LOCATION
Join us at Université Saint Paul/Saint Paul University throughout May 28th - 30th to explore methods for effective peace-making, and justice in Palestine. Engage in new models and opportunities for interfaith dialogue and relations that promote a lasting peace and just liberation in Palestine
Taking place on Turtle Island, on the unceded territories of the Anishinaabe-Algonquin Nation, this conference will also explore the enduring history of settler colonialism—in Palestine, Canada, and in other colonial contexts. As the Call for Repentance puts it, the churches must repent of their “entrenched colonial discourses” that use the Bible, theology, and other ideologies to justify the oppression of Indigenous Peoples. This conference will seek to critique those discourses, and elevate Indigenous and/or decolonial discourses, which both perpetuate and obscure Indigenous suffering.
Wednesday—Friday 28—30 May 2025
—Ottawa, ON — Saint Paul University
This conference will offer a setting to critique colonialism’s abiding presence – in Canada, Palestine, and beyond. In the spirit of repentance, this conference intends to strengthen ecumenical and interfaith solidarity through the discussion of strategic theological and political interventions that promote a lasting peace and justice in Palestine.
Meet the Co-Contributor Conference Organizers:
Dr. Michel Andraos & Dr. Jane Barter
Michel Andraos (he/him) is a Professor of Intercultural Theology and the Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Saint Paul University. He holds a Baccalaureate in Theology from the University of the Holy Spirit in Lebanon, an S.T.L. in Eastern Christian Studies from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, a D.E.A. in Systematic Theology from the University of Strasbourg in France, and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Saint Paul University.
His teaching and research focus on intercultural theology, interreligious dialogue, and the complex relationships between religion, violence, and peace. Michel’s current research explores the reconciliation between the Church and Indigenous peoples in the Americas—particularly in the Canadian context—and dialogue with Indigenous spiritualities. He also examines the historical and contemporary developments among Christian communities in the Middle East since the European colonial period.
Jane Barter (she/her) is a Professor and Theologian specializing in political theology, memory, and violence at the University of Winnipeg in the Religion and Culture Department. She holds a PhD from the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, and is the author of Lord, Giver of Life and Thinking Christ. She recently co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Moral Theology on the papal apology to Residential School survivors in Canada and serves as editor of the Christology volume in The T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Christian Theology. Her current work explores theological responses to contemporary atrocities.