"Vetus Israel": les Juifs dans la littérature hiérosolymitaine d'époque Byzantine

Constantine's conversion to Christianity resulted in a profound change in relations between ethnic, cultural, and religious groups within the Roman Empire. The only survivor of the state's campaign for religious unity was Judaism. As a result, features previously reserved to describe heathens and heretics were transferred to the Jews and were found in medieval demonization. From the 4th century, Palestine became the Christian Holy Land and Jews were denied access to Jerusalem. The patristic religious literature of Jerusalem was nevertheless full of polemics against "Jews", apparently echoing the Church-Synagogue conflict of the time. It seems, however, that Christian anti-Judaism crystallized first around hostility towards the members of the Judeo-Christian community living in the city who refused to renounce some of their Jewish practices and were denounced in the writings of the Early Church.