The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C) will formally welcome its new Executive Director, the Right Reverend Professor Stephen Pickard, in a ceremony at the national ecumenical centre in Canberra this evening.

Part of Charles Sturt University (CSU), the Centre's priorities are ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, reconciliation with Indigenous people, youth concerns, academic research and the relationship of theology to social issues.

Professor Pickard is currently an Assistant Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn and was Head of CSU's School of Theology from 1998 to 2006.

"The vision and ethos of the Centre is exciting and there is significant goodwill from the churches, the University and wider society," said Professor Pickard. "I am grateful for all the support I have received and look forward to the challenges ahead."

Professor Pickard said the Centre was born more than 20 years ago out of a unique partnership between CSU and the churches of Australia.

"The result is a robust intellectual and practical engagement on multiple fronts such as indigenous concerns, asylum seekers and refugees, climate change and the environment, inter-faith dialogue, institutional life and leadership, the arts and sciences," said Professor Pickard.

"Through creative partnerships and drawing upon the best in theological scholarship, the Centre joins with others in a search for fresh wisdom and renewal of life."

CSU Chancellor, Mr Lawrie Willett AO has praised Professor Pickard's contribution as former Head of the School of Theology and is pleased to welcome him back to the University.

"The Centre is an outstanding example of Charles Sturt University's commitment to an inclusive and holistic approach to the issues facing Australian society, giving weight to ethics, beliefs and values alongside technical and professional expertise," he said.

The issues with which it deals are, if anything, becoming more important for our society and the world."

Professor Pickard has written several books, including Seeking the Church: An Introduction to Ecclesiology in 2013 and In-Between God: Theology, Community and Discipleship in 2011.

He has also served as a Bishop in the Archdiocese of Adelaide and as a Professorial Fellow at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, Oxford.