Seminar on Jews and Christians of the 1st century takes place in Ratisbonne.
On this last Thursday (February 9), Br. Cristóvão Oliveira, NDS presented the first seminar of the Reshit Da’at project (check here), which takes place in Ratisbonne (Jerusalem). The theme chosen by him was “John the Baptist and Jewish Rites of Purification in the First Century: a glance over Mk 1:1-8.” Sisters of Sion from Ecce Homo, Ein Karem, novices and religious from other congregations (Salesians, Chemin Neuf), friends of Sion, as well as the brothers of the Ratisbonne community itself were present.
Summary of the Seminar
In the Second Temple period, a complex system of purification through immersion integrated all Jewish ritual practices, not only in Jerusalem but also throughout the whole country. The Gospel presents John the Baptist, who announced a baptism [immersion rite] for the forgiveness of sins. In what way did this immersion of John relate to those other immersions in vogue in that context? Although John emphasized that his baptism was of conversion, it would have been impossible for people to have performed it without an adjacent consciousness of ritual purification. Moreover, according to the functional nature of the religious rite, we can contemplate ritual purification as a metaphor for the conversion of customs.
The next seminar is scheduled for February 23 (8 pm) and is open to all those who are interested.
