LOCATIONS:

• Abbey of Melk (Abt-Berthold-Dietmayr-Straße 1, 3390 Melk): Sunday, February 2nd, 2:00 p.m. – Monday, February 3rd, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
• University of Vienna: Deans Office at the Faculty of Catholic Theology (Main Building of the University of Vienna, Staircase 8, 2nd floor, Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna): Tuesday, February 4th, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m.

In front of the many crises that are currently troubling humanity, this conference aims to focus on the fundamental question that unites the three Abrahamic religions: the Manifestation of the one God. This question not only represents the common center of theological reflection, but is also linked to the mission of performing a life in accordance with God’s will. As such, it also affects the life practice and coexistence of the members of the religions in question, to whom God sent respectively the Torah, Jesus and the Qur’an. For this reason, the question of the significance of and the relation to the two others is intrinsically connected to the question of the One God.

This international conference will consist of two parts: the first bilateral part (Christianity and Islam) will take place in February 2025; the second trilateral part (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) will take place in February 2027. The conclusion of the first part will include a panel with inputs from Christian, Muslim as well as Jewish scholars, as a bridge towards the second part. The aim of both parts is to renew and deepen our theological understanding of what links the three main branches within the Abrahamic family, within the broader human fraternity.

On this occasion, the Research Center Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society (and the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Vienna; in conjunction with the University of Montreal and the Sophia-University of Loppiano) has invited internationally recognized scholars from all three Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) to reflect on the significance of the other traditions for a deeper understanding of God’s will, based on their own understanding of God’s manifestation.

With presentations by:

• Prof. Dr. Dr. Isabella Guanzini (Catholic Private University of Linz/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Adnane Mokrani (Pontifical Gregorian University/Rome/Italy)
• Prof. Dr. Dina El Omari (University of Münster/Germany)
• Prof. Dr. Aysun Yaşar (University of Vienna/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Fr. Guy-Raymond Sarkis (Saint Joseph Jesuit University / Beirut / Lebanon)
• Prof. Dr. Klaus von Stosch (University of Bonn/Germany)
• Prof. Dr. Regina Polak (University of Vienna/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Roberto Catalano (Sophia University Institute of Loppiano/Florence Italy)
• Mag. Awi Blumenfeld (University of Vienna/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Zekirija Sejdini (University of Innsbruck/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Jakob Deibl (University of Vienna/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Mouhanad Khorchide (University Münster/Germany)
• Prof. Dr. Bernhard Callebaut (Sophia University Institute of Loppiano/Florence Italy)
• Prof. Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Ali Shomali (Teheran/Iran)
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Kurt Appel (University of Vienna/Austria)
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Piero Coda (Sophia University Institute of Loppiano/Florence Italy)
• Prof. Dr. Patrice Brodeur (University of Montreal/Canada)
• Prof. Dr. Susannah Heschel (Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College)
• H. B. Dr. Lic. Pierbattista Card. Pizzaballa (Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem)

The detailed conference programme can be found here.

If you are interested in the conference, please register per mail at marian.weingartshofer@univie.ac.at by January 17, 2025.