Centre for Eastern Christianity

The Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London, seeks to create a significant scholarly opening in Eastern Christian Studies, through high level publications and strategic research at a university level for a wider academic and ecclesial audience.

Heythrop College is the foremost institution in the United Kingdom for Catholic thought and theology, and is, hence, in a unique position to establish space for nurturing the dialogue and encounter between Eastern and Western Churches which has been a significant aspect of their relations since the Second Vatican Council.

The Centre has a special concern for the history of relations between the Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity, although not exclusively, and with wider ecumenical dialogues on ecclesiology and theology; the modern history of the Eastern Catholic churches;  the contemporary situation of Eastern Christianity in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The Centre seeks to bring into conversation the Eastern and Western traditions in contemporary contexts and challenges, for example, relations between Christianity and Judaism; Christianity and Islam; the religious identity of Europe; Church-State relations; the question of Jerusalem.

The Centre has a unique expertise on Christianity in the modern Middle East; on ecumenical dialogues since Vatican II; and on contemporary Christian encounter with Islam and Christian-Muslim relations.