Professor Vartan Gregorian lectures on Encounters between Faith and Reason

Professor Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York, gave a lecture at the invitation of the Centre on "Encounters between Faith and Reason in Christianity and Islam".

Drawing from a personal engagement with Islam and Christianity that can be traced to his early life and academic studies, Professor Gregorian emphasised how intellectual and social contacts between these traditions have been crucial to some of the main developments in the history of thought, within cultures and across cultural boundaries. He went on to argue for the idea of a single civilization, gaining much of its character from the interplay at the interface of Christianity and Islam. He noted that scholars have always been interested in looking at the dynamic relationships exhibited in the world between religion and science, and gave a large number of examples of how the best analytical minds of the times, whether modern or medieval, have been drawn to these areas.

A vote of thanks was offered by the Dean of Christ Church, following which the Director of the Centre hosted a dinner in honour of Professor Gregorian.