Theme Reference Guide for The LIST (BETA version, 5.26.19)
Introduction
An analysis of the more than 850 items in The LIST reveals the following general themes/sections (in no particular order):
th th 1. 9 / 10 of Av th a) 9 of Av th b) 10 of Av th th c) Combined 9 / 10 of Av 2. Antisemitic writings a) Replacement Theology i. THE SEEDS ii. THE FRUIT b) General 3. Blame, accusations and humiliations a) General blame and accusations b) Host desecration accusations c) Blood libel accusations d) Ritual Murder accusations e) Humiliations 4. Pogroms 5. Expulsions 6. Papal bulls 7. Church canons 8. Inquisitions and auto-da-fés 9. Other (miscellaneous) notable events
Giving Thanks a) Papal bulls b) Miscellaneous
Below these headings area variety of examples listed as suggestions for prayers of repentance. Some of these entries contain a brief description of the event. For more information and full details of each entry, please refer to The LIST itself.
Of the many examples that could be chosen, preference was given to the more well-known/infamous examples, which often set precedents for succeeding atrocities. Examples from different nations were also chosen (highlighted in bold) to provide a representative cross-section nationalsampling for individuals/groups who may wish to focus on prayer for their own (or a specific) nation.
As we are praying prayers of repentance for the sins of our Church forefathers specifically on the 9th of Av, it is suggested that the prayer repentance session begin with one of the entries mentioned in the first th th th th section:9 / 10 of Av, which contains all the 9 / 10 of Av dates having direct Christian/Christian nation involvement.
It is also suggested that the prayer session conclude with a short time spent in thanksgiving, as some of our history includes some positive things our Church forefathers did that benefited Jews. The Giving Thanks section contains a number of suggestions, and is divided intotwo parts:
Part a) Papal bulls: lists a number of papal bulls that were issued that benefited Jews, and which undid some of the previous papal bulls mentioned in that section. Part b) Miscellaneous: lists a number of miscellaneous events that benefited Jews.
It is highly recommended that leaders (or individuals) make themselves familiar with the themes in this document several days ahead of the 9th of Av, in order to get an overview of its contents. But while these themes and suggestions have been prepared to aid individuals and leaders in deciding what to pray for, they remain only suggestions. The most important thing,and overriding factor,is to let the Holy Spirit be your Guide, and to seek the Lord in prayer to see where He would have your focus be.
We trust that this document will give you the information you need in order to seek the Lord for His direction on what to pray for, and repent of, and we thank you for joining us in prayer for the Nations’ 9th of Av.
Amen. th th 1) 9 /10 of Av
While there are many tragic events that occurred on both these days, the following events were either perpetrated by our Church forefathers directly, or were perpetrated by Christian nations.
th a) 9 of Av 1096: Pope Urban II declared the start of the First Crusade, in which 10,000 Jews were killed in the first month of the Crusade. 1290: Jews expelled from England. 1492: Jews expelled from Spain. 1555: Pope Paul IV issued a papal bull confining Jews into a walled ghetto in Rome, Italy. 1648: Cossacks from Poland/Lithuania massacred thousands of East European Jews. 1941: Himmler received approval from the Nazi Party in Germany for the “Final Solution” of the Jews. 1942: Treblinka extermination camp in Poland became operational in which more Jews were killed than at any other concentration camp apart from Auschwitz.
th b) 10 of Av 1306: Jews expelled from France. 1905: England passed the Aliens Act, which had grave implications for European Jewry seeking sanctuary during the Holocaust.
th th c) Combined 9 / 10 o f Av 2005: Under the urging of President Bush, United States, 8,600 Jews were forcibly removed from their homes in the Gaza Strip, which was given to the Palestinians.
