The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East

by Mitri Raheb Dar Al-Kalima University, Palestine (Editor), Mark A. Lamport (Editor), Heather J. Sharkey (Introduction), Philip Jenkins (Foreword by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538196427
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2024
Series:	The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook Series
Pages:	710
Product dimensions:	6.98(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.47(d)

About the Author

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, including The Invention of History: A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine and Sailing 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 of Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South (2 vols.), Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States (5 vols., “Notable Book of 2016” by Christianity Today), and Encyclopedia of Christian Education (3 vols., winner, Booklist Editors’ Choice: Adult Books) and editor of Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation (two volumes).

Table of Contents

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

1. Christianity within the Ancient Empires by James C. Skedros
2. Debate and Divisions in Early Middle Eastern Christianity by Byard J. Bennett
3. Rise of the Church of the East by Philip Michael Forness
4. Missionary Movements in Nisibis and Armenia by Salim Daccache
5. Christianity within the Islamic Empires by Wafik Wahba
6. Christianity during the Crusades by Andrew Jotischky
7. Christianity within the Ottoman Empire by Bernard Heyberger
8. Christianity and the European Colonial Rule by Hiroko Miyokawa
9. Mission Movements to/from the Middle East by Chantal Verdeil

Section Two — Religious Encounters in the Middle East

Preview – Mark A. Lamport

10. Judaism and Christianity by David M. Neuhaus SJ

11. Theologians and their Writings by Issa Diab

12. Minority Religions and Christianity in Ancient Times by Issa Diab

13. Islam and Christianity by Joshua Ralston

14. Christianity and Non-Muslim Religions: The Mandaeans – A Case of Mistaken Christian Identity by Erica Hunter

15. Popular Religion and Christianity by Elizabeth Marteijn

16. Persecution and Martyrdom of Christians in the Middle East by Alon 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 by Nelly vanDoorn-Harder

Section Three — Contextual Expressions of Christianity in the Middle East

Preview – Salam Rassi

19. Coptic Christians by Wafik Wahba

20. Assyro-Chaldean Christians by Martin Tamcke

21. Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholics by George Kiraz

22. Antiochian Orthodox by Souad Slim

23. Melkite Christians by Sebastian Carnazzo

24. Armenian Christians by Charles E. Farhadian

25. Maronite Christians by Joseph Moukarzel

26. Latin Christians by Rita George-Tvrtković

27. Protestants by David Grafton

28. Messianic Jews by Hanna Rucks

Section Four – Socio-Political Influences on Christianity in the Middle East

Preview – Salam Rassi

29. Art, Symbolism, and Architecture by Nada Hélou

30. Middle Eastern Theologies by Martin Accad

31. Rise and Contribution of Monasteries by David A. Michelson

32. Christian Music/Worship in the Middle East by Séverine Gabry-Thienpont and Olivier Tourny

33. Women and Christianity in the Middle East by Christine Lindner

34. Hidden Christians/Churches in the Middle East by Sara Afshari

35. Politics and Christianity in the Middle East by Mariz Tadros

36. Contribution of Indigenous Christians to Middle Eastern Culture by Carsten 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 by Elizabeth Monier

38. Egypt by Elizabeth Monier

39. Iran by Martin Tamcke

40. Iraq by Erica Hunter

41. Israel, Palestine, and Jordan by Mitri Raheb

42. Lebanon and Syria by Harald Suermann

43. Saudi Arabia by Duane Miller

44. Turkey by Hratch Tchilingirian

45. Middle Eastern Christianity in the Context of World Christianity by Deanna Womack

46. Middle Eastern Christianity outside the Middle East by Fiona 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

Editorial Reviews

From the Foreword: “Understanding the story of Christianity in the Middle East is a critical necessity in political as well as religious terms. In this light, it is a splendid experience to read these two volumes of Christianity in the Middle East edited by Mitri Raheb and Mark A. Lamport, with their very wide-ranging contributions, and so much superlative research and writing, from a truly international assembly of fifty scholars.. .. The resulting volume constitutes a treasury on which scholars will be drawing for decades to come. This is a magnificent contribution.”

Philip Jenkins

[This is] a helpful Handbook, one emphasizing facts over ideas, covering many oft-overlooked topics of Middle Eastern Christianity.

Middle East Quarterly