The Beauty of Sacred Texts
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the
Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies

October 31 - December 17, 2003

     The Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year. At the center of the celebration is the work of Msgr. John M. Oesterreicher (1904-1993), the founding Director of the Institute. Msgr. Oesterreicher was one of the architects of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on “The Bond between the Church and the Jewish People,” which was promulgated on October 28, 1965 as section 4 of the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate). In the 1978 agreement between the Institute and Seton Hall University, Msgr. Oesterreicher called for the exploration of themes that show where the Jewish-Christian dialogue intersects with the other world religions.

     When the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies was founded in 1953, the State of New Jersey was home to Christians (Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Protestants) and Jews, many of whom had been living in the state for at least two generations. Now, fifty years later, New Jersey has a much larger and more diverse population, including representatives of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions. To foster understanding and amity among the religious groups living in New Jersey as well as to honor the ecumenical outlook of Msgr. Oesterreicher, Seton Hall’s Walsh Library Gallery presents an exhibit of sacred texts of four of the world’s faiths--Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

     The goal of the exhibition is to demonstrate the centrality of texts to these religions. Indeed, common to all is that a “supreme” sacred text or a body of sacred writings is the source of religious doctrine, ritual, and appropriate conduct. The exhibition also makes it clear that the high regard in which sacred texts are held by the faithful is manifested in the care and attention given to their production.

     Drawing on public and private collections in New Jersey and New York, this exhibition brings together examples of sacred texts, as well as related ritual objects. Highlighting the aesthetic aspects of sacred texts, it shows how beauty, in all cultures, served as the handmaiden of religion. Thus, to paraphrase Nostra Aetate, the exhibition focuses on what is beautiful, true, and holy in religions.
 

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