Through the听Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, scholars and thinkers from diverse Jewish and Christian听backgrounds engage in rigorous and ongoing study of all areas of their connected yet distinct faiths. The Center is听dedicated to conducting educational research and offering programs for both the University and the wider community in which Christians and Jews explore their traditions together.听听

Corcoran Visiting Chair

Peter Ochs, 2024-2025
Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Ochs to the 2024-2025 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.

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Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations听
2025-2026 Academic Year

Boston College and its Center for Christian-Jewish Learning invite applications for a one year visiting appointment (renewable for a second year) as the Corcoran Visiting Chair in听Christian-Jewish Relations, specializing in an aspect of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or its earned equivalent, have a demonstrated record of publication in the field, and hold (or have retired from) a tenured position (or its equivalent) in a university or seminary. Applications from all relevant disciplines are welcome. 听

The Corcoran Visiting Chair will agree to take on the following responsibilities, each of which should relate to the mission of the Center:

  • A research project leading to a significant academic contribution to the field.
  • Organize and lead a conference or consultation during the academic year of residence (preparations, especially invitations to speakers, may need to precede the year of residence).
  • Teach or co-teach an upper-level course at Boston College that may be organized in conjunction with the conference or consultation.


Additional Optional Responsibilities

  • Submit one essay for peer-review and publication in听Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations,听the Center's e-journal.
  • Develop a set of academic resources that will be available to other scholars through the Center's website.
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Application and Submission

Electronic听submission of the following are requested: letter of application, CV, and a proposal for the research and writing to be done while holding the position, including an indication of how these fit into the guidelines above.

Two letters of recommendation should be submitted directly to cjlearning@bc.edu. Letters should be addressed to Prof. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Center Director.听

Applications are due by November 1, 2024.听Decisions will be made around February 1, 2025.

All application materials should be sent electronically directly to cjlearning@bc.edu.
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Contact Information

If you have questions about the Corcoran Visiting Chair in听Christian-Jewish Relations, please email cjlearning@bc.edu.听

Educational Goals

Because the Center is affiliated with a leading Catholic and Jesuit university which has an internationally top-ranked Theology faculty, education in Christian-Jewish relations is a central element of its work. Center faculty offer both courses directly addressing Christian-Jewish relations and courses primarily about Judaism taught for Boston College鈥檚 Catholic context. This includes participation in the Comparative Theology area of the Theology department and its work in developing this young field.

Courses are offered on a variety of levels, ranging from a course that fulfills part of the university鈥檚 undergraduate Theology core requirements, to courses open to graduate students at all levels (including students at other schools and seminaries in the Boston Theological Institute consortium).听

Center faculty also offer a Ph.D. in Christian-Jewish relations through the Comparative Theology area. Graduates of this program are currently employed in college and seminary contexts and involved in dialogic work at national and international levels.

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Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations听is the electronic journal of the听听and is published by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College. The Journal publishes peer-reviewed scholarship on the history, theology, and contemporary realities of Jewish-Christian relations and reviews new materials in the field. The Journal also provides a vehicle for exchange of information, cooperation, and mutual enrichment in the field of Christian-Jewish studies and relations. The听Journal may be accessed freely on the internet.

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Event Videos

The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning provides links to streaming videos of past Center events and to lectures by Center staff.

Video Library

Center for Christian-Jewish Learning Jewish-Christian Lecture Series

The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning invites Boston College professors teaching a course with explicit connections to Jewish-Christian relations to apply for a one-time sponsorship of an online guest lecturer for that course. Up to five recipients will be chosen for each semester. Preference will be given to non-core courses. When possible, these lectures will be recorded and made available publicly through the Center's website and social media.

* Lecturers joining a class by Zoom will receive a $750 honorarium.
* Lecturers speaking in person will receive a $1000 honorarium.听听

Please send an email to cjlearning@bc.edu stating (in 250 words or less):

  • The guest speaker you would like to bring to your class.
  • The speaker's topic and its context. Please make clear the explicit connection between the speaker's topic, your course content, and Jewish-Christian relations.


Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis.

If you have questions about the Jewish-Christian Relations Lecture Series, please contact:
Email: cjlearning@bc.edu
Phone: 617-552-4495

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The Center's Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations honors the late pontiff's many efforts to overcome the divisions between Christians and Jews.

