Hans Ucko

Hans Ucko (born 1946) is a priest of the Church of Sweden and a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC). He has been extensively involved in interfaith dialog, particularly between Christians and Jews. He has written a number of books on the subject.

Hans Ucko was born in 1946 in Sweden and educated in France, Sweden, Israel, and India.^[1] He studied in Paris at the "Institut Eglise et Monde Juif" and in Jerusalem at the Swedish Theological Institute and at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He obtained a Ph.D. in Theology from Serampore College, Calcutta.^[2]

From 1981 to 1989 Ucko was the Church of Sweden's Executive Secretary for Jewish-Christian Relations, interreligious dialogue and East Asian Relations.^[2] Ucko was appointed Program Secretary in the WCC's Office on Interreligious Relations and Dialogue.^[1] He was President of Religions for Peace Europe.^[2] In 2003 he delivered the Dr Stanley Samartha Memorial lecture to the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue, speaking on the topic: "Towards an ethical code of conduct for conversion".^[3] This became the subject of an article in "Current Dialogue".^[4]

Ucko edits the WCC's "Current Dialogue" publication.^[1] He sits on the Board of Trustees of Hartford Seminary. He is an official observer at the International Council of Christians and Jews.^[5] As of 2012 he was a member of the council of the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, and co-chair of the Arigatou Foundation's joint campaign with UNICEF.^[2]

Ucko has written several books and articles on inter-religious dialog.

• Hans Ucko (1994). Common roots, new horizons: learning about Christian faith from dialogue with Jews. WCC Publications. pp. 100. ISBN 2825411280.
• Hans Ucko (1995). Vom Judentum lernen: Gemeinsame Wurzeln- neue Wege. O. Lembeck. p. 149. ISBN 3874763021.
• Hans Ucko (1996). People of God, Peoples of God: A Jewish-Christian Conversation in Asia. WCC Publications. p. 112. ISBN 2825411728.
• The Jubilee Challenge: Utopia or Possibility?. Geneva: WCC. 1996.
• Hans Ucko (1998). Möte med människor av annan tro. Norma. p. 156. ISBN 9172170026.
• Hans Ucko (1999). Raices comunes, nuevos horizontes: Aprendiendo sobre la fe cristiana desde el diálogo con los judíos. Centro Luterano de Montevideo. p. 125. ISBN 9974670020.
• Hans Ucko (2000). A New Millennium: From Dialogue to Reconciliation : Christian and Jewish Reflections. Anti-Defamation League. p. 94.
• Hans Ucko (2002). The People and the People of God: Minjung and Dalit Theology in Interaction With Jewish-Christian Dialogue. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 202. ISBN 3825855643.
• Jean Halpérin; Hans Ucko (2005). Worlds of memory and wisdom: encounters of Jews and African Christians. World Council of Churches Publications. p. 161. ISBN 2825414298.
• Thinking Together; Hans Ucko (2005). Faces of the Other: A Contribution to Inter-religious Relations And Dialogue by the Group "Thinking Together". World Council of Churches. p. 63. ISBN 2825414646.
• Hans Ucko; Anantanand Rambachan; Melchizedec Thomas Thangaraj; A. Rashied Omar (2007). Hermeneutical Explorations in Dialogue: Essays in Honour of Hans Ucko. Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. p. 147. ISBN 8184580150.