Nicaea and Christian–Jewish Relations

Abstract

AbstractIt is widely recognized that the Council of Nicaea marks a watershed in relations between Christians and Jews – both specifically the Ecumenical Council itself and also more generally the decades around and following 325. It was at this time that the separation between Christians and Jews, and between Christianity and Judaism, can be said to have reached a definitively final form, the conclusion of the long, drawn‐out process referred to as the “parting of the ways.” Despite periods of co‐existence and mutual enrichment, the history of Christian–Jewish relations has too often been marked by toxicity and tragedy. Christians have not only distinguished themselves from Jewish peoplebut have treated them with disparagement, exclusion, and, at times, persecution; moreover, Christian anti‐Judaism prepared the ground for a still more deadly secular antisemitism. Against this background, this article approaches the question of how to mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in terms of its significance for Christian–Jewish relations in our own time.