Saints: Historical Reality and Spiritual Legacy

Source: Elijah Summer Schoole

ELIJAH SUMMER SCHOOL – A UNIQUE INTERRELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE!

Day 1 “Orientation. Introduction to the Phenomenology of Saints.”

• Prayers
• Panel: Are saints a universal phenomenon?
  Terminology and phenomenology in a comparative context.
  • Prof. Catherine Cornille
  • Prof. Volker Leppin
  • Prof. Jeffery Long
  • Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
  • Peta Jones Pellach
  • Prof. Vincent Cornell
  • Panel: Are saints a universal phenomenon?

Day 2 “Understanding “sainthood” in a cross-religious context. Meeting St Francis.

• Panel
  • Question 1: How important is having a historical understanding of the saint?
  • Question 2: Is being interreligious a trait of the saint?
• Introducing “Religious Genius” - Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
• Chevruta study:
• What is historically unique about St. Francis? - Prof. Volker Leppin

Day 3 “Saint Francis and Assisi”

• Prayers
• Bibliodrama
• The changing image of Saint Francis - Prof. Volker Leppin
• Buddhist saints, history, hagiography and contemporary meaning, the case of Milarepa - Fr. Dr. Francis Tiso

Day 4 “Hindu Conceptions of Sainthood; The Influence of the Saint in Political Life”

• Meditation led by Jeffrey Long - Prof. Jeffery Long
• Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi as Hindu phenomena, against his time and its legacy - Prof. Jeffery Long The meaning of Ramakrishna for interreligious relations
• Panel discussion: Saints, identity and nationalism
  • Prof. Volker Leppin
  • Prof. Jeffery Long
  • Prof. Vincent Cornell
  • Peta Jones Pellach
  • Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
• Praying Together in Jerusalem
• Panel discussion: The saint as peacemaker Do saints bring something unique to the task of peace making?
  • Prof. Volker Leppin
  • Prof. Jeffery Long
  • Prof. Vincent Cornell
  • Peta Jones Pellach
  • Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein

Day 5 “Judaism: Sainthood and Shabbat”

• Rav Kook - Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein
  • Historical context, particularity and profile.
  • Jewish theology of religion and the contribution of Rav Kook.
• Textual Reading
  • Introduction to Song of Songs and introduction to Shabbat
• Common Shabbat Celebration

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ELIJAH SUMMER SCHOOL – A UNIQUE INTERRELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE!

Summer Schools were the historical starting point of activities of the Elijah Interfaith Institute. They established Elijah’s reputation for grounding the teaching of religion in a deeper level of experience and engagement with issues of mutual concern, where the classroom functions as a place of authentic inter-religious contact.

The major strength of the Elijah Interreligious Summer School is that academic study takes place not in isolation or in abstraction, but within an interfaith community of faculty and students, where the study of religious traditions is integrated with exposure to their lived spirituality. Using diverse learning techniques, including formal text analysis and the more creative bibliodrama, lectures and small group study, an Elijah Summer School is an intense encounter with oneself and with the other.

Since our beginnings in 1997, Elijah’s activities have expanded and our vision to create a Center of HOPE, a House of Prayer and Education in Jerusalem, has begun to be realised. Until the physical building is established, activities such as this summer school will create communities of HOPE, laying the groundwork for the future. Our many partners in this venture, representing Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities in Jerusalem, are testimony to the HOPE we have for a shared future based on mutual respect and a commitment to learning from and with each other.

The summer school will create a community which will live on beyond the experience of the summer.

Program<<<

Saints: Historical Reality and Spiritual Legacy

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