The Holy Land Program

October 2012 through May 2013

The Holy Land Program has as its focus the centrality of the Holy Land in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  We will explore four different epochs: The Time of the Hebrew Bible; The Time of the New Testament; the Time of the Crusades and the Golden Age in Spain; and the Contemporary Scene.

Each of these four epochs will have multiple layers, including public lectures, courses, music, art, and film. 

Our goal is to foster understanding in our New York community. 

HOLY LAND LECTURES: UPCOMING

For the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam - the Holy Land was and is sacred ground.  For Jews, the early history of the people is anchored in the places and ideas found in the narrow strip of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea.  For Christians, the life of Jesus and his disciples is played out in Jerusalem and in Galilee.  For Muslims, Jerusalem is one of the holy cities of Islam.

Each of the scholars who will participate as keynote speakers has made a significant contribution to our understanding of what the Holy Land truly means.  Each one of these scholars is a great teacher, highly skilled in presenting ideas in colorful and stimulating ways.

$25.00 per lecture or 3 lectures for $60.00

CLICK HERE to purchase any lecture for $25.00 (per lecture)

CLICK HERE to purchase any 3 lectures for $60.00

 

OIL, RELIGION, AND POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

DR. MAHMOUD EL-GAMAL

Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 7:30 pm

St. James' Chapel

Dr. El-Gamal is one of the leading experts on energy policy.  He is co-author, with Amy Meyers Jaffe, of Oil, Dollars, Debt and Crises: The Global Curse of Black Gold.  Dr. El-Gamal is also professor of economics at Rice and serves as Chair of Islamic Economics, Finance and Management.  He served as an economist at the International Monetary Fund and was an advisor to the U.S. Treasury Department on Islamic Finance.

This evening is co-sponsored by the Association of Rice Alumni in New York City.

 

IS THE HOLY LAND NEGOTIABLE?: PROSPECTS FOR TERRITORIAL COMPROMISE AND A TWO-STATE SOLUTION

AMBASSADOR DANIEL C. KURTZER

Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 7:30 pm

Cathedral House Conference Room

Daniel Kurtzer was appointed U.S. ambassador to Egypt by President Bill Clinton, where he served from 1997 to 2001.  He served as ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. A long-time student of the Middle East, he also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.  He now teaches at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

This program is co-sponsored by the Carnegie Council on Ethics in International Affairs.

 

 A FESTIVAL OF FILMS ABOUT THE HOLY LAND

 

Over the last several years, a number of television channels have underwritten and broadcast excellent programs relating to the Bible and the Qur’an.  Others have focused on Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land.  These films have solid scholarly underpinnings and are evenhanded in tone.

We will show a selection of these films FREE in the Conference Room of Cathedral House.  All are welcome to attend and to join in the discussion afterwards.

 All films are Wednesday evenings at 7 pm

 

October 17 WALKING THE BIBLE A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses Produced by WGBH-Boston with Bruce Feiler October 31 THE BIBLE’S BURIED SECRETS Beyond Fact or Fiction Produced by NOVA and WGBH-Boston February 6  FROM JESUS TO CHRIST The First Christians FRONTLINE with WGBH-Boston and WNET-New York

February 20 SECRETS OF JERUSALEM’S HOLIEST SITES Including the Crusades National Geographic March 13 DECODING THE PAST Secrets of the Koran The History Channel April 3   INSIDE MECCA National Geographic April 10   JERUSALEM Center of the World PBS

 

THE NEW GALLERIES FOR THE ART OF THE ARAB LANDS

Friday, April 12 at 5:30 p.m OR

Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m.

Registration fee: $10 towards the cost of the tour

To register, please contact office@saintsaviour.org

Space is limited; registering early is recommended.

