This work represents the current and most relevant content on the studies of how Christianity has fared in the ancient home of its founder and birth. Much has been written about Christianity and how it has survived since its migration out of its homeland but this comprehensive reference work reassesses the geographic and demographic impact of the dramatic changes in this perennially combustible world region.The Rowman& Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East also spans the historical, socio-political and contemporary settings of the region and importantly describes the interactions that Christianity has had with other major/minor religions in the region.
Mitri Raheb (ThD, Phillips University, Marburg, Germany) is the president of Dar al-Kalima University College in Bethlehem, Palestine and president of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan& The Holy Land. The most widely published Palestinian theologian to date, he is the author and editor of sixteen books on modern Middle Eastern church history, religion and the state, citizenship, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, includingThe Invention of History: A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine andSailing through Troubled Waters: Christians in the Middle East.
Mark A. Lamport(PhD, Michigan State University; ThM, Princeton Theological Seminary) is professor at graduate theological schools in Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, Indiana, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Portugal. He is coeditor with George Thomas Kurian ofEncyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South(2 vols.),Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States(5 vols., Notable Book of 2016 byChristianity Today), andEncyclopedia of Christian Education (3 vols., winner, Booklist Editors Choice: Adult Books) and editor ofEncyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation(two volumes).
Table of Contents
Masthead Personnel
List of Images
About the Editors, Introduction, Foreword, and Afterword Contributors, and Editorial Advisory Board
Church Growth and Decline in the Middle East Across the Centuries by Todd M. Johnson
Preface by Mitri Raheb and Mark A. Lamport
Foreword by Philip Jenkins
Introduction by Heather Sharkey
Section One Socio-Historical Sketches of Christianity in the Middle East
Preview by Salam Rassi
Christianity within the Ancient Empires byJames C. SkedrosDebate and Divisions in Early Middle Eastern Christianity byByard J. BennettRise of the Church of the East byPhilip Michael FornessMissionary Movements in Nisibis and Armenia bySalim DaccacheChristianity within the Islamic Empires byWafik WahbaChristianity during the Crusades byAndrew JotischkyChristianity within the Ottoman Empire byBernard HeybergerChristianity and the European Colonial Rule byHiroko MiyokawaMission Movements to/from the Middle East byChantal Verdeil
Section Two --Religious Encounters in the Middle East
Preview Mark A. Lamport
10. Judaism and Christianity byDavid M. Neuhaus SJ
11. Theologians and their Writings byIssa Diab
12. Minority Religions and Christianity in Ancient Times byIssa Diab
13. Islam and Christianity byJoshua Ralston
14. Christianity and Non-Muslim Religions: The Mandaeans A Case of Mistaken Christian Identity by Erica Hunter
15. Popular Religion and Christianity byElizabeth Marteijn
16. Persecution and Martyrdom of Christians in the Middle East byAlon Ben-Meir
17. Christian Theology in Arabic: A Resource for 21st century Christians in Dialogue with Muslims bySidney H. Griffith
18. Religious Conflict and Resolution byNelly vanDoorn-Harder
Section Three --Contextual Expressions of Christianity in the Middle East
Preview Salam Rassi
19. Coptic Christians byWafik Wahba
20. Assyro-Chaldean Christians byMartin Tamcke
21. Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholics byGeorge Kiraz
22. Antiochian Orthodox bySouad Slim
23. Melkite Christians bySebastian Carnazzo
24. Armenian Christians byCharles E. Farhadian
25. Maronite Christians byJoseph Moukarzel
26. Latin Christians byRita George-Tvrtkovi
27. Protestants byDavid Grafton
28. Messianic Jews byHanna Rucks
Section Four Socio-Political Influences on Christianity in the Middle East
Preview Salam Rassi
29. Art, Symbolism, and Architecture byNada Hélou
30. Middle Eastern Theologies byMartin Accad
31. Rise and Contribution of Monasteries byDavid A. Michelson
32. Christian Music/Worship in the Middle East bySéverine Gabry-Thienpont and Olivier Tourny
33. Women and Christianity in the Middle East byChristine Lindner
34. Hidden Christians/Churches in the Middle East bySara Afshari
35. Politics and Christianity in the Middle East byMariz Tadros
36. Contribution of Indigenous Christians to Middle Eastern Culture byCarsten Walbiner
Section Five --The Story of Middle Eastern Christianity by Country and in the World Context
Preview Salam Rassi
37.The Gulf States: Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Kuwait, and Oman byElizabeth Monier
38. Egypt byElizabeth Monier
39. Iran byMartin Tamcke
40. Iraq byErica Hunter
41. Israel, Palestine, and Jordan byMitri Raheb
42. Lebanon and Syria byHarald Suermann
43. Saudi Arabia byDuane Miller
44. Turkey byHratch Tchilingirian
45. Middle Eastern Christianity in the Context of World Christianity byDeanna Womack
46. Middle Eastern Christianity outside the Middle East byFiona McCallum
Acknowledgements
Timeline by Brett Knowles
Lexicon by J. Scott Bridger
Discussion Questions
Bibliography by Mark Hutchinson
About the Contributors and Editorial Consultants
Index of Subjects and Names
