WINNIPEG โ Jews and Christians from multiple denominations, together with participants from Indigenous and Filipino communities, met Monday in Winnipeg to promote an open theological dialogue and to counter the religious roots of antisemitism.
The event was led by Norman Tobias and Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Ready, founding directors of the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Canada, who are conducting a cross-country series of meetings to foster sustained, national engagement.
Ready, director of Orthodox Christian Studies at the University of Toronto, urged Christians to recognize Judaism as the faith context of Jesus and the apostles and to examine doctrines that have contributed to anti-Jewish attitudes in Christian history. He said the work will help to โcombat the Christian theological roots of antisemitism.โ
Speakers emphasized the study of the shared scriptural heritage and called for confronting doctrines such as supersessionism, sometimes called replacement theology, which they said has helped fuel hostility toward Jews.
About 50 people attended the meeting at the Asper Jewish Community Campus, where participants spoke of Christians acting as allies to Jewish communities, especially in the wake of recent attacks that have heightened concerns about antisemitic rhetoric and violence.
Belle Jarniewski, executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada and co-founder of the Manitoba Christian-Jewish Dialogue, described the session as โrefreshing and upliftingโ and said attendees were prepared to move beyond casual meetings to study theological issues in depth.
Organizers said the national dialogue seeks not only to improve interreligious understanding but also to reject forms of Christian Zionism that reduce the modern State of Israel to a mere role in Christian prophetic narratives rather than recognizing its contemporary and historical significance to the Jewish people.
The Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Canada will continue its schedule of meetings in other cities. Local organizers invited members of faith communities to mark the 60th anniversary of Vatican II at a related event on October 22.
This article is based on verified information from the Winnipeg Free Press and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.