Visit the new galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We have arranged tours of the new permanent installation of Islamic art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tours will be offered twice.  A docent from the Museum will accompany the Friday tour with Dr. Hussein Rashid, our expert on Islam. This is what the Met says about its spectacular new installation: “In sequence, the 15 new galleries trace the course of Islamic civilization over a span of 13 centuries, from the Middle East to North Africa, Europe, and Central and South Asia. This new geographic orientation signals a revised perspective on this important collection, recognizing that the monumentality of Islam did not create a single, monolithic artistic expression, but instead connected a vast geographic expanse through centuries of change and cultural influence. The public will find galleries filled with magnificent works of art that evoke the plurality of the Islamic tradition and the vast cross-fertilization of ideas and artistic forms that has shaped our shared cultural heritage.”

 

HOLY LAND COURSES

sponsored by the CONGREGATION OF SAINT SAVIOUR

Space is limited, early registration is advised.

To register please contact office@saintsaviour.org

Payment by check only. Note course on check payable to “Congregation of Saint Saviour” and mail to 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, NY, NY 10025.

Adults $100; $175 for two courses; Students or seniors $75 per course.

UPCOMING COURSES

 

THE MIRIAMIC PROCESSION

Sunday, May 5

12:45 - 1:30 pm Registration and Lunch
1:30 - 3:30 pm Course

Registration Fee: $25. (Lunch included)

Professors Phyllis Trible, Deirdre Good and Robyn Neville

The Miriamic procession is both auditory and visual. The sound starts with the glorious song of Miriam who sings the "Song of the Sea" in Exodus 15 celebrating Israel's deliverance with music and dance. The Miriamic procession continues in the New Testament from Mary, the mother in the birth stories through women disciples in Jesus' ministry to the women at the empty tomb and at the resurrection. Miriam's song resonates in the Magnificat, the lament psalms of Pistis Sophia, the Manichaean psalms, Peter Abelard's Easter sermon, and medieval and baroque music of the east and west. Mary's role and function as the mother of Jesus advances in the procession from Christological debates into medieval texts with a particular focus on Mary in medieval Ireland.

 

GREAT MUSIC IN A GREAT SPACE: THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM

Please CLICK HERE to purchase concert tickets.

May 1, 2013, 7:30 pm
The Holy Land: Jerusalem

Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music
Cathedral Choir with Rose of the Compass

Ara Dinkjian, oud
Tamer Pinarbasi, kanun
Glen Velez, percussion
Nina Stern, recorders and chalumeau

Following on the extraordinary success of our tour through the music of Armenia in May of 2012, we embark on an exploration and celebration of music from the Holy Land, touching on Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. This rich mosaic of songs and instrumental selections combines the spiritual wisdom of three cultures, highlighting how music, like faith, is a mansion with many rooms.

 

FACULTY

Dr. Deirdre Good is professor of New Testament at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York.  She earned her doctorate at the Harvard Divinity School.  She is the author of many books on the New Testament.

Rabbi Daniel Polish earned his Ph.D. in the history of religions at Harvard after his rabbinic education at the Hebrew Union College.  He is rabbi of Congregation Shir Chadash in Poughkeepsie and is the author of two books on Psalms for lay people.

Dr. Hussein Rashid is one of the young, American-born Muslims who are now rising into leadership in the Muslim community in New York.  A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Divinity School, he earned his doctorate at Harvard University.  Dr. Rashid is currently adjunct professor at Hofstra University and Fordham University.

Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman was ordained a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College.  He was the administrative editor of The Torah, the first American Bible commentary in English.  He is consultant to the Dean of the Cathedral on interfaith programming.

Dr. Phyllis Trible is one of the earliest feminist Bible scholars, and one of the most respected teachers in her field. She taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where she earned her doctorate in a joint program with Columbia University.

 

HOLY LAND PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Dr. Deirdre Good, General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church; The Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski, Dean, The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine; Dr. Hussein Rashid, Fordham University, Hofstra University; Dr. Joel Rosenthal, President, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs; Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman, Chair, Holy Land Program Advisory Committee; Rabbi Dr. Burton Visotzky, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED BY GENEROUS GIFTS FROM: Susan and Dennis Sullivan, Barbara Deller, Karen and Robert Gutheil, Raymond A. McGarrigle, William Herrman, Diana and Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman (in memory of Edna Leah and Alex Frosch), The Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, The Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Episcopal Diocese of New York.