The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

"E Pluribus Unum Day" at Billerica Memorial High School - March 26, 2010

On Friday, March 26, 2010, Pluralism Project Director Dr. Diana L. Eck and a panel of youth representatives from various religious traditions participated in Billerica Memorial High School’s E Pluribus Unum Day. After Dr. Eck’s keynote presentation on pluralism in America and the religious diversity of Greater Boston, panelists reflected on common misconceptions about their faith, the relationship between their faith and interreligious understanding in a pluralist society, and concluded by offering wisdom from each of their traditions for an audience of graduating high school seniors. Panelists included Alexis Gewertz (Jewish), former Pluralism Project research associate and current program associate at Combined Jewish Philanthropies; Harvard College Students Jessamin Birdsall (Christian) and Na’eel Cajee (Muslim); Inderpreet Singh, a member of the local Sikh community; Ajahn Mangkone Sananikone, a Buddhist monk from Wat Buddhabhavana in Westford, MA; Prof. Jason Giannetti from Regis College in Weston, MA representing Hinduism; and PJ Andrews (Baha’i), Pluralism Project research associate. This event was organized by the Billerica Public Schools and Billerica CARES. 

Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge celebrates anniversary

Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge celebrates the 100th anniversary of its building, dedicated in 1909. Like Cambridge itself, Faith Lutheran Church has undergone many changes in the last 100 years. Today, they share their building with the Calvary Praise and Worship Center and the Medhanialem Eritrean Christian Fellowship.

The Saints of Boston: Icons of Eastern Christian Churches in Greater Boston

Eastern Christians believe the Incarnation of the Son of God revealed to all humanity the image of the Father. Through taking human form the entire material world was made holy, the cosmos transfigured. Saints are thought to achieve deification in their lifetimes through the emulation of Christ, fulfilling the role of humanity as created in the image of God.  Icons—which in Greek translates as image, likeness, or portrait—are thus images of the images of God. The following slide show features the altars and namesake icons of various Eastern Christian churches of Boston.

Eastern Orthodox Churches Celebrate Anniversaries

Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral of Boston and St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church of Cambridge recently held events commemorating their respective 100^th  and 80^th anniversaries. Immigrants from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires founded the Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1910; immigrants from Syria and Lebanon founded St. Mary’s in 1928. Early twentieth-century Boston saw waves of immigration from the Middle East, and North and South Eastern Europe and thus many Eastern Orthodox Churches in the area were founded in this period (St. George’s Albanian Orthodox Cathedral of South Boston celebrated its centennial in 2008, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England celebrated its centennial in 2003). Throughout their long history, Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s have continued the tradition of their Slavic and Antiochian strands of Eastern Orthodoxy, but they have both grown into congregations of diverse ethnic backgrounds, including Eritrean, Latino, and Chinese members. Converts to Orthodoxy also comprise a large portion of their membership. The following slide show displays pictures from Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s respective celebratory events. 

Serbian Orthodox Church Consecrates Church in Cambridge

With the arrival of a new iconostasis, or icon screen, October 10 and 11, 2009, marked the Great Consecration of St. Sava’s Serbian Orthodox Church in Cambridge. At the sermon given at the consecration His Eminence Metropolitan Nikolaj of Dabrobosanska, Metropolitanate in Bosnia, exclaimed: “The Church invites us to grasp that it is not a closed community of the saved...but it is a holy liturgical community of the faithful, which acknowledges and glorifies the experience of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, the victory over death. And with this we enliven and transfigure all, the entire universe, in freedom and love. Therefore, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ does not close us in ourselves, in our circles, in our country, in our local Church, but invites us to celebrate all and everything with hope and love.” The following slide show presents images from this event. 

World Religions in Greater Boston Christianity Portal Introduction Slideshow 2009

This slide show provides an overview of Christianity in Greater Boston with photos of some of the many diverse religious centers in the area.