Between the Covenant and the Cross

Edith Stein as a Hermeneutical Key to Nostra Aetate

Abstract

This article examines the religious and intellectual journey of Edith Stein (1891–1942), a Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite, as a hermeneutical key for understanding the declaration Nostra Aetate (1965). The central objective is to demonstrate how Stein’s life and work provide an existential interpretation of the three theological affirmations of the conciliar document: the spiritual continuity of the Church with Israel, the radical repudiation of all forms of antisemitism, and the commitment to dialogue between Jews and Christians. The methodology is theoretical-analytical, based on interdisciplinary bibliographic research that integrates phenomenology, systematic theology, and historical hermeneutics. The analysis follows Stein’s Jewish upbringing, her philosophical search for truth, her conversion to Catholicism, the filial conflict with her mother, her Carmelite maturity, and her martyrdom in Auschwitz. As an interpretative axis, the category of “covenant identity” is proposed, capable of articulating Stein’s fidelity to her Jewish roots with her full adherence to the Christian faith. It concludes that her memory constitutes a “living commentary” on Nostra Aetate, summoning the contemporary Church to reaffirm reverence for its biblical origins, the condemnation of anti-Judaism, and the promotion of reconciliatory dialogue.