The OTSA working group, Orthodox Christians in Dialogue with Jews, studying and considering alternatives to elements of anti-Judaism in Orthodox theology and liturgy has been proceeding on the basis of regular online seminar discussions by Orthodox Christian theologians in consultation with our Jewish and ecumenical Christian partners.

The Orthodox Church and the Shoah

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of many of the Nazi death camps in the final months of the Second World War, we partnered in April 2025 with The Wheel journal, Volos Academy for Theological Studies, and ACER-MJO in hosting an online conference on “The Orthodox Church and the Shoah.”

Part 1

Contextualising the Shoah (Holocaust)

• Why should we continue to remember the Shoah? – Rabbi Dr David Sandmel, International Council of Christians and Jews
• The theological problem of the Shoah in Orthodox Christian tradition – Rev Dr Geoffrey Ready, University of Toronto
• Orthodox liturgical tradition and hymns seen through the lens of the Shoah – Dr Olga Meerson, Georgetown University

Remembering the Righteous Among the Nations
The stories of Orthodox Christian saints and heroes whose courageous actions saved Jewish lives

• How did the righteous become righteous? – Rev Hildo Bos, St. Nicholas Church, Amsterdam
• The example of Mother Maria of Paris – Dr Andreas Alexopoulos, Volos Academy
• The example of Fr Cyril Argenti – Olga Lossky

Part 2

Reckoning with Orthodox Involvement in the Shoah
Antisemitism, fascism, and direct participation in the Holocaust within Orthodox Christian nations

• The Serbian church during the Shoah – Rastko Lompar, Institute for Balkan Studies
• The case of the church of Romania – Dr Ionut Biliuta, Romanian Academy
• Between the cross and the swastika: Orthodox bishops, Mount Athos, and Nazi-occupied Greece – Dr Nikos Kouremenos, Volos Academy

Closing Panel

• The Holocaust in the context of interreligious dialogue – Rev Dr Filotheos Maroudas, Volos Academy
• Open roundtable – moderated by Inga Leonova, The Wheel

Introducing Orthodox Christians in Dialogue with Jews

On Saturday 3 February 2024, we held a public presentation and discussion of the motivations, paths forward, and aspirations of our project, led by several members of our steering committee:

• Rev Dr Geoffrey Ready, Trinity College, University of Toronto (Chair)
• Rev Dr Bogdan Bucur, St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
• Inga Leonova, Editor-in-Chief, The Wheel journal
• Rev Dr Michael Azar, University of Scranton
• Svetlana Panich, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto

For more information, please contact info@ocdj.net.

Anti-Judaism in Orthodox Hymnography: Beginning a Conversation before Holy Week

The issue of anti-Jewish texts within the Byzantine rite is longstanding and complex. The Orthodox Theological Society in America is establishing a working group of liturgical scholars and specialists in Jewish-Christian theological dialogue to study and make recommendations for liturgical renewal within the Orthodox Church.

To launch this endeavor, and in advance of Holy Week, a time when many of these anti-Jewish hymns are most prominent, we held an online seminar on Sunday 2 April 2023 in which our panelists introduced some of the main issues involved and suggested some practical advice that can be implemented in local parish usage.

Over 60 participants took part in the seminar chaired by Fr Geoffrey Ready, who in his preliminary remarks outlined the various theological and pastoral considerations of what is a long-overdue conversation. Dr George Demacopoulos then reprised his 2023 OTSA Conference talk, “Anti-Jewish Rhetoric in the Good Friday Hymns,” demonstrating that the core set of anti-Jewish Byzantine liturgical hymns arose in a particular historical context and did not reflect the theology of the earlier liturgical tradition. Fr Dcn Michael Azar followed up with a careful consideration of the central theological and prophetic elements of the Holy Week hymnography. Svetlana Panich offered the perspective of a Jewish Christian, focusing on the narrative division between “us” and “them” introduced by the problematic texts. A hearty discussion among the panelists and participants followed the presentations. The seminar culminated with some practical suggestions that might be undertaken at a local parish level.

Panelists

• Fr Geoffrey Ready, chair
• Dr George Demacopoulos
• Fr Dcn Michael Azar
• Svetlana Panich

Documents

In addition to watching the seminar video, you are invited to read and reflect on the following articles. The panelists referred to these materials during the presentations and discussion:

• “Anti-Jewish Rhetoric in Byzantine Hymnography: Exegetical and Theological Contextualization,” by Bogdan G. Bucur, from St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 61:1 (2017):39-60
• “Anti-Judaism in the Present-Day Byzantine Liturgy” by Bert Groen, from The Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 60 (2008) 369-387
• “Prophetic Matrix and Theological Paradox: Jews and Judaism in the Holy Week and Pascha Observances of the Greek Orthodox Church,” by Michael G. Azar, from Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations 10 (2015):1-27

The following web page on the Greek Archdiocese of America website also provides some helpful resources relating to this conversation: Responding to Antisemitism

Fr Geoffrey Ready, chair

Fr Geoffrey is the director of Orthodox Christian Studies at Trinity College, University of Toronto, where he teaches liturgical theology, pastoral studies, and both Old and New Testament. His research interests include the narrative of God and Israel in the Orthodox liturgy, second Temple Judaism and Jewish-Christian origins, the “parting of the ways,” and Orthodox Christian theological dialogue with Judaism today.

Dr George Demacopoulos

George is Fr John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies at Fordham University. He is Co-Founding Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center and Co-Founding Editor of the Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies. His presentation on the “Anti-Jewish Rhetoric in the Good Friday Hymns” at the recent OTSA conference in Volos, Greece – which he will present again during this online event – was the catalyst for the establishment of the new working group on anti-Jewish hymns in the Orthodox liturgy.

Fr Dcn Michael Azar

Fr Dcn Michael is Associate Professor of Theology/Religious Studies at the University of Scranton. His current book project (tentatively titled, Orthodox Christianity and the Reframing of Jewish-Christian Relations) focuses on ancient and modern Christian-Jewish interaction, particularly in light of Orthodox Christian hermeneutics and historic presence in the Holy Land. His other scholarly pursuits focus on New Testament studies, especially apocalyptic thought and the “parting of the ways,” as well as the effects that contemporary sociopolitical policies have on scholarly understandings of the ancient world.

Svetlana Panich

Svetlana has worked as a journalist, a coordinator for the Association of Christian Schools International, a researcher at the Institute of Jewish Studies and the Centre of European Studies in Humanities of the National University “Kiev-Mohyla Academy,” a lecturer in Literature at St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute, and as a researcher at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Centre of Russian Emigré Studies.