Jewish deicide

In Christian theology, **Jewish deicide** is the theological view that the Jews as a people are responsible for the Crucifixion of Jesus.

## Overview

The view is said to have spread in the early days of Christianity when early Christian theologians (Church Fathers) wrote about it. Since the end of the Holocaust, during which at least 6,000,000 Jews were killed, this matter has been discussed by modern historians from different disciplines. Now, Jewish deicide is considered an antisemitic trope and no longer agreed by mainstream churches.

### Gospel of Matthew

The view is said to have been based on Matthew 27:24–25:

### Gospel of John

The view is also said to have been based on John 5:16–18, where John referred to the Jews directly:

In the _Greek Bible_ (The New Testament's original Greek text), Ἰουδαῖοι (_Ioudaios_) was used, meaning "the Jews" or "the Judeans", though some scholars claimed that the passage should be analyzed in the context of how later Christians interpreted it.

### First Epistle to the Thessalonians

In the First Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote,

### Ignatius of Antioch

In the early decades of Christianity, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 50–117) claimed that those who followed Jewish custom were "partakers with those who killed Jesus".

### Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr (100–165) claimed that God's covenant (also known as the Old Covenant or Mosaic Covenant) with the Jews was no longer valid and that Christians had replaced them because the Jews "[had] slain the Just One [Jesus]", who would deserve exile and persecution in the centuries to come.

### Irenaeus

Irenaeus (130–202) claimed that the Jews had been "disinherited from the grace of God" as they had "rejected the Son of God and slew Him".

### Tertullian of Carthage

Tertullian of Carthage (155–230) blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus.

### Origen of Alexandria

Origen of Alexandria (185–254), along with John Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407), is said to have been responsible for much of Christian antisemitism. He held the Jews responsible for the killing of Jesus. He believed that Jerusalem deserved to perish and the Jewish nation should be overthrown in order for God's grace to be passed on to Christians.

### John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) was an important early Church Father who served as the archbishop of Constantinople. He wrote in his homily series _Adversus Judaeos_ (Ancient Greek: Κατὰ Ἰουδαίων _Kata Ioudaiōn_, "against the Jews"):

Since there were only two other ordained individuals in Antioch legally recognized as Christian preachers, Chrysostom managed to promote his ideas to most local Christians.

## Academic views

Notably, John Chrysostom's _Adversus Judaeos_ is seen by many historians as having inspired antisemites in the following 1,600 years to justify pogroms, expulsions and discriminatory policies against Jews. Such antisemites include Nazi Germany's ruler Adolf Hitler, who reprinted and circulated Chrysostom's text among Germans within Nazi territories to justify the Holocaust.

### Amy-Jill Levine

Regarding the Gospel of Matthew, Biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine said that Matthew 27:24–25 had caused more suffering throughout Jewish history than any other passage in the New Testament.

### James Parkes

Anglican priest James Parkes called Chrysostom's antisemitic homilies

### Jules Isaac

French historian Jules Isaac (1877–1963), the author of the 1948 book _Jésus et Israël_, further mentioned the issue in his 1956 book _Génése de l’Anti-Sémitisme_ ("Has Anti-Semitism Roots in Christianity?"):

### Steven Katz

American philosopher Steven Katz (1944 – ), the founding director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies at Boston University in Massachusetts, wrote about:

### Walter Laqueur

Walter Laqueur (1921 – 2018), a German-American Jewish historian, said that the conditions for the 4th-century Christian church were "brutal and aggressive" as it was "fighting for survival and recognition". He thought this led to the lack of demand for mercy and forgiveness, particularly due to the anti-Christian Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (reigned 361 – 363). The three centuries of persecution of Christians did not end until the late 4th century, when the Christian church became the state religion of the Roman Empire under Theodosius I (reigned 379 – 395). Theodosius closed pagan temples in the process.

### Protestant churches

It is said that most Protestant churches have never given a binding position on this theological view. Some, especially the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), have made official declarations against it.

### Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) held the view until 1965, when the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) passed the _Nostra aetate._ It includes the declaration that

Since then, the Catholic Church has become divided because of the rise of radical traditionalist Catholics, who are active in current American politics. Vatican II's position was supported by Pope John Paul II, when he led the Catholic Church between 1978 and 2005.

## Related pages

- _Jésus et Israël_
- Antisemitic stereotypes
- Dual-covenant theology
- Secondary antisemitism
- Holocaust uniqueness debate