The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to convene the 7th Building Bridges Seminar in Rome next week. This is a unique annual series which brings together a range of internationally recognised Christian and Muslim scholars for an intensive study of relevant Biblical and Qur'anic texts.
The seminar, which is organised in partnership with Georgetown University, will run from Tuesday to Thursday (May 6th to 8th). The theme for this year's seminar is 'Communicating the Word: Revelation, Translation and Interpretation in Christianity and Islam', and builds on from similar events in London, Doha, Sarajevo, Washington DC and Singapore.
On Wednesday 7th May, the Archbishop will preach and preside at the service for the Inauguration of his new Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, the Revd David Richardson.
During the visit the Archbishop will meet privately with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
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Notes for editors:
The Seminars are organised in partnership with Georgetown University, based in Washington DC. The University hosted the seminar series in 2004 and 2006.
There are no public seminars in this year's Building Bridges Seminar, though it is expected that material from the gathering will, as in previous years, appear in published form.
There is no press facility in relation to the private meeting with His Holiness the Pope.