News

Speakers: Professor Julius Lipner, Dr. Yahya Michot, Professor Keith Ward

This afternoon conference examined the idea of surrender to God in three religions and provided the opportunity to address comparative theological concerns.

In all three traditions there is the idea of human surrender to God. The conference explored what this means in the different traditions and looks towards a theological dialogue between them. Each speaker made a presentation and each responded to the other presentations, ending with a plenary discussion.

As 2006 drew to a close it became apparent that the accelerated growth of the OCHS left us with a budget shortfall for the year. OCHS Director, Shaunaka Rishi Das, said: 'Until now the OCHS has been kept financially viable thanks to the dedication of a small group of supporters. As the Centre reaches new heights, new funding sources must be found to allow us to consolidate our base and allow for further expansion.'

The first step in bringing the Centre back to financial health was addressed at a special meeting of Benefactors and Friends on 16 November 2006.

Comparative Theology is a fast growing field in academia, and one that the OCHS is committed to developing.

In February we hosted the 'Icon and Murti' seminars with Drs Matthew Steenberg and Kenneth Valpey. These seminars examined the issue of representation of the divine in Christian Orthodoxy and Vaishnava Hinduism. Questions were raised about how a transcendent reality can be represented, the function of such representations, and the degree to which such mediations are thought to be required by tradition.

Academic developments at the Centre are being mirrored by organisational developments. One of these has been the first major change to the Board of Governors since its inception. The Board elected Lord Dholakia, OBE, DL, as its chair and is pleased to welcome four new members: Harish I. K. Patel, Promod Thakkar, Dr John Muddiman, and Prof. Martin Goodman, FBA.

Lord Dholakia has been a staunch supporter and advocate of the OCHS since its earliest days and is the Chair of our Annual Revenue Fund. Harish I. K. Patel and Promod Thakkar, respected members of the Asian business community, have been generous with their friendship and business acumen, greatly helping the OCHS on the road to developing a professional infrastructure that will allow its academic achievements to realise their full potential.

Trinity Term at OCHS saw two new Shivdasani fellows coming to Oxford: Prof. Shashiprabha Kumar, Professor of Sanskrit at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, and Dr Sangeetha Menon from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. The Shivdasani Fellowship exists to enable outstanding scholars of Indian nationality to come and study and teach at Oxford University.