Churches Celebrate the Day of Judaism
ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), January 12, 2024
German original: https://religion.orf.at/stories/3223019/
The churches in Austria are celebrating the 25th Day of Judaism on January 17. Numerous events and services will be held from Monday. Christianity is essentially linked to Judaism in terms of its self-image.
In order to raise awareness of this, the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria (ÖRKÖ) introduced 17 January as a separate day of remembrance in the church year in 2000. Christians should become aware of their roots in Judaism and their communion with Judaism in a special way.
At the same time, the injustice committed against Jewish people and their faith in history should also be addressed. This takes place in the context of church services and commemoration and learning events.
Not forgetting the roots
The initiative for the Day of Judaism goes back to the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz in 1997. The day is also celebrated in Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. The date was chosen deliberately. The churches are to carry the spirit of this day into the subsequent worldwide "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" (January 18-25).
For despite all the divisions between Christians, all churches have in common that they are rooted in Judaism, according to the organizers, including the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation.
Events and services
The Day of Judaism will be celebrated throughout Austria with various events and services. The central service of the ÖRKÖ on the Day of Judaism will take place on Wednesday, January 17 at 6 p.m. in the Catholic Church of St. Josef-Weinhaus in Vienna (1180, Gentzgasse 142).
The Armenian Apostolic Bishop and ÖRKÖ Chairman Tiran Petrosyan, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop Vicar Nicolae Dura, Walter Fürsatz from the Old Catholic Church and the President of the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, Martin Jäggle, will celebrate with the congregation. The sermon will be given by the Protestant Methodist pastor Esther Handschin.
Coming to terms with history
The motto of the service is "As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." The motto is taken from the biblical book of Ezekiel. The service will also be broadcast via Radio Maria.
According to the coordination committee, the choice of St. Josef-Weinhaus is the first time that a church has been chosen that was "a historical site of anti-Semitic propaganda" after its construction (1883). Pastor Josef Deckert, after whom the square in front of the church was named, held "anti-Semitic conferences" in the church.
Since the 1960s, efforts have been made to rename the square. Finally, the parish of Weinhaus under Pastor Peter Zitta came to terms with its history and took several pioneering measures.
Learning, remembering, celebrating
In 2019, the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation worked with partners to divide the Day of Judaism into three parts: a day of learning, a day of remembrance and a day of celebration (on the actual Day of Judaism on 17 January).
January 15th is the Day of Learning. The event at 6 p.m. in the community center of the Jewish Community Vienna (Seitenstettengasse 4) will be opened by representatives of the Jewish Community and ÖRKÖ Chairman Bishop Tiran Petrosyan. Speakers include Rabbi Arie Folger on the topic "Between Jerusalem and Rome. Reflections on 50 years of Nostra Aetate" and the Protestant professor Susanne Heine with the topic "Lessons from Jewish ancestors for Christian descendants".
This year, the Day of Remembrance on January 16 is dedicated to the memory of the former synagogue in Simmering. The event organized by Vernetzte Ökumene Wien will take place at 7 p.m. in the Stephanisaal (Stephansplatz 3). Speakers will include the Secretary General of the Jewish Community, Benjamin Nägele, Coordination Committee President Jäggle, Cathedral Dean Rudolf Prokschi, Simmering Protestant Pastor Anna Kampl and Simmering District Head Thomas Steinhart.
On the day of the celebration (January 17), the ecumenical service of the ÖRKÖ will take place.
Events in the federal states
On January 16, the Catholic Private University (KU) Linz will be dedicating a lecture entitled "Everything kosher?" at 19:00 to the topic of "Food as a question of faith and identity". In a lecture, the Viennese rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister will provide insights into Jewish traditions, regulations and everyday actions and shed light on the connection between diet, identity, demarcation and community. This will be followed by a discussion with the Catholic moral theologian Prof. Michael Rosenberger from Linz.
In Graz, an ecumenical service to mark the Day of Judaism will take place on January 17 at 7 p.m. in the parish of the Holy Blood (Herrengasse 23). At the Bildungshaus St. Hippolyt in St. Pölten, Jewish Studies Professor Klaus Davidowicz will give a lecture on January 17 at 7.00 pm on the topic of "Judaism in film. Film as Midrash" (Midrash: teaching, mediation; note). He will shed light on how Jewish motifs have found their way onto the silver screen.
Anti-Semitism and "toxic language"
The Salzburg Faculty of Catholic Theology is hosting an afternoon of study on January 17 on the topic of "Toxic Language: Anti-Semitism from the Bible to the Present" (Universitätsplatz 1, HS 101). Starting at 3 p.m., Berlin linguist Monika Schwarz-Friesel will speak about language and power in the context of anti-Semitism and Salzburg biblical scholar Kristin De Troyer will talk about the Book of Esther.
The event is organized by the Center for Jewish Cultural History at the University of Salzburg, the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Salzburg, the Edith Stein University of Education Salzburg, the University of Education Vienna/Krems and the Archdiocese of Salzburg.
Middle East conflict at the Jewish Museum
In Innsbruck, Salzburg fundamental theologian Elisabeth Höftberger will be giving a lecture on a new form of Jewish-Christian dialog on 17 January at the Haus der Begegnung (Rennweg 12) from 6.30 pm. Bishop Hermann Glettler and the Protestant Superintendent Oliver Dantine have also issued a special invitation to this lecture.
In Vienna, the Director of the Jewish Museum Barbara Staudinger will also be speaking on January 17 as part of the "Theological Courses" (Stephansplatz 3) on the topic of "The Jewish Museum Vienna, the war in Gaza and the need for solidarity". According to an announcement, the Jewish Museum Vienna is taking on the task of addressing the Middle East conflict, although such exhibitions have often turned into scandals in the past.
Conspiracy theories past and present
The Jewish Institute for Adult Education's contribution to the Day of Judaism will focus on "Anti-Jewish conspiracy narratives from antiquity to the Black Death". At 6.30 pm, the motifs of conspiracy narratives against Jewish communities from antiquity to times of epidemics, hardship and religious agitation will be examined.
On January 16, the Jewish religious scholar Yuval Katz-Wilfing and the Viennese dean Ferenc Simon, member of the board of the coordination committee, will comment on the Christian-Jewish dialog on Radio Maria (8.30 pm).
An overview of all services and events can be found on the website of the Coordination Committee.