2) Antisemitic writings
The list of antisemitic writings from our Church history is unfortunately prolific. The following list is a sampling of some of the most egregious writings, many with sample texts in The LIST itself. Although divided into two sections, Replacement Theology-thinking has permeated our entire history, and underpinned much of our later antisemitic writings in general (section b).
a) Replacement Theology i. THE SEEDS c. 155-60: Justin Martyr writes “Dialogue with Trypho” (a Jew) which seeks to prove to Trypho that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. c. 180 Irenaeus’ book “Against Heresies” makes it clear that Jews have been disinherited from the love of God, sowing the seeds of Replacement Theology. c. 200 Tertullian writes “Against the Jews”, a treatise inspired by an argument between a Christian and Jewish convert, which reveals that Christians would overcome the Jews, who would serve Christians. 220-230 Origen writes “On the First Principles” where he allegorised scripture, allowing him to claim that the word Israel in the Bible could mean the Church. 249 St. Cyprian writes “Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews”, whose allegorical arguments imply that Christians have inherited the birthright that the Jews have forfeited. 426 St. Augustine publishes “The City of God”, which, through the allegorical method of interpreting scripture, develops the idea that the Church is the kingdom of God, thus popularising Replacement Theology.
ii. THE FRUIT 1543: Martin Luther’s “On the Jews and Their Lies”, which outlined seven actions in response to the question “What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews”. 1621: The pilgrims celebrated their first harvest at Plymouth, Massachusetts. They modeled themselves after the Jews, who they believed had been rejected by God and needed to embrace Jesus as the Messiah in order to re-enter the covenant, and believed their journey to America was a reenactment of the biblical Exodus. 1933-45: The Holocaust: the number of Jews: 6 million (first entry): Hitler and the Nazis used as moral justification the writings of Martin Luther (Protestant) and Chrysostom (Catholic), and 1,500 years of historical Catholic actions against the Jews. b) General th 4 Century (first entry): Summary of the history of the Jews. 306-73: St. Ephrem the Syrian wrote many hymns with maligning references to the Jews. 374: St. Ambrose, one of the four original Doctors of the Church, who preached against the Jews. 386-87: St Chrysostom wrote eight homilies (in separate entries): “Against the Jews”. 395-430: St. Augustine of Hippo wrote that the Jews are a sort ever-living “negative example” for Christians to learn from. 429-40: St. Augustine’s “Treatise Against the Jews”. c. 827: Agobard of Lyon: several entries with samples of his antisemitic writings. 1090-1153: Bernard of Clairvaux: antisemitic sermons and letters. c. 1173: Thomas of Monmouth, who claimed there was an annual international council of Jews where they chose the country in which a child would be killed during Easter. 1271: Thomas Aquinas wrote “Letter on the Treatment of the Jews”, which deals with how a ruler should deal with Jews during the 1200s. His words set the stage for later claims of ritual murder, host desecration, and well poisoning. 1387: Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, which includes the verses in The Prioress’s Tale, related to various blood libel stories common at the time. 1451-53: John of Capistrano, known as the “Scourge of the Hebrews” for his antisemitic messages, which inspired violence, pogroms and expulsions (see expulsion, 1453, in The LIST). 1508: Ulrich Zasius’ treatise “The Problems of Baptising Jewish Children” was later used to justify kidnappings and forced baptism of Jewish children. Martin Luther: 1514: letter to Reverend Spalatin in which his antisemitism was already apparent. 1538: treatise “Against the Sabbatarians”. 1543: treatise “On the Jews and Their Lies”. 1543: the book “Von SchemHamphoras”, argued that the Jews were no longer the “Chosen People”, but the “devil’s people”. 1546: Luther preached four sermons where he advocated that the authorities which could expel the Jews, should do so if they didn’t convert to Christianity. John Knox: 1547, 1558, 1560: antisemitic writings from the leader of the Reformation in Scotland. 1868: Herman Goedsche, whose fictional “Rabbi’s Speech” was frequently quoted as authentic and invoked as proof of the authenticity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (see 1905 below). 1874-90: Adolf Stoecker, known as the “second Luther”, who argued in one of his pamphlets that the contradiction between the Jews and the Aryans could only be settled with the extermination of one of them. 1880: Heinrich von Treitschke published “A Word About our Jews”, which contained the phrase “The Jews are our Misfortune”, adopted as a motto by the Nazi publication Der Stürmer. 1880-81: Antisemites’ Petition launched in Germany to rally public awareness of the “Jewish problem.” 1883: Theodor Fritsch wrote The Racists’ Decalogue. 1905, 1920: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion was published, purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. Henry Ford sponsored the printing of 500,000 copies in 1920.
