Debate on antisemitism in the Orthodox Church
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article, translated from Greek and published in the journal *Synaxi* in 1998, takes the form of a written debate between Stavros Zouboulakis and Thanassis Papathanassiou on the question of antisemitism within the Greek Orthodox Church. Zouboulakis opens the dialogue by denouncing concrete manifestations of ecclesiastical antisemitism, notably the writings of the Metropolitan of Corinth Panteleimon and their laudatory review in the official journal *Theologia*, in order to call for an open critical examination of this phenomenon. Papathanassiou responds by acknowledging the reality of Orthodox antisemitism while refusing to treat it as an exclusive feature of ecclesial consciousness. He draws on significant historical counter-testimonies — synodal encyclicals, the protest of Archbishop Damaskinos in 1943, the actions of clergy and laypeople during the Shoah — to show that the Orthodox tradition has also produced resistance to anti-Jewish hatred. The theological contribution of this exchange lies in the demand for a lucid ecclesial memory, capable of confronting its areas of darkness without abandoning its own resources of repentance and discernment.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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