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Dan Harre on January 11, 2023
For Western Christians, attempting to identify and make sense of the
tapestry of Eastern Christianity can be an onerous undertaking. Yet,
understanding Eastern Christianity is critical if we hope to understand our
roots as Western Christians. Indeed, the Middle East served as the cradle of
Christian civilization and rivaled the influence of the Western Church until
Islamic conquests subjugated Eastern Christians. Though these communities have
faced centuries of discrimination and persecution, and some have even faced the
very real threat of extinction, they continue to live and work in the land
where our Messiah walked.
In order to understand Eastern Christianity, it is important to map out
the various denominations of the Christian faith. For the purpose of this
article, Protestant denominations and Muslim Background Believers (converts
from Islam) will be excluded as the intent is to map out the ancient Christian
communities of the region that predate the arrival of Islam. Broadly speaking,
there are four major denominations: 1) Assyrian Orthodox (Assyrian Church of
the East), 2) Oriental Orthodox, 3) Eastern Orthodox, and 4) Catholic. Within
some of these denominations are several “sub-denominations.”
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East is likely the Church that Western
Christians are the least familiar with. The Assyrian Church of the East split
with the rest of Christendom following the schism of 431 A.D. at the Council of
Ephesus. Members of this denomination are often referred to as “Nestorians” by
Western Christians, though they consider the term pejorative. Even after the
schism, the Assyrian Church of the East remained hugely influential throughout
Mesopotamia and the Persian Empire. Its missionaries even reached as far as China
and India. Sadly, beginning with the Islamic conquests of the 7th century, the
Church began to wither under subjugation. The Assyrian Church of the East still
exists today, though persecution at the hands of ISIS has rendered it almost
extinct in the Middle East. The Assyrian Patriarch currently resides in Erbil,
Iraq. (Website)
Oriental Orthodox Churches
The Oriental Orthodox Churches separated from the rest of Christendom
following the schism of 451 A.D. at the Council of Chalcedon. Oriental
Orthodoxy is a denomination comprised of six independent sub-denominations. Of
the six, the Coptic Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, and Armenian
Apostolic Church all have sizable communities in the Middle East.
Coptic Orthodox Christians constitute the largest Christian population
in the Middle East and account for approximately ten percent of the Egyptian
population. As the World Council of Churches notes, “the Copts are the native
Christians of Egypt and the direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians.” When
Islamic armies later invaded and conquered Egypt, Copts became a minority in a
majority Arab nation. Copts have managed to preserve their distinctive identity
while also significantly assimilating into Arab culture. While the use of
Coptic as a day-to-day language has ceased, it is still used for liturgical
purposes (Website)
The Syriac Orthodox Church shares a story similar to that of the Copts.
Syriac Christians once flourished in what is now the Levant and Mesopotamia.
Over time, Syriacs were gradually attacked and subjugated by invading armies,
including the Mongols, Turks, and Arabs. Today the Syriac Orthodox Church is
based out of Damascus, Syria. Like the Copts, Syriacs face a tension between
their historic ethnic identity and their newfound (and somewhat imposed) Arab
identity. As a testament to the enduring spirit of Syriac identity, the
liturgical language of the Syriac Orthodox Church is still Aramaic, which was
the daily language of Christ. Interestingly, the Syriac Orthodox share a Syriac
ethnic identity with the Assyrian Church of the East, though they obviously
diverge on theological matters. Also, like their Assyrian brothers, the Syraic
Orthodox suffered greatly under ISIS. (Website)
The Armenian Orthodox Church, while being historically rooted in the
Caucasus, has always had a large presence and degree of influence in the Middle
East. In 301 A.D. the Kingdom of Armenia (then encompassing parts of modern
Turkey) became the first nation to declare Christianity as the state religion
officially. Notably, the Armenian Orthodox Church is the only Christian
denomination to control its own quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City to this day.