3) Blame, accusations, and humiliations
a) General blame and accusations 1020: An earthquake and hurricane struck Rome, Italy on Good Friday, which was seen as divine punishment. Pope Benedict VIII was persuaded that the cause of divine anger was that the Jews had insulted the host while Christians were paying their adoration to the Cross. 1026: Jews were expelled from Limoges, France, after being blamed for the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 1009. 1348-51: Rumours spread that the Black Death was an international Jewish conspiracy to poison Christendom by poisoning the wells. More than a dozen entries follow this header entry, detailing massacres, expulsions and riots against the Jews. 1669-70: Jews were expelled from Vienna, Austria, after being blamed for a fire in the newly built royal palace in 1668. 1881-84: Jews were blamed for the assassination of Alexander II, resulting in 200 anti-Jewish events in Russia. It was also the first time the Russian word “pogrom” was used to describe a massacre against a minority group. 1899-1923: The sixth cholera pandemic was blamed on “outsiders” in many countries; in Italy, the Jews (and gypsies) were blamed for the outbreak. 1914-18: In World War I, Jews were blamed for starting the war and profiteering from it, and those serving in the military on both sides of the conflict were often charged with treachery, leading to expulsions, deportations and massacres. 1952-53: Jewish doctors in Moscow, Soviet Union, (the Doctor’s Plot), were accused of conspiring to assassinate Soviet leaders, which Stalin intended to use as justification to organise pogroms around the country.
b) Host Desecration accusations 1243: First accusation of host desecration, in Berlitz (near Berlin), Germany 1370: Brussels massacre, Belgium 1399: Host desecration in Poznań, Poland 1420-21: Vienna, Austria 1453: John Capistrano, a Franciscan friar, presides over a trial of host desecration. 41 Jews were burnt alive, and Jews were expelled from Breslau, Lower Silesia(present day Poland).
c) Blood libel accusations 1247: Valréas, France 1287: Werner of Oberwesel, Germany 1298: Rintfleisch massacres against Jews in response to a series of blood libel accusations in several cities, Germany 1407: Cracow Accusations, Poland 1475: Simon of Trent, Italy 1490-91: The Holy Child of La Guardia, Spain 1821-29: Blood libel accusations during the War of Independence, Greece 1928: Massena, a town in New York, United States
d) Ritual Murder accusations 1144: St. William in Norwich, England 1171: Jewish community of Blois, France, was massacred after a ritual murder accusation 1235: Fulda, Germany 1255: Little St. Hugh of Lincoln, England 1288: Troyes, France 1421: Jews were expelled from Austria after ritual murder/host desecration accusations 1462, 1621: Andreas Oxner, aka Anderl von Rinn, Austria 1891: Corfu, Greece 1900: Konitz Affair, West Prussia(present day Poland) 1943: WWII: Ernst Kaltenbrunner was ordered by Himmler to discover cases of ritual murder “wherever Jews have not yet been evacuated”, and publicize them.
e) Humiliations 1253: King Henry III, England, issued the Statute of Jewry, which contained 13 Articles designed to segregate the Jews, and commanding in Article 9 that: “every Jew wear his badge conspicuously on his breast.”(See also a similar Statute of the Jewry issued by King Edward I, 1275.) 1257: Pope Alexander IV enforced the “badge of shame” on all Papal States, Italy. 1267: At the Synod of Vienna, Austria, Jews were required to wear a cone-shaped headdress – “horned hats” – in addition to a badge. 1269: King Louis IX, France, issued an edict compelling Jews to wear the rouelle (“wheel”) on their outer garment. 1313: At the Council of Zamora, Spain, edicts enforcing the wearing of a distinctive badge were to be maintained, among other provisions. c.1392, 1555: The Jewish Oath in Germany. 1434: In Augsburg, Germany, Jews were required to attach yellow circles (ringel) to their clothes, and women were ordered to wear yellow pointed veils. 1938: Hitler brings back the yellow star of David in Germany.
