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Israel Sunday in Wittenberg: courage, music and Chagall's masterpieces!
On August 24, 2025, Wittenberg celebrates Israel Sunday in the city church of St. Marien with a sermon and musical performances.
Israel Sunday in Wittenberg: courage, music and Chagall's masterpieces!
August has an exciting series of events surrounding Israel Sunday in Wittenberg. On Sunday, August 24, 2025, the St. Marien City Church invites you to celebrate Israel Sunday, which begins at 11 a.m. at the site of the reminder. Afterwards the service will be led by Dr. Christin Jahn, the general secretary of the German Evangelical Church Congress, continued with the sermon “A feeling of courage and defiance”. Together with the castle and city church community, this day is intended to provide an opportunity to intensively engage with the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. According to Stadtkirchengemeinde Wittenberg, the musical accompaniment by cellist Marika Gejrot will continue at the impressive sculpture RESTLIGHT on the Wittenberg market square.
But before the big service takes place, there is another highlight on the program on Friday, August 15, 2025: the opening of the exhibition “Chagall Painting the Bible”. From 6 p.m. there will be a musical preliminary program with organ music before Christhard-Georg Neubert, chairman of the Wittenberg Christian Art Foundation, will speak at the opening at 6:45 p.m. The exhibition, which will be on view until the end of October, shows eight color lithographs from Marc Chagall's 1956 cycle “La Bible”. A wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in the artist's visual narratives and discover the connection between art and faith.
Lectures and discourses
It continues on Friday, August 22, 2025, with a lecture by Michael Weise, who deals with the controversial question: “Jesus, the Galilean – Jesus, the first anti-Semite?” The lecture begins at 6:45 p.m., also after organ music at 6 p.m. Michael Weise will shed light on the discussions about the Jewish identity of Jesus during the Nazi era and its impact on the Protestant Church. The musical design will be complemented by the contributions of cantor Christoph Hagemann on the organ and Frauke Messing on the flute, who will present works by Jewish artists. These events not only offer a cultural, but above all a theological context for dealing with anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, as [wb-mittendrin](https://wb-mittendrin.de/ exhibition-vortrag-und-musik-zum-israelsonntag/) emphasizes.
Addressing these historical tensions is particularly important because, according to a resolution of the Synod of the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) in November 2023, Christian faith and anti-Semitism are considered incompatible. The EKD has dealt intensively with its history of guilt and made resources available to actively combat anti-Semitism. On their website ekbo.de those interested can find a wealth of information on how to deal with the role of Christianity in anti-Semitism and to actively work against this evil spirit.
Given that the number of anti-Semitic crimes in Germany has increased since October 2023, such events are more important than ever. They open up a platform for discussions and reflections on the responsibility of the church and Christianity as a whole. With a good grasp of the topic and a wide range of events, there should be something for everyone who is willing to engage in this in-depth discussion.