In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the lease and groundbreaking for the institute (1967), the international advisory board developed a new strategic plan for Tantur, which identified the following strategic goals: Meetings between Protestant observers at Vatican II with Pope Paul VI, and a subsequent meeting between the pope and Patriarch Athenagoras I in Jerusalem, led to the establishment of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute.

From this meeting and others over the next year and a half, the bishop of Rome entrusted the idea of Tantur to Notre Dame and a committee of international ecumenical advisors – including Yves Congar, Oscar Cullman, Jean-Jacques von Allmen, Georges Florovsky, J.N.D.

The Vatican purchased the 36 acres – then in Jordan – from the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for $300,000, and leased the property to the University of Notre Dame for 50 years, renewable.

Due to difficulties of the Arab-Israeli conflict, construction was delayed for a short while, but Tantur was officially opened in September 1972, with an inaugural community of thirty scholars and their families, six Benedictine (Catholic) monks from Montserrat in Spain, and five international staff.

In the mid-1980s there was increased interest among the churches in interreligious dialogue and in the ‘life and work’ aspect of ecumenism, especially in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

During the 1990s, the University of Notre Dame used Tantur as a site for one of its international study-abroad programs, with a focus on theology and peace studies.

Robert McAfee Brown explained the choice of Jerusalem as follows: One of the early rectors of Tantur, Jean-Jacques von Allmen, noted additional benefits of an ecumenical research center in Jerusalem: The core of Tantur’s mission and program is a community of doctoral and post-doctoral researchers working in areas related to its mission of promoting Christian unity (ecumenism).

Several different sabbatical, continuing education, and accredited courses are offered to serve those seeking to deepen their understanding of the Land, its history, culture, and the faiths of the people here.

They are primarily designed for Christian pastoral leaders (ordained or lay) from all communions and denominations, or academics and educators in a field of theology related to the mission of Tantur.

A three-week Easter Encounter program is organized around the Western Holy Week in Jerusalem, and includes liturgies or meetings at Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches during that time.

[7] A three-week theology seminar is offered for undergraduates from any U.S. college or university, entitled, "Three Faiths, Two Peoples: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Holy Land.

The majority of texts are in English, French, and German, but with a number of titles in Spanish, Italian, Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew.

The Jerusalem Global Gateway building houses the Notre Dame study abroad classes, just southwest of the main facility.

Tantur’s hill is covered with about 500 olive trees, and is a home or oasis for a variety of local fauna: snakes, scorpions, bats, parrots, quail, lizards, geckos, feral cats and dogs, foxes, and a jackal.