Elias Friedman OCD (1916–1999), was a Carmelite priest.

Biography

Born in 1916 into a family of Jewish origin in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and was given the name Jacob Friedman, although he was known as Jackie to his family and friends. He graduated from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in 1938. In 1943, while serving as a doctor in the South African Medical Brigade, joined the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Four years later, he became a

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

and produced his first book, "The Redemption of Israel" published by Sheed and Ward. Friedman was ordained in 1953 and entered the Stella Maris monastery a year later. Friedman lived in the monastery Stella Maris of Mount Carmel in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, until his death in 1999.

Academic and religious life

Friedman earned several awards as an author, historian of the origins of the Carmelites, linguist, translator, public speaker, internationally acclaimed musician, and poet. The book "Jewish Identity" was the result of long years of prayer, study and over 40 years of religious life in

. The new organization he founded, the Association of

Hebrew Catholics Hebrew Catholics (in modern Israeli he, עברים קתולים ''Ivrím Katolím'') are a movement of Jews who converted to Catholicism and Catholics of non-Jewish origin who choose to keep Mosaic traditions in light of Catholic doctrine. The p ...

, is an early manifestation of the insights contained in this work. Alongside the

, with the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, has been reviewing its teachings about

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

References

Friedman, J. (1947) The Redemption of Israel. Sheed & Ward, London.
Friedman, E. (1987) Jewish Identity. The Miriam Press. New York.

External links

* http://www.hebrewcatholic.org * http://www.catholic.co.il/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Elias Israeli Christian clergy Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Israeli Roman Catholics South African emigrants to Israel South African people of Jewish descent 1916 births 1999 deaths Discalced Carmelites