4) Pogroms
167: Melito of Sardis, the first to accuse the Jews of deicide, and whose preaching would later inspire pogroms against the Jews 1241: Frankfurt, Germany 1251: Shepherds’ Crusade No. 1, where 40,000 people converged on Paris, France, indulging in pogroms against the Jews along the way 1374: Pogroms in the Rhine, spreading to France and the Netherlands 1389: Prague Pogrom (in Bohemia) 1819: Hep! Hep! riots in Germany 1821: Odessa, Russia 1917-21: Kiev, Ukraine Nov 9-10, 1938: Kristallnacht pogroms in Germany Jan 21-23, 1941: Legionnaires’ rebellion and Bucharest pogrom, Romania June 25-29, 1941: Kaunas pogrom, Lithuania June-July 1941: Iași pogrom in Bucharest, Romania July 10, 1941: Jedwabne pogrom, Poland July 4, 1946: Kielce, Poland
5) Expulsions
The following expulsions were chosen to give as comprehensive a cross-section of nation states as possible. Cities and/or states were chosen to represent individual nations where such expulsions were confined to those areas.
135-36: Judea 325: Jerusalem 414: Alexandria, Egypt (expelled by Cyril of Alexandria, a Church Father) 633: Galilee 985: Sparta, Greece 1121: Flanders(present day Belgium) th 1290: England(on the 9 of Av) th 1306: France(on the 10 of Av) (also 1182, 1254, 1322, 1394) 1320: the Papal States, Italy(also 1569, 1593) 1349: Hungary(also 1360) 1352: Bulgaria 1421: Austria 1470: Bavaria (also 1551, 1714), (present day Germany) 1490: Switzerland th 1492: Spain(on the 9 of Av) 1493: Sicily, Italy 1495: Lithuania 1496: Portugal 1542: Bohemia(present day Czech Republic) 1582: Holland 1654: Recife, Brazil 1712: Sandomierz, Poland 1717: Gibraltar 1727: Russia (also 1742, and Western Russia in 1915) 1862: Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, United States 1939: Jozef Tito, Catholic priest and President of Slovakia from 1939-45, who deported most Slovakian Jews to their deaths in the concentration camps.
6) Papal bulls
The following list of papal bulls are a representative sampling of the many different injustices enacted against Jews, many of which were repeated in papal bulls by Popes in future years. (See the Giving Thanks section below, where some Popes issued papal bulls in the Jews’ favour that rectified some of these injustices.)
1205: Pope Innocent III (Etsi non displaceat): accused Jews of usury, blasphemy, arrogance, employing Christian slaves and murder. He also claimed Jews were punished with “perpetual servitude” for killing Jesus. 1218: Pope Honorius III (In generaliconcilio): demanded the enforcement of the fourth Lateran Council that Jews wear clothing to distinguish themselves, and that Jews be made to pay the tithe to local churches. Additionally, in 1221, (Ad nostrum Noveritisaudientiam), he obliged Jews to carry a distinctive badge and forbade them to hold public office. 1239: Pope Gregory IX (Si verasunt): ordered the seizure and examination of Jewish writings suspected of blasphemies against Christ and the Church. 1244: Pope Innocent IV (Impiajudeorumperfidia): stated that Jews could not hire Christian nurses, and ordered the Talmud to be burnt. 1278: Pope Nicholas III (Vineamsorce): ordered conversion sermons to Jews. 1288: Pope Nicholas IV (Turbatocorde): demanded that Christians who embraced Judaism be treated as heretics. 1299: Pope Boniface VIII (Exhibitanobis): declared that Jews be included among persons who might be denounced to the Inquisition without the name of the accuser revealed. 1317: Pope John XXII (Ex parte vestra): required Jews to wear a badge on their breast, and those suspected of heresy were to be turned over to the Inquisitor. 1442: Pope Eugene IV (Dundam ad nostrum audientiam): required complete separation of Jews and Christians, thus creating a legal basis for the creation of Jewish ghettos in Europe. 1456: Pope Callixtus III (Si ad reprimendos): prohibited Jews from testifying against Christians, but permitted Christians to testify against Jews. 1567: Pope Pius V (Cum nosnuper): ordered Jews to sell all property in the Papal States. 