The vast majority of ethnic Armenians were eventually subjugated by the Ottoman
Empire, and During World War I, nearly 1.5 million of them were killed in a
genocide. While the majority of Armenian Orthodox Christians now reside within
the nation-state of Armenia, sizable communities remain in Turkey, Iran, and
the Levant. (Website)
Eastern Orthodox Churches
While most Eastern Orthodox Christians now live in Eastern Europe, they
were once concentrated in Near Eastern cities like Constantinople (Istanbul),
Antioch, and Alexandria. Following the Great Schism of 1054 A.D. the Patriarch
of Rome (the Pope) and the four Eastern Patriarchs of the Pentarchy
(Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria) severed communion. To
clarify, the Pentarchy constituted the five highest episcopal sees in the Roman
Empire. The four Eastern Patriarchates were composed mostly of ethnic Greeks
and would come to be known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Churches have
assimilated with their Muslim conquerors to varying degrees, though they are
historically referred to as Rum or Roum in reference to their East Roman
identity. They can also be referred to as Greek Orthodox.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was established after
Emperor Constantine I relocated the capital of the Empire from Rome to
Byzantium. Historically, it served as the second most important ecclesial jurisdiction
in all of the Roman Empire, after Rome itself. Even after the Great Schism, the
Ecumenical Patriarchate retained much of its prestige and remains the primus
inter pares, or first among equals, among the Churches of Eastern Orthodox
Christianity. This prestige also outlived the conquest of Constantinople by the
Ottoman Turks in 1453 A.D., and the community has managed to preserve its Greek
identity. The Ecumenical Patriarchate remains based out of Constantinople (now
Istanbul, Turkey), though decades of legal discrimination by Turkish
authorities threaten its survival. (Website)
The Patriarchate of Antioch, while technically still Greek Orthodox, is
decidedly Arab today. When Arab armies conquered Antioch from the Byzantine
Empire, its inhabitants gradually assimilated into the Arab culture. Arabic,
for example, has replaced Greek as the liturgical and daily language of the
Church. In the 14th century, the seat of the Church was moved from Antioch to
Damascus, Syria, where it remains to this day. Like so many others, the
Antiochian Orthodox Christians suffered greatly at the hands of ISIS. (Website)
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem, like Antioch, has been made up of mostly
Arab members ever since the Arab invasions. Unlike Antioch, however, the clergy
are primarily still Greek. The flock of the Patriarchate is rather small, and
so much of the Patriarch’s work involves safeguarding the Christian Holy Sites
of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. (Website)
The Patriarchate of Alexandria, like the Coptic Orthodox Church, is
based in Egypt. Unlike the Coptic Church, the Patriarchate of Alexandria was
established by ethnic Greeks rather than Egypt’s indigenous Copts. Today the
Patriarch of Alexandria has jurisdiction over all of Africa, though his flock
is relatively small. (Website)
Catholic Churches
The presence of the Catholic Church in the Middle East is especially
unique because it includes several autonomous Eastern Rite Churches that split
from the Eastern, Oriental, and Assyrian Orthodox traditions, and reestablished
communion with Rome. Among these Churches are:
-The Chaldean
Catholic Church (formerly Assyrian Orthodox) (Website)
-The Syriac
Catholic Church (formerly Syriac Orthodox) (Website)
-The Coptic
Catholic Church (formerly Coptic Orthodox) (Website)
-The Armenian
Catholic Church (formerly Armenian Orthodox) (Website)
-The Greek
Catholic Melkite Church (formerly Greek Orthodox) (Website)
The Maronite Catholic Church, like the six Churches listed above, is
also an autonomous Eastern Rite Catholic Church. Unlike the above Churches, however,
the Maronite Church has always been in communion with Rome. Unlike their ethnic
Syriac brothers of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Maronites took the side of Rome
in the schism of 451 A.D. and received papal recognition as a result. The
Maronite Catholic Patriarch resides in Lebanon along with the vast majority of
the Maronite Church. (Website)
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem was established in 1099 A.D. after
the Crusaders recaptured the city. As the name implies, the Latin Patriarchate
represents the traditional Latin-Rite Catholics of Israel, Palestine, Jordan,
and Cyprus. Today, most of its members are Catholic migrant workers from across
the world who moved to the region in search of work. (Website)
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