First Annual Father Lawrence Frizzell Memorial Lecture and Book Launch

Seton Hall Honors the Legacy of Father Lawrence E. Frizzell 
The life and scholarship of Father Lawrence E. Frizzell, a distinguished biblical scholar who served as the director of Seton Hall’s Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies for more than three decades, will be celebrated on May 3 at the first annual Father Lawrence Frizzell Memorial Lecture.

Frizzell, who passed away last year, was a founding faculty member of the University’s Department of Jewish-Christian Studies. Widely respected for his leadership in Catholic-Jewish relations, Frizzell’s legacy continues to shape Seton Hall and the broader faith community.

The program, at 2 p.m. at Bethany Hall, will feature a keynote lecture entitled, “Being Fair to the Pharisees: Beyond Negative or Positive Stereotypes,” presented by The Reverend Joseph Sievers, Ph.D., emeritus professor of Jewish History and Literature of the Hellenistic Period at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Monsignor Richard Liddy, professor of Catholic Thought and Culture and the emeritus director of the Center for Catholic Studies, will offer a reflection on Frizzell, his former colleague and brother in the priest community at Seton Hall. As a part of the celebration, the publication, European Pioneers in Jewish-Catholic Relations, a text edited by Frizzell and completed and published in his memory, will be debuted.

A Life of Faith and Belief in Dialogue 
Born in Canada in 1938, Frizzell was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Edmonton in 1962. He pursued advanced theological and biblical studies in Canada, Rome and at the University of Oxford, earning a doctorate and developing expertise in Theology and Sacred Scripture.

Frizzell began his academic career teaching canon law and liturgy before joining Seton Hall, where he became a central figure in the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies. There, he helped shape and expand programs dedicated to Jewish-Christian relations — an area in which he was widely regarded as a pioneer. He worked closely with key figures in interreligious dialogue to build a curriculum aimed at fostering understanding between faith traditions.

Fostering Jewish-Christian Understanding 
Over decades at Seton Hall, Frizzell served as professor of Jewish-Christian Studies and director of the institute, mentoring generations of students. He was known not only for his scholarship but also for his commitment to combating prejudice through education and dialogue. Colleagues and former students frequently described him as intellectually rigorous, deeply kind and devoted to his students and the university community.

Frizzell died on April 29, 2025, in New Jersey at the age of 86. His legacy endures through the academic programs he helped build and his lifelong contribution to biblical scholarship and Jewish-Christian understanding.

About Father Joseph Sievers 
Sievers is a graduate of the Institutum Judaicum in Vienna and received his doctorate from Columbia University. Recently retired, Sievers taught at The Pontifical Bible Institute in Rome and is the former director of the Cardinal Bea Centre at the Pontifical Gregorian University. From 1975-1983 he was an adjunct professor in the master’s program in Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall.

Throughout his scholarly career, Sievers has published widely on Jewish-Christian relations. Sievers and Frizzell continued to work together as Consultants for the Commission on Religious Relations with the Jews in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Sievers offered the 2010 Monsignor John Oesterrecher Memorial Lecture, "Catholic-Jewish Relations: A View from Rome."

Categories: Faith and Service