Sacred Heart to honor Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz

The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield will honor its co-founder and former executive director, Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, at its 13th Nostra Aetate Dinner. The special event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 14, 6 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich.

Ehrenkranz will receive this year’s only Nostra Aetate Award for his outstanding contributions to a world at peace. The honor is named for the document issued by the Second Vatican Council that repudiated traditional teachings of contempt for Judaism.
The rabbi emeritus of Agudath Sholom Synagogue in Stamford, Ehrenkranz joined as a student rabbi in 1948 and helped grow into the largest Orthodox congregation in New England. He has spent a lifetime working for reconciliation between religious traditions, most notably Judaism and Roman Catholicism. He has represented the Synagogue Council of America before the United Nations and has met with popes and other religious leaders across the world in his quest for peace. Together with Sacred Heart University President Anthony J. Cernera, he co-founded the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding in 1992 and led it to become an international leader in inter-religious and ecumenical issues.
Established in 1992, the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding is an educational and research division of Sacred Heart University. Endorsed by both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the Center has hosted conferences across the globe on themes related to dialogue between Christians and Jews. The Center has also organized study trips for bishops and rabbis to such settings as Auschwitz and the Vatican and each year hosts seminars for students in training for ordained ministry. These forums led to the creation of the Colleagues in Dialogue series for alumni of the program who are now newly ordained.
Honorary chairs for this year’s Nostra Aetate Dinner include: Professor Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Rabbi Marc D. Angel, the founder and director of the Jewish Institute for Ideas and ideals; Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg, a pioneer in Jewish-Christian relations and author of the acclaimed book, For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter between Judaism and Christianity; Dr. Edmond Israel, honorary chairman of Clearstream International; President Richard M. Joel of Yeshiva University; and William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore.
For further information, contact Anthony A. Cernera at (203) 365-4850.

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