Tantur Ecumenical Institute
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Former names
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Jerusalem Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Research at Tantur |
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| Motto | Fôs Christou phinei Pâsin |
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Motto in English
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The Light of Christ shines for us. |
| Type | Advanced Research Institute |
| Established | 1972 |
| Affiliation | Christian Ecumenism |
| Rector | Rev. Russell McDougall, CSC |
| Location |
Jerusalem 31°43′45″N 35°12′11″E / 31.729167°N 35.203179°ECoordinates: 31°43′45″N 35°12′11″E / 31.729167°N 35.203179°E |
| Colors | gold, blue, Jerusalem Sandstone |
| Affiliations | University of Notre Dame, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity |
| Website | Tantur Ecumenical Institute |
The Tantur Ecumenical Institute was founded in 1972 as an international ecumenical institute for advanced theological research in Jerusalem. The impetus came from meetings between Protestant Observers at Vatican II with Pope Paul VI, and a subsequent meeting between the pope and Patriarch Athenagoras I in Jerusalem. The property is owned by the Holy See and leased to the University of Notre Dame for the administration of the institute. It is governed by an international ecumenical board, including Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant/Anglican members. On a thirty-six acre hill overlooking the way between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Tantur is located as an oasis of learning, dialogue, prayer, and community amid the geo-political and religious complexity of the Holy Land.
"No one climbs up to Tantur except to follow a vocation, the same vocation that led on the pioneers of ecumenism. That is the climate in which the research here must develop." (Professor Albert Outler, Tantur, 1972)
The mission of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute is to:
While the ecumenical mission of Christian Unity is the central and core mission of Tantur, its situation in between Jerusalem and Bethlehem give easy context for the second-tier mission areas of interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding. Tantur is as a place and resource for global ecumenical research, as well as for local initiatives in these areas.
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the lease and groundbreaking for the institute (1967), the international advisory board recently developed a new Strategic Plan for Tantur, which identified the following strategic goals:
In October 1963, Ecumenical Observers at the Second Vatican Council approached Pope Paul VI and shared the dream of an international ecumenical institute for advanced theological research and pastoral studies. This produced a seed that would find fertile ground for planting when the bishop of Rome met with Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople on the Mount of Olives on 5 January 1964. This famous first encounter of pope and patriarch in centuries inspired the idea that the international ecumenical institute be located in Jerusalem.
In September 1964, Pope Paul received in audience Rev. Theodore Hesburgh (Fr. Ted), then president of the University of Notre Dame, at the head of the International Federation of Catholic Universities. From this meeting and others over the next year and a half, the bishop of Rome entrusted the idea of Tantur to Notre Dame and a committee of international ecumenical advisors – including the likes of Yves Congar, Oscar Cullman, Georges Florovsky, J.N.D. Kelly, Raymond Pannikar, Karekin Sarkissian, and several other great ecumenical theologians of the age. This board began its work in earnest in November 1965.
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