CHRISTIANITY, THE WAY OF LIFE EXEMPLIFIED, preached and proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth, was born in Palestine, then a province of the Roman Empire. Although Jesus’ words and actions were directed mainly to Jews and occurred in a Jewish milieu, he was also heard and observed by Romans and Greeks, particularly in the urban areas. Roman soldiers witnessed his Crucifixion and one of them gave the first recorded testimony that Jesus might have more than local religious importance. But it took the epic journey of his one-time adversary, Paul, during which he had a personal experience of Jesus risen and living in glory, to bring the Christian way to a wider world. Paul took the Good News, as Jesus’ message was known, to a very different environment, and it became the seed of a worldwide religion that knew no boundaries of race, gender, or geography. Damascus, where Paul first proclaimed Jesus, was not only a city of the wider Semitic world, but also a city in which Graeco-Roman culture flourished. From this world, the nascent Christian religion was carried east into areas where Zoroastrianism was the state religion and, further, into Central Asia and beyond; but its main thrust was westwards, to the European heartlands of the Koman Empire and its North African hinterland. Born at the crossroads of civilization, Christianity was well-placed to fulfil its vocation as a universal religion.

            Perhaps the first indication that Christianity was meant to spread throughout the world is found in the account of the first public sermon given by the Apostle Peter, recorded in the New Testament book known as the Acts of the Apostles. The second chapter of this book mentions Arabic as one of the many languages spoken by the diaspora Jews who undoubtedly spread the story and message of Jesus to many regions during their exile in the first Christian century.

            The evangelization of the Roman Empire and the consequent development of Christianity in Europe are outside of the scope of this issue of the Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, which focuses upon the development of Christianity in the Arab East (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Egypt) and in Iran. Although Christianity as practiced in this area has distinct features, it was seldom totally isolated from Christians and Christian institutions to the north and west. The common organizational features were structures embodying faith and practice, designated by ‘Church’ with a capital ‘C, and a belief in the essential unity of all Christians, allied with a sense of the importance of the life and growth of isolated smaller communities, namely, ‘church’ without capitalization. This ideal has always remained, even though the one Church, for different reasons, became divided into several Churches. Leaderships of various kinds emerged, some temporary, others permanent. The permanent leaders were ordained clergy known as bishops if their jurisdiction was over a city or province and presbyter or priest if their jurisdiction was restricted and overseen by the local bishop.

            Three momentous events were to have crucial and long-lasting effects on Eastern Christianity. The first was the transfer, early in the fourth century, of the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. The second, which followed soon after, was the decision of Emperor Constantine to respond to the growth of the empire’s Christian population by changing the official imperial religion from a form of polytheism centred in Rome and on the emperor himself to the new Christian faith. Most scholars agree that Constantine eventually became a Christian and that, henceforth, with one notable exception, all Roman emperors were Christian.

            The central figure in organized Christianity had long been the pope or bishop of Rome, who resided in the ‘eternal city’ Little by little, the Christian emperors of the East began to take increasing control of the Church in the territories under their jurisdiction. Dissent from official theological formulas came to be seen as disloyalty to the state, a development which did not sit well with the empire’s Christian subjects. The involvement of key Christian doctrines in these disputes meant that the unrest that began to intensify at the empire’s periphery was largely theological in origin, although political factors were also important. Today, the most significant of these doctrinal questions have been resolved; however, in the fifth and sixth centuries, differences in perspective and interpretation resulted in the second event—the growth of dissident Churches.

            The third and final event occurred in the seventh century: this was the emergence of Islam, a third religion growing out of the Semitic environment. Like Christianity, Islam had a sense of a worldwide mission to transform human society and initially presented itself as a movement not only of ideas, but also of people. Inevitably, religious differences apart, there was a clash of cultures between the largely nomadic Arabs of the Arabian peninsula and the more sedentary peoples to the north. In earlier centuries, Christian Arab tribes, both nomadic and settled, had provided buffer zones between the Roman and Sassanid Empires north and east of the peninsula. In Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, southern Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Ethiopia, many indigenous semi-sedentary Arabs and other ethnic groups had long been Christian, with organized churches and monasteries. On the northern boundary of the Middle East, Armenia had been a Christian kingdom for several centuries.

            The Muslims, fresh from victory against the Roman and Sassanid Empires, were energetic, open-minded and ready to learn. They promised a degree of religious toleration to Christians and Jews and received, in return, a great measure of cooperation in the field of government and in all branches of learning. The resultant expansion of knowledge in most areas of scholarship, but especially in Greek philosophy, as well as mathematics, medicine and geography, ultimately found its way into the young universities of Europe, making an incalculable and vital contribution to Western culture.

