Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies is an ecumenical theological institute in Jerusalem, Israel.[1]
At the Second Vatican Council in October 1963, the idea of an international ecumenical institute for theological research and pastoral studies was proposed. After the pope's pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1964, the Vatican purchased Tantur (Arabic for "hilltop") and leased it to the University of Notre Dame (USA) for fifty years. The institute opened in 1971. Under the guidance of Protestant and Roman Catholic rectors, it offers programs to Christians of all denominations.[2]
On the grounds of the institute are the remains of a Crusader-era Maltese castle, converted by Count Caboge, the consul-general of Austria, into a hospital for sick pilgrims and locals.[3]