Faith and Knowledge Lecture features Dr. Catherine E. Clifford, October 26
The fifth annual Faith and Knowledge Lecture, hosted by the SDU Institute of Christianity and Culture will feature Dr. Catherine E. Clifford, a professor of systematic and historical theology in the Faculty of Theology at Saint Paul University, Ottawa. The lecture begins at 7 pm, Thursday, October 26 in the SDU Class of 1954 Lecture Hall of UPEI’s School of Sustainable Design Engineering.
At this signature speaking event for the Institute, Dr. Clifford will speak on the commemoration of the Protestant Reformation in her talk titled, “Freed by Grace towards Communion: Joint Commemoration of the Reformation 2017.”
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, calling for reform of the Western Church. The debate that ensued, combined with the social and political conflicts of the day, resulted in profound ecclesial division. For fifty years, Lutherans and Catholics have engaged in official theological dialogue in an effort to mend the wounds of separation. This lecture will explore the significance of the joint commemoration of the Reformation amid a number of important advances in Lutheran-Catholic agreement.
Dr. Catherine E. Clifford’s research interests and publications are focussed primarily in the areas of Catholic ecclesiology, ecumenism, and the history of the Second Vatican Council. She holds an honours BA in religious studies from the University of Waterloo (St. Jerome’s University), a graduate certificate in ecumenical studies from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, Switzerland, and a licentiate in sacred theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. She completed her PhD in theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. She has authored, co-authored, edited and translated nine books and published numerous articles in scholarly reviews. Her publications have received awards from the Catholic Press Association and the Association of Catholic Publishers.
Dr. Clifford has served on the executive board of the Catholic Theological Society of America (2015-2017), on the steering committee of the International Network for Societies of Catholic Theology (2008-2014), and on the board of the North American Academy of Ecumenists (2003-2006; 2015-). She is presently co-chair of the Vatican II Studies Group in the American Academy of Religion, and Director of the Research Centre for the study of Vatican II and 21st Century Catholicism at Saint Paul University.
Dr. Clifford’s ecumenical activities include participation in the Global Christian Forum (2016-) and membership in the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (2017-). Within Canada, she has participated in a working group of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for the Joint Commemoration of the Reformation (2015-2017), and was, for many years, a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada (1993-2014).
All are welcome!
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