
Catholic Timeline Of Jew Hatred
By Jerry Darring, Presented by Lewis Loflin
A timeline of Catholic events relating to Jews, anti-Judaism, antisemitism, and the Holocaust from the 3rd century to the third millennium.
Timeline
- c. 240
- Origen of Alexandria writes that Jews "have committed the most abominable of crimes" in conspiring against Christ, justifying their exile as another people was chosen by God.
- 248
- St. Cyprian claims Jews suffer God’s wrath for abandoning Him and following idols.
- 306
- The Council of Elvira bans Christians and Jews from intermarrying, sexual relations, or dining together.
- 325
- The Council of Nicaea forbids clergy from conversing or fellowshipping with Jews.
- 4th century
- Roman Christian emperors decree death for Christians converting to Judaism or Jews blocking conversions, ban Jewish-Christian marriages, and prohibit Jews from public office or owning slaves.
- c. 380
- St. Gregory of Nyssa calls Jews "murderers of the Lord, assassins of the prophets, rebels and detesters of God,... companions of the devil."
- c. 380
- St. Ambrose labels the synagogue "a place of unbelief, a home of impiety, damned by God Himself."
- 388
- A Christian mob, incited by their bishop, loots and burns the Callinicum synagogue; St. Ambrose persuades Emperor Theodosius to condone it.
- 400
- St. Augustine writes that Jews are cursed for killing Christ, their observance of the law fruitless without Christ’s grace.
- c. 400
- St. John Chrysostom calls the synagogue a "brothel and theater," comparing Jews to "hogs and goats" in their behavior.
- 413
- Monks in Palestine destroy synagogues and massacre Jews at the Western Wall.
- 414
- St. Cyril of Alexandria expels Jews from his city.
- 425
- Law requires Jews to observe Christian feasts, fasts, and conversion sermons.
- 442
- The Constantinople synagogue is converted into a church.
- 529-553
- Justinian’s Code bans Jews from reading sacred books in Hebrew or using rabbinic interpretations in synagogues.
- 538
- The Third Synod of Orléans prohibits Jews from appearing in public during Passover Week.
- 591
- Pope St. Gregory the Great opposes forced baptism of Jews, fearing a worse relapse.
- 600
- Pope St. Gregory balances limiting Jewish freedoms while protecting their basic rights.
- 681
- The Synod of Toledo orders the burning of the Talmud and other Jewish books.
- 768
- Pope Stephen IV condemns Jews owning estates, calling them "rebellious against God."
- c. 830
- Archbishop Agobard of Lyons writes anti-Jewish pamphlets, labeling Jews "sons of darkness."
- c. 937
- Pope Leo VII urges the Mainz archbishop to expel unbaptized Jews.
- c. 1010-1020
- Jews face forced conversions, massacres, or expulsion in Rouen, Orléans, Limoges, Mainz, and possibly Rome.
- 1050
- The Synod of Narbonne forbids Christians from living in Jewish homes.
- c. 1070
- Pope Alexander II warns Spanish bishops against anti-Jewish violence, noting Jews accept servitude unlike Saracens.
- 1078
- The Synod of Gerona mandates Jews pay church taxes like Christians.
- 1081
- Pope Gregory VII warns King Alphonso of Spain that allowing Jews power over Christians exalts "the Synagogue of Satan."
- 1084
- Bishop Rüdiger of Speyer grants Jews a charter to own land and bear arms.
- 1096
- First Crusade massacres destroy Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer, Worms, and Cologne; 800 are slain in two days.
- 1182
- Jews are expelled from France, their property confiscated, debts to them largely erased.
- 1190
- The Third Crusade under Richard the Lion-Heart triggers anti-Jewish fervor, leading to the York Jews’ mass suicide.
- 1198
- Jews are permitted to return to France.
- 1199
- Pope Innocent III allows Jewish worship but bans forced baptisms and cemetery desecration.
- 1215
- The Fourth Lateran Council mandates distinctive clothing for Jews and restricts their Easter public appearances.
- 1222
- The Council of Oxford bans new synagogue construction.
- 1227
- The Council of Narbonne requires Jews to wear a round patch.
