Christianity in the Middle East Report no.1 (original) (raw)
Related papers
Christian Communities in the Contemporary Middle East: An Introduction
Exchange, 2020
Who are the Christians of the Middle East? How have churches and Christian organizations responded to violent conflicts, political unrest, refugee flows, and economic crises in the region? Does such socio-political turmoil define Middle Eastern Christians as a group? By what methods do scholars today study Christian communities in the Middle East? This special issue addresses such pertinent questions and contributes to a growing body of scholarship on the contemporary realities and recent histories of institutional churches and Christian communities in the Middle East. It does so with a specific focus on the Arabic speaking regions of North Africa and West Asia, while including studies on Christians in these regions who are not Arab and who use vernacular and liturgical languages other than Arabic. The diversity and rich heritage of Christianity in the Middle East is apparent in this issue's articles on Christianity in Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon, while these studies also highlight the ties Christians in these nations have to co-religionists in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, and around the world. To convey the particularities of contemporary churches in the Middle East and their place in religious and theological studies, in what follows, I first consider the demographics and denominational diversity within Middle Eastern Christianity and the ways scholars have studied these communities in recent years. Then I introduce the nine articles in this issue, noting the critical gaps this research fills in support of Middle Eastern Christian Studies. 1 Middle Eastern Churches Scholars and Middle Eastern Christian leaders alike describe the distinct expressions of Christianity in the Middle East by dividing the region's churches
This paper is concerned with the present status quo and role of the Christian minorities in the Arab world, and more specifically, in Lebanon. The presence of Christian minorities has always been precarious, but more so since the second half of the 20th century. This is because of several interrelated external and internal factors: these are related to political, social, religious, communal and ecclesiastical challenges. This paper will discuss some paradoxes related to the presence of the Christian minorities and their role in the Middle East.Some of these paradoxes are implied in statements like“the East without the Christians is a loss for everyone” (Fr. Khalil Samir, sj) and “Lebanon is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism” (Pope Jean Paul II). Moreover, this paper will examine some assertions that are actually misleading the Christians’ minds vis-à-vis Realpolitik, glocal identity, social roles, modernity, religious coexistence, and church reform. In the final analysis, the two urgent questions that have to be dealt with are:First, are the original missions and visions of the Churches still applicable in the 21st century?Second, if so, then how to incorporate them into the present turbulent and unpredictable historical reality? More to the point, the question boils down to simply whether the Christian minorities are ready to live their faith against all odds.
Joint Conference of the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College and the Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust Friday 17 th and Saturday 18 th June 2016 Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, University of London Friday Conference Introduction and Welcome 10:50-11:00 Mary Grey (Chair of Trustees, Living Stones and Emeritus Professor, University of Wales, Lampeter) and Anthony O'Mahony (Director Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College) Christianity in Iraq: Present challenges and future perspectives 11:00-12:30 Erica Hunter (School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London), Suha Rassam (ICIN), Kristian Girling (Heythrop College, University of London) Lunch 12:30-13:15 Coptic Christianity in contemporary Egypt 13:15-14:15 Mariz Tadros (Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex) The Armenian Church and Tradition Today 14:15-15:15 Rev. Vrej Nersessian (Emeritus, Oriental Department, British Library) Break 15:15-15:45 Syriac Christianity in the modern Middle East 15:45-16:45 Sebastian Brock (The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford) Reflections on Eastern Christianity and Muslim-Christian relations in Syria - a western Christian perspective 16:45-17:30 Revd. Andrew Ashdown (Theology Group, Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust) Saturday Christianity in Syria: Present challenges and future perspectives 10:30-12:00 Rev. Nadim Nassar and Huda Nassar (Awareness Foundation & Theology Group, Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust) One More Bridge to cross: Syrian Refugees in Greece on their Way to Paradise 12:10-13:00 Gerasimos Makris (Associate Professor of Social Anthropology at the Panteion University, Athens) Lunch 13:00-13:45 Christianity in the Holy Land 13:45-14:45 Sr Bridget Tighe FMDM Christian churches in Jordan: political, religious and communal context 15:00-15:50 Paolo Maggiolini (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) and the Catholic University of Milan) Break 15:50-16:00 Christianity in Jerusalem: social relations, border makings and their crossing 16:00-16:40 Georgios Tsourous (School of Anthropology, University of Kent) Final Reflection – The Future of Christianity in the Middle East 16:40-17:30 Hratch Tchilingirian (The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford); Anthony O’Mahony, (Heythrop College, University of London) All are welcome Conference fee £15.00 per day (to be paid on the day) For further information please contact Kristian Girling k.girling@heythrop.ac.uk
Christians in the Middle East: A Guide
Maronites, Copts, Melkites, Chaldeans ... It is not easy to navigate among the various Christian communities in the Middle East. An overview http://www.oasiscenter.eu/articles/eastern-christians/2017/05/04/churches-in-the-middle-east-a-guide
The Future for Christians in the Middle East: Renewed Diversity or Decline?
LSE Middle East Centre, 2022
The group of Christian intellectuals and leaders met in Lebanon in autumn 2021 to launch their vision for Christians in the Middle East. Source: Twitter/@nakhtaralhayat We Choose Abundant Life names both a statement of intent and the group of Christian intellectuals and leaders who met together in Beirut last autumn to launch their vision for Christians in the region. The group who convened included Assaad Elias Kattan, Professor of Orthodox Theology at the University of Münster, Gabriel Hachem, Professor of Systematic Theology at USJ Beirut, and Souraya Bechealany, Secretary General of the World Council of Churches.
in M. Tamcke – C. Rammelt (eds.), Göttingen 2020, Thinking about Christian Life in the Turmoil Times of the Middle East, pp. 67–94., 2020
This paper attempts to trace back the ecumenical life in the Middle East from the past. Being ruled by Muslims and pushing out the ecclesiology of various Churches from the political arena; could help Church communities in the Middle East to emphasize their spiritual identity and being less interfered by political powers to make decisions in favor of rulers. Wars that caused atrocities could help Christians in the Middle East to understand their differences and focus on how to live together by establishing an ecumenical life out of necessity.
Middle Eastern Christianity Outside the Middle East
The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East, 2020
This chapter provides an overview of the presence and development of Middle Eastern Christians outside of the region. It explores three distinct themes relating to Middle Eastern Christian diasporas – the role of the church, interactions with wider society and transnational ties. It is important to note that communal associations separate from the churches have also been created and play an important role in developing community life including preserving their culture. These will be explored in relation to interactions with new societies, the Middle East and other parts of the diaspora. However, given that the denominational churches play a central role in shaping the identity of faith-based migrant groups, the first section will primarily focus on church-led activities. The needs and interests of the first and second migrant generations will also be explored. The three themes are devised from research findings from a collaborative project exploring Middle Eastern Christian Communities in Europe with case studies of Coptic Orthodox, Assyrian/Syriac and Iraqi Christians in the UK, Denmark and Sweden. While the findings have relevance to other denominations and countries, indeed some examples are given from the United States, Canada and Australia; it is not possible for the chapter to explore all denominations or geographic areas. Thus, the chapter concentrates on the larger denominations, which combine a faith and ethnic identity.