Chief Rabbi Hertz and The Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple

History

In 1942, the Jewish community was the only numerically substantial non-Christian community in Britain; it had steadily increased in size since the nineteenth century, following the flight from the pogroms of Eastern Europe. William Temple (soon to be Archbishop of Canterbury) and Chief Rabbi Hertz, came together against the background of the Holocaust of European Jewry to address problems of intolerance and prejudice in Britain. The intention was very simple: Jews and Christians met, prejudice dissipated and friendship and understanding would grow.

In its early days, the Council encountered a number of obstacles. CCJ was indeed rejected out-of-hand by ultra orthodox Jews, and also Christians who were dissatisfied with its eschewing of missionary activity.

The main Christian denominations soon saw the importance and value of the Temple/Hertz vision and it was not long before the Free Church Moderator, Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Great Britain were part of the Presidential Council of CCJ. But these were days before ecumenism had really established itself in the UK, let alone inter Faith dialogue.  In 1954, the Vatican was sufficiently alarmed at the prospect of priests and rabbis appearing together that it instructed Cardinal Griffin, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, to leave the CCJ; and Catholics did not return to the organisation until the Second Vatican Council a decade later. Theologies which enable Catholics to work side by side with other faiths were not available in the 1950’s.

Today the Council remains a membership organisation with around 4000 members nationwide, and organises local branch meetings at over 40 locations, including Northern Ireland.  The branch network decreased in latter years responding to changes in demographics but more recently has experienced growth again with new branches being considered.

The leaders of the Christian and Jewish communities remain actively involved.  The core work of CCJ has remained broadly the same – addressing antisemitism in the Christian community, education of lay and ordained clergy, citizenship education and RE in schools, student dialogue on university campuses and community work.  The impact of Middle East conflicts on Jewish Christian relations in the UK continues to provide a forum for debate and better understanding and now relations with Muslims. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury recently described CCJ as “a forum for the best kind of dialogue – respectful, creative and spiritually serious.”

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