Posted September 4, 2014

St. Joseph’s University theology professor Philip Cunningham was elected president of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) at their conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in late August.

Cunningham is the director of university’s Institute of Jewish-Catholic Relations and is recognized internationally as an expert in Jewish-Christian relations and interreligious dialogue.

He is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on the topic. Most recently he co-edited the acclaimed research project and book, “Christ Jesus and the Jewish People Today: New Explorations of Theological Interrelationships.”

“For more than six decades, the ICCJ has been at the forefront of encouraging interreligious understanding in many countries around the world,” said Cunningham. “It has also been an important contributor to emerging theologies of the Christian relationship to Judaism and the Jewish relationship to Christianity. It is an honor for me to be elected as president of this pioneering and prestigious organization and to represent St. Joseph’s University in this international forum.”

The ICCJ originated from a 1947 conference in reaction to the Holocaust. An umbrella organization of 38 Jewish-Christian dialogue organizations engaged in the renewal of Jewish-Christian relations, it has national member organizations in more than 30 countries on five continents. Recently the council and its members have engaged in the dialogue between Jews, Christians and Muslims.