            The indigenous Christians—Syriac, Arab, Greek and Armenian— maintained their beliefs, practices and cultures throughout the centuries of Islamic dominance, despite further great changes brought about by the Mongol invasions, the Crusader presence and the later migration of Turkic peoples into the region, which culminated in the hegemony of the Ottoman dynasty, centred in Istanbul, over the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. In the seventeenth century, Eastern Christians received a generally welcome infusion of new intellectual energy due to the arrival of European Catholic orders such as the Franciscans, Carmelites and Jesuits. Schools were opened and Eastern Christians gained fresh opportunities to study abroad. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, new religious currents flowed into the area. Protestant missionaries came from England, Germany and the United States, and established schools and dispensaries, universities and hospitals. The possibility of travel and even migration to points further than Europe now became open to Eastern Christians. Protestant missionaries generally encouraged indigenous Christians to remain within their ancestral Churches; however, a small number did join Protestant Churches and local Protestant jurisdictions were formed in the Middle East.

            In this issue of the Bulletin, a distinguished group of scholars have contributed articles on key elements in the development of the Christian Churches in the Middle East. To this, I would only like to add a few, brief words on Syriac monasticism, the beginnings of which may be traced to Edessa and the surrounding region, which became known as Syria, probably a shortened form of the ancient name, Assyria. This change in name happened soon after the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty began its rule in the region during the fourth century BC. Edessa and the surrounding region developed a new Semitic language known as Syriac, which was distinct from Aramaic, the language of the broader region called Aram in antiquity. Vowed celibate life had a special place in the Syriac Churches from their earliest days, since it was seen as the most faithful way of imitating Jesus of Nazareth, who had never married. Monastic life began as informal groups of men and women dedicated their lives to the service of others in the Church community. Some of them chose to live lives of solitude and extraordinary austerity, seeing themselves as Jesus’ joint adversaries in the battle against the powers of evil. Their intercessory prayers were much sought after by the faithful. Gradually, under the influence of Egyptian monasticism, these men and women began to form structured communities following set rules of life.

            In their article, Cornelia Horn and Robert Phenix Jr. have generously given of their time to unfold much of the history of the indigenous Syriac-speaking Churches. Those desiring to broaden their knowledge of the Syriac Churches and their great spirituality, liturgy and literature are directed to the works of the doyen of Syriac studies, Sebastian Brock, which are readily available and eminently readable. A cursory glance at the online journal, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, (http:/ /bethmardutho. cua.edu/hugoye/), will also serve to provide some insight into the vast amount of scholarship, ancient and modern, which exists on all aspects of this subject. Mahmoud Zibawi’s illustrated encyclopaedia, Eastern Christian World, first published in French, but now available in English, is a particularly vivid source of information.

            Cornelia Horn and Robert Phenix, Jr. also contribute a second important article on the Eastern Catholic Churches that evolved from the Syriac tradition, giving particular emphasis to their place in ecumenical dialogue. One of these Churches is the Maronite Church, whose self-image is the subject of a brief but enlightening essay by Emma Loosley. Of particular interest is the contribution of Sidney Griffith, the leading scholar of both Syriac and Christian Arab theology, who explores some aspects of the relationship between Christianity and Islam throughout the centuries.

            Anthony O’ Mahony, an expert in the modern history of Christians in the Middle East, provides a highly perceptive analysis of the specific role of Latin Christianity in the Holy Land, while Thomas Hummel gives a fascinating account of the arrival of Protestant Christianity to the Middle East. Those especially interested in the Protestant contribution to contemporary ecumenical dialogue are referred to Betty Jane Bailey and J. Martin Bailey’s book, Who Are the Christians in the Middle East?

            Although the emphasis in this issue is on those areas of the Middle East which, for fifteen centuries, have been Arabic-speaking, it was deemed essential to allude to Christianity in Iran, especially since Mesopotamia, now Iraq, was once an integral part of empires emanating from that region. In his paper, Shawqi Talia does ample justice to this topic.

            Sotiris Roussos shares the millennial contribution of the Greek Orthodox tradition to Christianity in this region and provides valuable insights into the interplay of local and international politics in the life of indigenous Churches. I add to his important remarks my own observation that, while modernity might have been seen by both Christians and Muslims as one definable modality a generation ago, it is now viewed as having more than one face. Muslims, both women and men, are beginning to look at this phenomenon more critically and from their own religious and cultural perspective; however, the challenge, it seems to me, is for both Christians and Muslims to look at modernity from the perspective of their shared religious values.

            Finally, Fiona McCallum ably describes the special history of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian Church in the Middle East, giving particular attention to the interplay between the Church and the Muslim-majority state.

