Fidei Defensor

Reverend Dr. Andrew Teal is fellow, chaplain, and full member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University. The following is an edited summary of his keynote address delivered at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2022.

Our Responsibility to Each Other

Years ago, before flying to Utah for an extended visit, I received a message asking me to call on my now-departed, dear friend Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, a very significant scholar of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He gave me a command—quite literally a Metropolitan command—and his blessing to enable me to strive to fulfil it: “Go,” he said. “Go and really listen; go and understand; go to love and to bring Love.”

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Enemies and Brothers

Elizabeth A. Clark is Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and the lead organizer of the Center’s Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. The following is an edited summary of her remarks given during the closing session of the 29th Annual Symposium, 4 October 2022.

My Enemy, My Brother

A few years ago, I watched a short documentary called My Enemy, My Brother (2015), which relates a true story that begins with a surprising incident during the Iran-Iraq war.

As most of us remember, the Iran-Iraq war was a devastating and brutal conflict that lasted from 1980 to 1988. It involved chemical weapons, ballistic missiles, a million casualties on both sides, and at least half a million soldiers who became permanently disabled.

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Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding in Ethiopia: Religion and Interfaith Engagement in Times of Conflict and Disaster

Asma Redi Baleker is Director General of the Ministry of Peace of the government of Ethiopia. The following is an edited summary of her remarks at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2022.

Today I will share information about the peacebuilding efforts of religious and interfaith institutions in Ethiopia, as well as policy support from the government. Sharing information about these efforts does not mean all such efforts are completely successful. I share simply to show the efforts and work of religious leaders and institutions in our country.

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