800th anniversary of the 1222 Synod of Oxford

Sunday 8 May, 2pm, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

The service recalls the 800th anniversary of the 1222 Synod of Oxford. Held at Osney Abbey this Synod instigated a particularly disturbing time in Christian-Jewish relations in England, with repercussions across Europe.

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What happened?

In promulgating the decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) the Synod added a range of further anti-Jewish measures for the Medieval Church in England.

The resulting canons forbade social interactions between Jews and Christians, established specific church tithes on Jews and imposed the need for English Jews to wear an identifying badge. These prejudicial laws were followed by further anti-Jewish statutes in the thirteenth century, culminating in the mass expulsion of the Jewish community in 1290.

Watch a poignant interview with Professor Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary University London, ahead of the unique cathedral service.

What will the service achieve?

This anniversary, arranged in association with the Oxford Jewish Congregation, offers a symbolic opportunity to apologise for these shameful actions. It also recognises the positive reframing of Jewish-Christian relations since the publication of Nostra Aetate (‘In Our Time’), a report of the Second Vatican Council in 1965: ‘this Synod…deplores and condemns hatred and persecutions of Jews, whether they arose in former or in our own days’.

This understanding was reinforced by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s call, in the 2019 Church of England report, God’s Unfailing Word, that ‘only by looking back and recognising our failures as Christians can we begin to move forward with authenticity’.

The Chief Rabbi, in his afterword to this report, emphasised that profound friendship must be accompanied by honesty so that together we may be a blessing to the world. Our intention is for this commemoration to be a strong signal of such rich potential, reflected in the depth of interfaith encounter and service that increasingly exists in Oxford and across our society.