Christians will be celebrating Good Friday soon. People will pray passionately and devotedly, making petitions to God, remembering Jesus' death on the cross. This day is very solemn for all believers. Christians give thanks for their salvation, which was made possible by the suffering of Jesus. At the same time, people are diligently preparing with joy in their hearts to meet Easter Sunday, when the rebirth of Jesus Christ is celebrated. However, in the Middle Ages, Good Friday was a rather dangerous time for Jews. But first things first.
Good Friday in the Middle Ages
Scholars studying the relationship between Jews and Christians have found that since the fourth century, Christians have traditionally read the Gospel of John, a version of Jesus' trial and death during the Good Friday services. Throughout this gospel, the word “Jews” is constantly used to describe those people who conspired to kill Jesus.
As a result of the peculiarities of the language of the time, the blame for the death of Jesus in medieval Christianity was placed on the Jewish people as a whole.
During the medieval service on Good Friday, Christians prayed for the "treacherous and deceitful Jews" so that God could remove the veil from their hearts so that they would know Jesus Christ. In another part of the service, a crucifixion was installed before the congregation so that people could honor the crucified body of Jesus. During this time, the chanters chanted texts known as "Rebuke". In one verse, the voice of God accuses the Jewish people of infidelity, rejecting Jesus as their Messiah and crucifying him instead.
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The Jews are to blame
Medieval Christians thus received a message on Good Friday that the Jews who lived among them were enemies of Christians. It was believed that it was they who killed their savior and now had to either convert to Christianity, or be subjected to God's punishment. But people believed so strongly in the guilt of the Jewish people that during the liturgy of Good Friday they often showed physical violence towards the local Jewish communities.
Mass persecution
It was customary for Jewish homes to be pelted with stones on Good Friday. Moreover, often such antics on the part of Christians were supported by the clergy, and even people in robes took part in the massive persecution of Jews. David Nirenberg, a scholar in medieval Judeo-Christian relations, argues that this violence allegedly reproduced the evil that Jesus suffered.
Another scholar, Lester Little, argues that the attack on the Jewish community became a kind of revenge for the death of Jesus and a ritual act that strengthened the border between Jews and Christians.
Ignoring the demands of the church
The local clergy, who encouraged and participated in violence against Jews, violated the rules of their church. Church law sought to protect Jews and required them to remain inside their homes on Good Friday. Historically, the Western Church has taken responsibility for protecting Jewish communities because they viewed Jews as the custodians of the Old Testament and therefore the prophecies about Jesus. Official positions, however, were often ignored locally, as many Christians sought to assert their authority over the Jewish community.
The civilian authorities protected Jews by providing armed guards and preventing Christians under 16 from throwing stones. But such actions could not always prevent bloodshed and violence.
What changed after World War II
Although the massive violence against Jews on Good Friday receded after the medieval period, talk of Jews at the Good Friday service did not disappear until the 20th century. After the Holocaust, Christian churches realized that their own teachings and practices contributed to the Nazi genocide against the Jewish people.
The Second Vatican Council marked a turning point in Roman Catholicism. It was a meeting of all the bishops in the church, which was organized from 1962 to 1965 and determined a new direction for the interaction of the church with the modern world. During the council, the Roman Catholic Church issued a decree on relations with non-Christians called Nostra Aetate.
This document confirmed that the church arose from the Jewish people and declared that Jews should not be held responsible for the death of Jesus. In addition, Nostra Aetate declares that it condemns hatred, persecution, manifestations of anti-Semitism directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.
Change in consciousness
As a result of this decree, the Roman Catholic Church began a concerted effort that continues to this day. Christians are aware of the idea that the Jewish people are not to blame for the death of Christ and the clergy are calling for better relations with the Jewish people by conducting extended dialogues.
Although some churches still use "Rebuke" during their Good Friday services, the negative verses about Jews are being removed. Among Roman Catholics, a revised prayer for the conversion of Jews is still permitted, although only in the Latin version of the liturgy.
New version of prayer
The most common version of Good Friday service used by Roman Catholics now has a new prayer.
Around the same time after the Holocaust, many Protestant churches in Europe and North America were also working to revise their Holy Week services to avoid anti-Jewish language.
The work to be done
However, there is still work to be done in Holy Week services, including in Episcopal churches.
In the church, the Gospel of John remains the only authoritative narrative for the Good Friday service. While the reading of John's Gospel clearly discourages violence against Jews, keeping this reading as the only option for Good Friday may show the institutional church's unwillingness to confront the history of its use.
Svetlana Morozova