Anglicans to hold Hindu-Christian meet

Mangalore Today News Network

Birmingham, June 25, 2014:   England-Based Anglican sect plans to hold a conference to discuss Christian relationships with Hindus in the Diaspora.

The Anglicans’ Network for Inter Faith Concerns of the Anglican Communion (NIFCON) is the conference in Queen’s College Birmingham, UK, from October 29 until November 1 this year.

NIFCON was founded twenty years ago, and has had an influence on the Lambeth Conferences since then, with a strong emphasis on Christian-Muslim Relations throughout the Communion.

Only once has it significantly looked at Christian-Hindu Relations, during a major conference in Bangalore in 2004. That meeting focused upon India, said a press release.

However, many Indian emigrants are now playing a major part in the interreligious context in their new homes.
The reverend John Joshva Raja an NIFCON member said they believe that "after the recent landslide victory for the BJP in Indian elections, this is a fitting time for us to be meeting and considering how best to engage constructively.” Raja from Church of South India is now serving as a Church of England priest.

The conference agenda will include a visit to the prestigious South Indian Temple in Birmingham, the Balaji Temple, where there will be a welcome from local Hindus. The conference will be the precursor to the publication of a book comprising contributions from leading Hindu and Christian scholars.  The supporters of the conference include the World Council of Churches, the Episcopal Church, the St Augustine’s Foundation and the Teape Foundation.