            There are several other topics which lie outside of the geographical scope of this issue and, yet, are undoubtedly an important part of the story. These are Armenia, the pre-Islamic Christian regions of the Persian Gulf, the northern and southern reaches of the Arabian peninsula and, of course, Ethiopia. In the interests of rounding out the picture of Christianity presented in this issue, I will outline, with the generous help of two scholars, Ara Sanjian and John Whooley, the story of Armenian Christianity and then say a few words on the Christian presence in the Gulf, Arabia and Ethiopia.

            The Armenian people, an ethnic group possessing both a common tongue and a common ruler, were the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as the state religion. This occurred in AD 301, some years before the Roman Empire formally became Christian, but after evangelization by Christian missionaries had been ongoing for two or three centuries in both states. The Armenian Church initially derived its theology and worship from the Greek and Syriac Churches, since it would be another century before the Armenian language developed its own alphabet. During the first few hundred years of its history, Armenia had found itself a battleground between the still largely pagan Eastern Roman Empire to the west and the Parthian, later Persian, Empire to the east, where Zoroastrianism held sway. These two empires ultimately changed their official religious affiliations to Christianity and Islam respectively. In the fourth and fifth centuries, the Armenian Church was caught up in internal Christian disputes concerning some aspects of Christology. The outcome was that the Armenian Church fell into the Syriac, rather than the Roman, camp and the single Armenian state broke up into principalities. Major waves of Armenian emigration eventually followed, the most important being into Anatolia, where the Crusaders would find Christian allies in due course. Their encounter brought about ephemeral relations between the papacy and the Armenian Church that caused internal Armenian controversy which has persisted, to some extent, to the present day. Nonetheless, the interchange with Europeans gave Armenians a noticeable head start in forming international connections that were to prove of enduring value.

            Armenians have continued to maintain their religious and ethnic integrity while living within or on the periphery of largely Muslim states, providing an admirable example of peaceful coexistence to other immigrants to the Middle East and elsewhere. Even the establishment in 1991 of the Republic of Armenia following the dissolution of the Soviet Union has not changed this state of affairs.

            While Armenian immigration to Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Iraq and, later, Europe and the Americas continued slowly over several centuries, it became a major exodus in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire when Armenians became the victims of terrible ethnic violence in what are today known as central and eastern Turkey. It is estimated that, of the large numbers of Armenian men, women and children who attempted to flee south from Anatolia in 1916 into countries ill-equipped to deal with so many refugees, only about one-fourth are known to have survived. Notably, the Sharīf of Mecca, Ḥussein ibn ʿAlī, issued proclamations asking Muslims to do their utmost to secure the safety of the refugees and to give them all possible assistance.

            The story of Christianity in the Persian Gulf and on the periphery of the Arabian peninsula was known in outline from historical works but has now become fuller owing to archaeological excavations and studies. Christianity probably entered these areas through trade routes connecting them to Syria, Persia and Egypt. Najran, in the south, was a centre of Christianity by AD 500 and, in the late eighth century, there is literary mention of bishops in Yemen. Many scholars think that the impetus came from the Church of the East, centred in Mesopotamia, which was known as an especially mission-oriented community. It was this Church that, early in the fifth century, sent the first Christian missionaries to Central Asia, China and India. In the Indian state of Kerala, there remain to this day Christian communities whose origins date from these early times. Their liturgical language remains Syriac and their Church has produced some of the modern world’s foremost scholars of Syriac theology.

            Most fascinating, in many ways, is the story of the beginnings of the first truly African Church in what was then the powerful state of Aksum, now known as Ethiopia. The region was named for its main city, which prospered from trading, especially in ivory. Much of Aksum’s trade was with southern Arabia through its port of Adulis and the state language, Geʾez, was intimately connected with that of southern Arabia. Ethiopian Christianity probably began as early as the fourth century during the reign of King Ezana. What is certain is that the nascent Church was speedily placed under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of the Coptic Church in Egypt. This dependency continued to the twentieth century, when the Ethiopian Church acquired a measure of autonomy. Through the influence of the Syriac tradition, the Ethiopian Church early embraced monasticism, which still remains a hallmark of Christianity in Ethiopia. It was through monastic communities that the Ethiopian Church established close ties with Jerusalem, which remain to this day. It is worth noting that an early link existed between Muslims and Christian Ethiopia, to which a number of the Prophet Muḥammad’s early companions fled and were given sanctuary.

            In the twenty-first century, with outside powers dominating the politics and economies of the Middle East, Christianity is again at the crossroads. We should ponder what wonders of growth through ecumenical encounters may be at hand if those sturdy Eastern Christians, who have maintained their institutions, distinctive spirituality, and brave and generous spirit, were fully acknowledged by other Christians. The riches of the Christian tradition, Eastern and Western, would then be available in both ecumenical and interfaith encounters to help all people of good will in all religions to find new ways of cooperation to achieve justice and peace for the benefit of all.