"Humans as the Image of God: The Bible and John Paul II"
Dr. David Novak
October 17, 2023

"Why Did God Choose the Jews? A Christian Reflection in Conversation with Jewish Thought"
Prof. Kendall Soulen
November 2, 2022

"MESSY MONOTHEISM: The Crowded Cosmos of Ancient Jews and Christians"
Prof. Paula Fredriksen
October 12, 2021

"Walking You Make the Road": Discerning the Way in Jewish-Christian Relations Today
Prof. Mary C. Boys
February 11, 2021


Between the Holocaust and the Nakba: When Genya and Henryk Kowalski Challenged History, Jaffa 1949
Prof. Alon Confino
February 9, 2020


Christian Privilege, Christian Fragility, and the Gospel of John: How American Race Relations inform Jewish-Christian Dialogue
Prof. Amy-Jill Levine
October 14, 2018


Towards the Ends of the Earth: Land in the Jewish-Christian Dialogue
Rev. David Neuhaus, S.J.
October 30, 2016
Lecture Text

Nostra Aetate and the Jews: The Relationship Between Augustin Cardinal Bea and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Prof. Susannah Heschel
October 18, 2015

The Jewishness of Jesus: Renewing Christian Appreciation
Rev. Dr. Christian M. Rutishauser, S.J.
February 16, 2014
Lecture Text

"Mind the Gap": Bridging One Dozen Lacunae in Jewish-Catholic Dialogue
Rabbi Michael J. Cook, Ph.D.
March 20, 2013
Lecture Text
Accompanying Handout

Pope John Paul II on Christian-Jewish Relations: His Legacy, Our Challenges
Rev. John T. Pawlikowski, Ph.D.
March 1, 2012
Lecture Text
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Center for Christian-Jewish Learning Student Fellowship Program

The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning (CCJL) invites Boston College undergraduate and graduate students to apply for its Student Fellowship Program. These fellowships are 1-year, student-initiated, and student-led endeavors dedicated to furthering the fellow鈥檚 understanding of and participation in Jewish-Christian relations. The fellowships support programs and projects independently conceived and executed by students outside their regular coursework that contribute to interreligious dialogue and interfaith understanding. Fellowships may be in鈥攂ut are not limited to鈥攎inisterial, pastoral, and educational fields.听听Students are required to conduct their fellowships under the guidance of an appropriate advisor (e.g., faculty member, clergy person, or non-profit staff member), have occasional meetings with the Center Director, and to attend (if possible) all Center public events. Students are highly encouraged to enroll in a Center course.

Current Center Student Fellows

Elliott Jones, 鈥�26 (2024-2025), 鈥淪abbath and Leisure as Remedy for Modernity: A Comparative Study Between Abraham Joshua Heschel and Josef Pieper鈥� (Advisor: Brian Robinette)

Liam Adamczyk, 鈥�25 (2024), 鈥淎nti-Semitism in the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study鈥� (Advisor: Mark Massa, S.J.)

Joe Monti, '25 (2024), "Portraying the Sacred: Initial Insights into an Exhibit Design of Catholic-Jewish Relations in a Boston Holocaust Museum" (Advisor: Charles R. Gallagher, S.J.)

Previous Center Student Fellows

Owen Fletcher '25 (2022-2023):听"Loving the Stranger: Christian and Jewish Responses to Migration in the United States" (Advisor: Mark Massa, S.J.)

Dennis Wieboldt '22 (2020-2021): "The Natural Law Foundation of Interreligious Social Advocacy: A Civil Rights Movement Case Study" (Advisor: Mark Massa, S.J.)

“The Center鈥檚 resources have been invaluable to advancing my research on interreligious social advocacy during the Civil Rights Movement. Not only did the student internship program鈥檚 financial support ensure that I had the materials I needed to complete my research, but the structure of the program鈥攊ncluding one-on-one support from an advisor鈥攈as helped me develop critical skills for the future.”
Dennis Wieboldt 鈥�22, 2020-2021 Center Student Fellow and 2021 Dean鈥檚 Scholar Award Recipient, Research Project: The Natural Law Foundation of Interreligious Social Advocacy: A Civil Rights Movement Case Study (Advisor: Mark Massa, S.J.)
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