Soter Nr. 26 - Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

ISSN 1392-7450
SOTER 2008.26(54)
KONFERENCIJA
The Philosophical Basis of Inter-Religious
Dialogue International Conference in the
University of Silesia
From 9–10 May 2008 in the University of Silesia in Katowice an international conference
“The Philosophical Basis of Inter-Religious Dialogue” was held. The Organizers of the
Conference were: The Whitehead Metaphysical Society, Institute of Philosophy of University
of Silesia, The Pontifical Academy of Theology in Krakow and the Franciscan Seminary
in Katowice.
The aim of the Conference was to discuss the problems and challenges being brought
by globalization processes, and the necessity of the coexistence of various cultures and
traditions. In the present epoch of tensions between civilizations, arise some questions.
Can various religions remain isolated islands? Are their claims of being the only source
of theological truth justified or should it rather be understood as an effect of interaction
between different points of view and common effort in looking for answers to the questions
about God and his relations to the world? What is the role of inter-religious dialogue?
Scholars from Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Lithuania, Ireland,
Great Britain, USA and Japan attended the Conference.
Katowice (German: Kattowitz, Czech: Katovice) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland.
Its population is 320,000, within a greater urban area populated by about 3.5 million people.
Silesia 1 is a historical region of Central Europe located in contemporary Poland, the
Czech Republic and Germany. Christianity came to Silesia from Bohemia and Moravia,
therefore the apostles of these two countries, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, are indirectly
also the apostles of Silesia. In the Middle Ages, Silesia was divided among many independent
duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes. In the late 13 th century Bohemian king
Wenceslaus II became suzerain of some Silesian duchies. Silesia subsequently became a
possession of the Bohemian crown under the Holy Roman Empire, and passed with that
crown to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria at the beginning of 16 th century. In 1742,
most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia and subsequently formed
the Prussian Province of Silesia. After World War I, parts of Silesia were transferred to
Poland and administered as the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. A plebiscite recorded
that the majority of the population of all of the Upper Silesia wished to remain part of
Germany. However, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia, with a majority ethnic Po-