Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss three prompts based on a patron's insightful questions posed during the Salvation Is from the Jews series:

1. How do the Synoptic Gospels and Acts portray early conflict between Christ-followers and synagogue authorities and in what way does John's Gospel deepen, reflect, or reinterpret this dynamic?
2. How can we responsibly talk about early Jewish opposition to the Jesus movement in a way that neither distorts history nor fuels anti-Jewish sentiment in our interpretation and preaching today?
3. What it would look like for the Church to fully embrace the self-critical stance of the Hebrew prophets? Not to accuse others, but to repent ourselves in our identification alongside and with Israel?

Having solved all the world's problems regarding the relationship between the Jewish and Christian traditions, we're bringing the season to a close.

We jest! We have, however, come to a good time to pause and reflect on what we've discussed so far, before we return with a follow-up season later on. We also are sharing a talk that Fr Geoffrey gave at a conference titled "The Orthodox Church and the Shoah" which encapsulates what we've done so far, and looks ahead to what the implications are.

Who are we? Are we the new Israel? Or are we the gentiles that have come alongside Israel to worship the One True God? The answer to this question will frame how we move forward in our reflections, relationships and dialogue in this re-membering.

Please click the link to view the presentation by Fr Geoffrey: https://youtu.be/46zkjUGoSUU

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of many of the Nazi death camps in the final months of the Second World War, OTSA's working group Orthodox Christians in Dialogue with Jews (chaired by Fr Geoffrey Ready, Director of Orthodox Christian Studies at Trinity College) 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.”

This presentation on "The theological problem of the Shoah in Orthodox Christian tradition" was one of the introductory talks contextualizing the wider issues discussed during the conference.

A full blown Christology was in place long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There was an understanding in ancient Judaism that God related to the world through a property of Himself that was called Son of God, the Word of God, and God's Glory. One aspect of the parting of the ways between what is now called Christianity and what is now called Rabbinic Judaism is a result of theological wrestling on both sides around this Yahweh Christology.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the theological debates on both sides that framed each group's view, along with Melito of Sardis, a church father of the 2nd century who could either be seen as the source of everything antisemitic, or as someone who saw himself as being part of the very family he was critiquing.

Can we say that the parting of the ways is complete, even in our time?