ECC fully acknowledges its profound connection to the history, culture and traditions of Judaism. Our churches share the belief in one God, and the Hebrew Old Testament is an integral part of the Christian Scriptures.

Last year we have introduced a new tradition known as the Red Wednesday. We conducted a joint Jewish-Christian prayer offered for those persecuted for their faith and conscience around the world, and churches and several other buildings were illuminated with a red light to commemorate this event. We view anti-Semitism as one of the ways such hatred and persecution is manifested in the world, and intend to carry on with the Red Wednesday tradition this year.

ECC is especially grateful for the fact that since the early 1990s, the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic has been affiliated with ECC in observer status. The nearly three decades of close cooperation have been extremely beneficial for all parties involved, and have resulted in a number of joint projects and activities which have managed to transcend the boundaries of specific churches and religious societies and reach out to the general public. Our churches also provide joint spiritual service in special circumstances, especially in prisons and hospitals.

We are aware that anti-Semitism has been on the rise in some European countries, either in its traditional form or as the so-called “new anti-Semitism”, rooted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Ecumenical Council of Churches therefore resolutely rejects anti-Semitism in all its forms.

Steering Committee of the ECC