Search JTA's historical archive dating back to 1923

Archbishop of Canterbury Absolves Jews from Crucifixion Blame

March 26, 1964
See Original Daily Bulletin From This Date
Advertisement

The Archbishop of Canterbury declared today that it was wrong to try to place the blame for the crucifixion of Jesus on the Jews alone. The Archbishop, Michael Ramsey, made the statement in a letter to the London Diocesian Council for Jewish-Christian Understanding.

“The important fact is that the crucifixion was the clash between the love of God and the sinfulness and selfishness of the whole human race, ” the Archbishop wrote. “Those who crucified Christ are, in the true mind of the Christian Church, representatives of the whole human race and it is not for anyone to point a finger of resentment at those who brought Jesus to his death but rather to see the crucifixion as the divine Judgment upon all humanity for choosing the ways of sin rather than the love of God. We all must see ourselves Judged by the crucifixion.”

Recommended from JTA

Advertisement