriptures: Legacies of the Past and Challenges of the Present

Scripture and the 'Other'

2002 - Lambeth Palace, UK

Face to Face

Lessons of History

Communities of Faith

Faith and Change

Participants in the 8^th Seminar in Istanbul, Science and Religion: Christian and Muslim Perspectives:

Professor Dr. Alparslan Açıkgenç - Professor of Philosophy - Fatih University

Dr Seyed Amir Akrami - Lecturer of Islamic Studies - Al-Mahdi Institute, Birmingham

Dr Denis R Alexander – Director - The Faraday institute for Science and Religion, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge

Professor Osman Bakar - Professor of Islamic Thought & Civilization - ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur

Professor Nahide Bozkurt - Professor of Theology - Ankara University

Professor John Hedley Brooke - Emeritus Professor of Science & Religion - University of Oxford

Dr Emmanuel Clapsis - Systematic Theologian - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline

Dr Vincent J Cornell - Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies -Department of Middle East & South Asian Studies - Emory University

Professor Ahmad Dallal - Chair, Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies - Georgetown University

Professor Ellen Davis - Professor of Bible & Practical Theology - Duke Divinity School

Professor Celia Deane-Drummond - Director, Centre for Religion & the Biosciences - Chester University

Dr John J DeGioia – President - Georgetown University

Dr Marwa Elshakry - Associate Professor of History of Science - Columbia University

The Rt Revd Josiah Idowu-Fearon - Bishop of Kaduna - Nigeria

Professor Sherine Hamdy - Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology - Brown University

Professor Dževad Hodžić - Professor of Ethics - Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo

Dr Ibrahim Kalin – Director - Seta Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, Ankara

Professor Dr Bekir Karliga - Professor of Islamic Philosophy - Bahçeşehir University

Dr Felix Körner -Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of Religions and Cultures, Lecturer in Dogmatic Theology - Pontificia Università Gregoriana

Dr Jane Dammen McAuliffe – President - Bryn Mawr College

Professor Mustansir Mir - Professor of Islamic Studies - Youngstown State University

Professor Ebrahim Moosa - Associate Professor of Islamic Studies - Department of Religion, Duke University

The Rt Revd Dr Michael Nazir-Ali - Bishop of Rochester - Diocese of Rochester

Dr Kam Weng Ng - Research Director - Kairos Research Centre, Malaysia

Dr Mehmet Pacaci - Visiting Professor - Georgetown University

Professor Christoph Schwöbel - Professor of Systematic Theology - University of Tübingen

Professor Dr Recep Senturk - Professor of Sociology - Fatih University

Professor Dr Michael Welker - Professor of Systematic Theology - University of Heidelberg

Dr Rowan Williams - Archbishop of Canterbury - Lambeth Palace