The Archbishop of Canterbury held talks with Israel’s chief rabbis in Jerusalem.
Rowan Williams, Britain’s top Christian cleric, was hosted Wednesday by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar for a discussion of interfaith issues.
“These conversations are an invaluable opportunity to cement the relationship between our communities,” Williams said. “Dialogue and mutual respect are the seed beds within which understanding and common cause can flourish, sometimes, by the grace of God, in the most unpromising of circumstances.”
The three spiritual leaders first met last year and agreed to turn the talks into an annual institution.
Israel’s chief rabbis congratulated Williams on his recent appointment as co-president of the World Council of Religions for Peace, an assembly of clergymen working to solve conflicts.