- 1230
- Jews in France are barred from lending money at interest.
- 1234
- The Council of Arles mandates a round patch for Jews.
- 1235
- Thirty-four Jews are burned in Fulda on a blood-libel charge.
- 1246
- The Council of Béziers orders Jews to wear a round patch.
- 1247
- Pope Innocent IV defends Jews against false Passover murder accusations and unjust persecution.
- 1254
- The Council of Albi requires Jews to wear a round patch.
- 1260
- The Council of Arles mandates a round patch for Jews, except when traveling.
- 1267
- The Synod of Vienna bans Christians from Jewish ceremonies and Jewish debates with lay Christians.
- 1267
- The Synod of Breslau mandates compulsory ghettos for Jews.
- 1267
- Pope Clement IV tasks Franciscans and Dominicans with addressing reverted "new Christians."
- c. 1270
- St. Thomas Aquinas writes that Jews’ unbelief is a greater sin than pagans’, given their prior knowledge.
- 1272
- Pope Gregory X defends Jews against false kidnapping accusations by Christian enemies.
- 1275
- Jews in England are forbidden to lend money at interest.
- 1279
- The Synod of Ofen bans Christians from selling or renting real estate to Jews.
- 1283
- Jews in France are barred from rural living.
- 1284
- The Council of Nîmes orders Jews to wear a round patch.
- 1289
- The Council of Vienna mandates a round patch for Jews.
- 1290
- Jews are expelled from England and southern Italy.
- 1294
- Jews in France are confined to special city quarters; expelled from Bern.
- 1298
- Jews in Röttingen are massacred and burned for alleged Host profanation.
- 1320
- The "Shepherds' Crusade" sees shepherds slaughter 500 Jews in a castle siege, sparing baptized children.
- 1326
- The Council of Avignon mandates a round patch for Jews, except when traveling.
- 1345
- King John allows subjects in Liegnitz and Breslau to use Jewish tombstones for city walls.
- 1347-1350
- Jews are blamed for the Black Death, accused of poisoning wells; thousands are killed despite Pope Clement VI’s defense.
- 1350
- Jews are expelled from parts of Germany.
- 1367
- Jews are expelled from Hungary.
- 1368
- The Council of Vabres orders Jews to wear a round patch.
- 1381
- Jews are expelled from Strasbourg.
- 1394
- France completes Jewish expulsion begun in 1306, finalized on the Day of Atonement.
- 1420
- Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop.
- 1421
- Jews are expelled from Austria.
- 1424
- Jews are expelled from Fribourg and Zurich.
- c. 1425
- Pope Martin V denounces anti-Jewish preaching and forced baptism of children under twelve.
- 1426
- Jews are expelled from Cologne.
- 1432
- Jews are expelled from Saxony.
- 1434
- The Council of Basel bans Jews from academic degrees.
- 1435
- King Alfonso orders Sicilian Jews to wear a round patch on clothing and shops.
- 1438
- Jews are expelled from Mainz by town councilors.
- 1439
- Jews are expelled from Augsburg.
- 1453
- Jews are expelled from Wurzburg.
- 1454
- Jews are expelled from Breslau.
- 1456
- Pope Callistus III bans Christian-Jewish social interaction.
- 1462
- Jews are expelled from Mainz amid an archepiscopal dispute.
- 1467
- Jews are expelled from Tlemcen.
- 1471
- Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop.
- 1475
- The Trent Jewish community is executed over a ritual murder allegation.
- 1485
- Jews are expelled from Warsaw and Cracow.
- 1492
- Spain expels Jews after branding baptized ones Marranos and burning 700 at the stake.
- 1497
- Jews are expelled from Portugal.
- 1519
- Jews are expelled from Regensburg.
- 1553
- Cardinal Carafa orders a public burning of the Talmud in Rome.
- 1555-1559
- Pope Paul IV confines Jews to ghettos and mandates distinctive headgear.
- 1566-1572
- Pope St. Pius V expels Jews from Papal States, except Rome’s ghettos and Ancona.
- 1592-1605
- Pope Clement VIII bans all Jewish books in the Index of Forbidden Books.
