This book contributes to dialogue between Judaism and Orthodox Christianity. Essays by prominent experts, writing within their own tradition, tackle key issues relating to theology and worship as well as the vexed question of antisemitism. The book identifies a great deal of common ground as well as points of tension.

How can finite minds approach an infinite and ultimately unknowable God? Is it true that Christianity is a religion of love and Judaism a religion of law? Can a Jew accept the Orthodox Christian veneration of holy images? How much do Jews and Orthodox Christians have in common when they worship God? What can be done about Christian prayers that Jews find offensive? How much responsibility do Christians carry for antisemitism? These and other questions are addressed in this book which is intended as a major contribution to encounters between Judaism and Orthodox Christianity. In seventeen chapters, expert theologians and historians examine central issues of common concern relating to theology and worship as well as to the vexed historical question of anti-Semitism. The focus is on dialogue and deepened knowledge, as the contributors dispel widely-held misconceptions and identify a good deal of common ground.

Chapter One: Mysticism in the Orthodox Christian Tradition

Marcus Plested

Chapter Two: The God Who Can and Cannot be Said

Daniel Davies

Chapter Three: The Unity of God: Christians and the Trinity

Andrew Louth

Chapter Four: Law and Love in Judaism

Norman Solomon

Chapter Five: Love: an Orthodox Perspective

Andrew Louth

Chapter Six: The Christian Church as the New Israel

Andrew Louth

Chapter Seven: The Journey to Oneself: Anti-Judaism in the Search for Christian Identity

Elena Narinskaya

Chapter Eight: Idolatry, Veneration of Icons and Worshipping God in Orthodox Christianity

Elena Narinskaya

Chapter Nine: Iconic Theology in Classical Rabbinic Literature and Orthodox Christianity

Daniel H. Weiss

Chapter Ten: The Concept of Tradition in Orthodox Worship

Kallistos (Timothy) Ware

Chapter Eleven: Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Jewish Worship

Howard Cooper

Chapter Twelve: The Jewish Year: Metaphor and Meaning

Jeremy Schonfield

Chapter Thirteen: The Psalms in Orthodox Christian Worship

Yves Dubois

Chapter Fourteen: Are there Christian Cultural Elements in Jewish Practice?

Michael Hilton

Chapter Fifteen: Anti-Judaism and Orthodox Liturgy

Michael G. Azar

Chapter Sixteen: The Blood Libel in the Russian Orthodox Tradition

†John D. Klier

Chapter Seventeen: Jewish Responses to the Blood Libel in Countries with Historic Orthodox Christian Traditions: Considerations for Dialogue

George R. Wilkes