Jewish-Christian relations in Norway: Moving forward
- VID Stavanger, Aula, Misjonsmarka 12, 4024 Stavanger
- November 26th 2025, 11:00 – 15:30
To respond to this, VID Specialized University, campus Stavanger, welcomes all interested to a seminar on November 26 from 11:00 am – 3:30 pm. We want to create more insight into the past and the present andimprove relations for the future.
We open the seminar with a memorial event in the Aula on Campus at 11:05 am. The Bishop of Stavanger, Anne Lise Ådnøy, will participate. Afterwards, lunch can be purchased in the cafeteria before we gather in the Aula again at 12:05 pm.
Five research groups in Stavanger, part of the Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences, are hosting the day. Although the report, The Church of Norway’s relations to Judaism and Jews,targets the Norwegian context, the lectures will be held in either Norwegian or in English, (cf. title of the lecture in the program), reflecting the international profile of the research groups.
See report: The Church of Norway’s relations to Judaism and Jews
Presentation of the hosting research groups
CAP – Church and Practice explores topics at the intersection of church and practice andcollaborates closely with RITHM – Research in Theology and Ministry at NLA University College.
ØkoBu – Ecotheology, Sustainability, and Education explores the interdisciplinary relationship between church, religion, and the environment, nature, and sustainability.
MIGREL – Migration, Religion and Intercultural Relations is an interdisciplinary research group exploring the interfaces between migration, religion, and intercultural relations.
RethinC – Research on the Intercultural History of Christianity with interests in Asia, Africa, and the impact of colonialism and empires. Mission history is integral.
CollECT – Colloquium on Epistemology, Context, and Text, in Biblical Interpretation focuses on different epistemologies in popular and critical biblical interpretation.
WELCOME!
Note: No registration required. The seminar is free. Lunch available for purchase in the cafeteria.
Program
| 11.05 | Commemoration in the Aula. | Responsible: CAP |
| 11.30 | Lunch can be purchased in the cafeteria. | |
| 12.05 | Welcome | Dean of the faculty, Vebjørn Horsfjord |
12.10 – 12.40 | «The overall approach of the report, new insights, and possible contributions» ved Hans Morten Haugen. | Responsible: ØkoBU |
12.40 – 13.10 | «Er det i Norge rom for perspektiver om jødiske virkeligheter som omfatter mer enn Holocaust og Israel?» ved Lynn Claire Feinberg. | Responsible: MIGREL |
| 13.10 | Coffee break | |
13.30 – 14.00 | «Den norske Kirke og Holocaust» ved Øivind Kopperud. | Responsible: RethinC |
14.00 – 14.30 | «Lost or gained in translation? ‘Ioudaioi’ in the New Testament» ved Tina Dykesteen Nilsen. | Responsible: CollECT |
14.40 – 15.20 | Panel discussion Participants: Lynn Claire Feinberg, Øivind Kopperud, Anne Lise Ådnøy, Vebjørn Horsfjord. Responsible: CAP, Bård Norheim (RITHM). | Responsible: CAP, Bård Norheim (RITHM). |
| 15.20 | Closing words | Hans Morten Haugen |
Short introduction to the speakers
Lynn Claire Feinberg became the first female rabbi in Norway in 2009. She is a historian of religion, specialising in women and Judaism, and is trained as an astrologer. Feinberg's father, Kai Feinberg, spent three years in Auschwitz until the camp was liberated in January 1945. One of Kai Feinberger’s aunts also survived; however, the rest of the family was lost to the Holocaust.
Øivind Kopperud works at the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, engaging in research on Jewish history, antisemitism, the occupation of Norway from 1940-45, and the Holocaust in Norway.
Tina Dykesteen Nilsen is a professor of biblical studies at VID, Stavanger, where she teaches biblical languages and exegesis for undergraduates, and hermeneutics for doctoral students. She is on the translation board of the Norwegian Bible Society.
Hans Morten Haugen is a professor of international diakonia at VID Oslo.
His interdisciplinary research particularly focuses on rights, justice, and inclusive development, such as social human rights, indigenous rights, and social ethics.
Bård Norheim is a professor at NLA University College and will lead the panel. His teaching and research focus are on rhetoric and leadership, youth ministry, systematic theology and practical theology. He is the leader of the research group RITHM at NLA.
Contact
Terese Bue Kessel
- E-mail: terese.kessel@vid.no
- Phone: 99 57 76 27
Kristin Fjelde Tjelle
- E-mail: kristin.tjelle@vid.no
- Phone: 40 40 60 30