1581: Pope Gregory XIII (Antiqua Judaeorumimprobitas): authorised the Inquisition directly to handle cases involving Jews, especially those concerning blasphemies against Jesus or Mary, incitement to heresy or assistance to heretics, possession of forbidden books, or the employment of wet nurses. He concluded that Jews were to be “eternal slaves”, since their guilt for murdering Jesus grew deeper with each generation. 1625: Pope Urban VIII (Sedesapostolica): condemned the Jews in Portugal as heretics, decreed that Jews be buried in unmarked graves, and ordered pre-existing tombstones to be removed or destroyed. 1747, 1751: Pope Benedict XIV (1747:Postremomensesuperiorisanni/1751: Probe tememinisse): confirmed that a Jewish child, once baptised, even against canonical law, must be brought up under Christian influences and be removed from its parents, and that Jewish children aged 7 or older could be legally baptised and removed from their parents’ custody. The papal bull from 1751 delineated the situations where a child could be baptised without parental consent, and was cited by Pope Pius IX as justification for the infamous Mortara Case in 1858 (see details on The LIST). 1755: Pope Benedict XIV (Beatus Andreas): beatified child martyr Andreas Oxner, said in a blood libel accusation to have been murdered by Jews in 1462 (see entry in The LIST for details).
7) Church canons
The following Church Councils all issued canons specifically against the Jews, many of which are quoted verbatim in The LIST (indicated by * below).
306: Synod of Elvira*(present day Granada, Spain) 363-64: Council of Laodicea* (present day Turkey) 517: Council of Epaone, Kingdom of Burgundy (border areas in present day France, Italy and Switzerland) 535: Council of Clermont, France 538: Third Council of Orléans*, France 581 (or 583): Council of Mâcon, France 633: Fourth Council of Toledo, Spain 692: Trullo Ecumenical Council*, Constantinople, Turkey th 694: 17 Church Council of Toledo*, Spain 1179: Third Lateran Council*, Rome, Italy 1215: Fourth Lateran Council*, Rome, Italy 1222: Council of Oxford, England 1227: Council of Narbonne*, France 1234: The Decretals of Pope Gregory IX, which invested the doctrine of “perpetual servitude of the Jews” with the force of canonical law 1434: Council of Basel*, Switzerland
8) Inquisitions and auto-da-fés
1240, 1242: The Disputation of Paris in 1240 resulted in The Inquisition in Paris, France, burning 24 wagons of Jewish books, totaling thousands of volumes. 1481: The first auto-da-fé occurs in Seville, Spain, targeting six conversos (Jews who converted to Catholicism to avoid persecution). 1483: Tomás de Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of Spain 1528: The first auto-da-fé occurs in Mexico, targeting “Judaizers”. 1531: Pope Clement VII issued papal bull cum ad nihilmagis, formally establishing the Inquisition in three cities in Portugal. 1536-1821: Portuguese Inquisition. Established by King John III in Portugal, its main targets were conversos. 1542-1860: Roman Inquisition. Targets included those accused of Judaizing. Penances and sentences were public events, including auto-da-fésand sometimes death. 1560-1820: Goa Inquisition, India. Its targets included conversos. 1570-1820: Peruvian Inquisition. Targets in Peru included European Jews seeking refuge from religious persecution. 1571-1820: Mexican Inquisition. Targets in Mexico included Judaizers. 1605: A large auto-da-fé occurs in Lisbon, Portugal; 19 are accused of Judaizing in Lima, Peru. 1642-45, 1646-49: Trial of Gabriel de Granada, Mexico, and Mexican Inquisition at its peak. 1705: Sermon of auto-da-fé in Lisbon, Portugal 1736: The last person executed in Peru for practising Judaism in the Peruvian Inquisition. 1826: The last auto-da-fé occurs in Spain, in Valencia. 1850: The last recorded auto-da-fé occurs in Mexico.