- 1826
- Pope Leo XII confines Jews to ghettos and confiscates their property.
- 1858
- Papal police abduct 6-year-old Edgardo Mortara, secretly baptized, despite global outcry; Pope Pius IX refuses his return.
- 1904
- Pope St. Pius X tells Theodor Herzl the Church cannot sanction Jewish control of Holy Places due to their rejection of Christ.
- 1919
- Poland mandates Sunday rest to force Jews to observe the Christian Sabbath.
- 1921
- A Vatican spokesman for Pope Benedict XV opposes Zionist control of the Holy Land, citing Jewish "rebellious spirit."
- 1925
- Bishop Sigismund Waitz calls Jews an "alien people" corrupting nations at a Catholic conference.
- 1933
- Cardinal Faulhaber defends the Old Testament but not contemporary Jews; Bishop Gföllner urges breaking Jewish cultural influence.
- 1933-1939
- Polish Catholic papers advocate reducing Jewish influence and mass emigration.
- 1935-1936
- The Polish Church supports government policies encouraging Jewish emigration.
- 1936
- Cardinal August Hlond warns against Jewish influence but condemns violent antisemitism.
- 1937
- Bishop Alois Hudal defends Nazi racial laws, backed by Archbishop Theodor Innitzer.
- 1938
- Pope Pius XI denounces antisemitism, saying "spiritually we are all Semites," though unreported by Vatican media.
- 1939
- Priest-President Josef Tiso of Slovakia deports Jews to death camps, calling it "Christian action."
- 1941-1945
- The Holocaust kills six million Jews in Christian Europe with little Church protest.
- 1941
- Croatian Bishop Ivan Saric seizes Jewish property; German bishops ignore Jews in a pastoral letter.
- 1941
- Provost Bernard Lichtenberg prays for Jews and dies en route to Dachau.
- 1941
- Bishop Brisgys in Lithuania forbids clergy from aiding Jews.
- 1942
- French and Dutch clergy protest Jewish deportations; Pope Pius XII’s Christmas address omits specific mention of Jews.
- 1942-1945
- Cardinal Adolf Bertram avoids protesting Jewish massacres, later honoring Hitler.
- 1943
- German bishops decline to confront Hitler over the Holocaust.
- 1943
- Slovak bishops protest Jewish deportations, though many priests resist.
- 1945
- Pope Pius XII mourns priests lost in camps but omits Jews.
- 1965
- Vatican II’s Declaration rejects blaming all Jews for Christ’s death and condemns antisemitism.
- 1967
- U.S. bishops establish an Office on Catholic-Jewish Relations; Cardinal Frings questions Holocaust scale.
- 1974
- The Vatican condemns antisemitism as un-Christian.
- 1979
- Pope John Paul II calls the Holocaust "the Golgotha of our century" at Auschwitz.
- 1980
- German bishops denounce antisemitism and seek dialogue with Jews.
- 1984
- Brazilian bishops reject the "deicide" label for Jews.
- 1985
- The Vatican urges better understanding of Judaism to combat ignorance.
- 1987
- Pope John Paul II’s meeting with ex-Nazi Kurt Waldheim sparks controversy.
- 1988
- The Vatican labels antisemitism a tragic racist ideology.
- 1989
- Cardinal Glemp defends a convent at Auschwitz, accusing Jews of anti-Polonism.
- 1993
- The Holy See recognizes Israel diplomatically.
- 1994
- Pope John Paul II hosts a Holocaust concert with Jewish participation.
- 1994-1995
- Bishops in multiple nations condemn antisemitism on the Holocaust’s 50th anniversary.
- 1997
- French bishops confess their WWII silence was a sin; Swiss bishops seek pardon for past persecution.
- 1998
- The Vatican’s We Remember calls for a future free of anti-Judaism; Italian bishops aim to end antisemitism.
- 2000
- Pope John Paul II honors Holocaust victims at Yad Vashem and prays for forgiveness at the Western Wall:
God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the Nations: we are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant
Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for formatting help. The content is Jerry Darring’s, presented with my edits. —Lewis Loflin