9) Other (miscellaneous) notable events
325: Council of Nicaea, which separated Easter from Passover. 534-77: Code of Justinian, which included legislation against the Jews. 1096: Rhineland massacres, with many entries detailing specific cities in France and Germany during the First Crusade. 1305, 1543, 2016: Judensau (“Jew-pig”) statue erected in what would become Martin Luther’s home church in Wittenberg, Germany. 1412: Laws of Valladolid in Castile, Spain. 1858: The Mortara case, Italy. 1894, 1899, 1906: The Dreyfus Affair, France. 1933-45: The Holocaust: dozens of entries to choose from in The LIST detailing atrocities committed during this dark period of history, particularly during the WWII years, 1939-45. July 2005: BDS Movement begins.
Giving Thanks
“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20, NLT
While the focus of our attention has been to repent for past atrocities and injustices perpetrated against our Jewish brethren by our Church forefathers, not all our history has been so evil, or “negative”.If leaders wish to end their repentance session with thanks and gratitude, we offer the following examples for some of the positive things that our Church forefathers have done on behalf of the Jews. Some are truly inspirational, and worthy of giving thanks.
a) Papal bulls c. 1120: Pope Callixtus II (SicutJudeis): provided protection for Jews who suffered at the hands of the Crusaders in the First Crusade. 1217: Pope Honorius III (Sicutjudaeis non debetesselicentia): forbade the forced baptism of Jews or molestation. 1233: Pope Gregory IX (EtsiJudarorum): demanded that Jews in Christian countries be treated with the same humanity as Christians wish to be treated in heathen lands, and urged prevention of physical violence against Jews in France. 1247: Pope Innocent IV (Lachrymabilem Judaeorum): urged the end of persecution of the Jews based on the blood libel. 1272: Pope Gregory X wrote a letter which advocated Papal protection of the Jews, and opposing the blood libel accusation against them. 1348: Pope Clement VI (QuamvisPerfidiam): condemned the violence erupting throughout Europe during the Black Death, and denounced the allegation that the Jews were responsible by poisoning the wells, and that Jews were suffering just like the rest of Europe. 1365: Pope Urban V (Sicutijudaeis non debet): forbade Jews to be persecuted or forcibly baptised.
b) Miscellaneous 392, 393, 397, 412, 423: Various Roman emperors enacted pro-Jewish legislation that became part of the Codex Theodosianus. 1084: Bishop Rudiger offered the Jews legal status in Speyer superior to what would be offered elsewhere in Germany. 1247: King James I of Aragon offered the Jews protection and privileges in his country (present day Spain). 1264: Statute of Kalisz, Poland, served as the basis for the legal position of Jews in Poland, encouraging immigration. 1338: Bishop of Strasbourg, France, formed an alliance of prominent Christians to track down armed bands carrying out attacks on Jews. 1622: Denmark became the first Scandinavian country where Jews were allowed to settle. 1655-56: Oliver Cromwell allowed Jews to return to England. 1804: Russia enacts pro-Jewish laws. 1848-58: England passed the Jews Relief Act, removing barriers to Jews entering Parliament. Nov 1917: The Balfour Declaration, England, which recommended “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. Apr 1942: Augustine Pozdech, Catholic priest, Slovakia. Mar 1943: Tsar Boris III, Bulgaria, saved ALL Bulgarian Jews during WWII. Sep-Oct 1943: Denmark saved 99% of its Jews during WWII. July 1944: Raoul Wallenberg, Sweden – the Swedish “Schindler”. Jan 1945: Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, United States, saved all the Jews in his camp by ordering all POWs to step forward and pronounce “We are all Jews here.” 1948: National Brethren Council, Germany, issued a statement acknowledging the Church’s role in bringing injustice and suffering upon the Jews. 1962-65: Second Vatican Council issued Nostre Aetate, which, among other things, repudiated the charges of deicide against the Jews, and decried antisemitism in any form. Apr 1994: Declaration of Lutheran Church in the United States to the Jewish community. 1995: Pope John Paul II asks for forgiveness of crimes. 2004: Father Patrick Desbois, France, founded an organisation to find Hitler’s undocumented killing fields in Eastern Europe before its surviving witnesses die. 2015: Nicholas Winton, England, the British “Schindler”, died. He rescued 669 children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of WWII. May 2018: United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.