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Christianity in the Wider Levant Region: Modern History and Contemporary Contexts

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Secular Nationalism and Citizenship in Muslim Countries

Part of the book series: Minorities in West Asia and North Africa ((MWANA))

Abstract

Recent violent religious and ethnic conflict accompanied by acute social and economic stresses in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt are major factors in Christian emigration, while in Egypt, the imposition of Shari’a law, an indicator of Muslim identity, profoundly impacts Christians and other non-Muslims. O’Mahony argues that Arab Christians should re-center Christian witness on the demands of liberation, which modern Arabs desire, rather than on “survival.” The social teachings of the Church must be engaged and respond to religious, political, and cultural issues, such as the exodus of Christians, the need for the formulation of a new “political-theology” that would transform Arab regimes through transformative participation, a new relationship between religion and the state, the safeguarding of human rights and religious freedom, respecting differences, and embracing diversity in unity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    S. M. Kenworthy, “Beyond Schism: restoring Eastern Orthodoxy to the History of Christianity,” Reviews in Religion and Theology, 15/2 (2008), 171–178.

  2. 2.

    Dyron B. Daughrity, “Christianity Is Moving from North to South—So What About the East?” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 35, no. 1, 2011, 18–22, 21.

  3. 3.

    See the Pew Foundation report on ‘Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population’ in 2011 Online version of Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population at http://pewforum.org/Christian/GlobalChristianity-worlds-christian-population.aspx

    The Report estimated that there are some 2.18 billion Christians, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Christians are to be found across the globe, which today means that no single region can indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity, which is not the case for other religious traditions. For example, 60 percent of all Muslims live in South or South East Asia, roughly 20 percent in the Middle East, and 20 percent in Africa and other parts of the world. For Christianity this is in contrast to the past when Europe held that position; for example, in 1910 about two-thirds of the world’s Christians lived within the continent. Today, however, approximately one quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%), the Americas (37%), in sub-Saharan Africa (24%), and in Asia and the Pacific (13%). The Report noted extraordinary changes in the global configuration of Christianity—in sub-Saharan Africa a 60-fold increase, from fewer than 9 million in 1910 to more than 516 million in 2010; and in the Asia-Pacific region, a 10-fold increase, from about 28 million in 1910 to more than 285 million in 2010.

  4. 4.

    http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-orthodox.aspx. A recent study has noted that Eastern Christians in 1910 composed 20.4 percent of the Christian population; however, this had declined to 12.2 percent in 2010. See Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, “Ongoing Exodus: Tracking the Emigration of Christians from the Middle East,” Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Politics, Vol. 3, 2013–2014, pp. 39–45, p. 42. The impact of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the totalitarian Communist system across much of Eastern Europe and Ethiopia after 1974, the genocide of the Armenian and Syriac Christians in the late Ottoman period; famine in Lebanon during WWI, and exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece might all be noted as contributing factors to this decline.

  5. 5.

    Dietmar W. Winkler, “Christianity in the Middle East: some historical remarks and preliminary demographic figures,” Syriac Christianity in the Middle East and India (Ed) D. Winkler, Gorgias Press, 2013, 107–125.

  6. 6.

    A. O’Mahony, “Christianity in the Middle East: Modern History and Contemporary Theology and Ecclesiology: An Introduction and Overview,” Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, Vol. 63, no. 3–4, 2013, 231–260.

  7. 7.

    Frans Bouwen, “The Churches in the Middle East,” Lawrence S Cunningham, ed. Ecumenism. Present Realities and Future Prospects, University of Notre Dame Press, 1998, 25–36.

  8. 8.

    S. H. Griffith The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam (Princeton, 2008), 11.

  9. 9.

    S. Brock, ‘The Syrian Orthodox Church in the modern Middle East,” A. O’Mahony, ‘The Coptic Orthodox Church in modern Egypt,” and J. Whooley, “The Armenian Church in the contemporary Middle East,” in Eastern Christianity in the modern Middle East, eds. O’Mahony and Loosley, 13–24; 56–77; 78–106.

  10. 10.

    R. Mofarrij, “Renewal in the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lebanon,” Studies in World Christianity, 15 (2009), 217–235.

  11. 11.

    S. Roussos, “The Greek Orthodox tradition: International politics, ethnicity and theological development in the Middle East,” Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Vol. 7, no. 2 (2005), 141–156.

  12. 12.

    D. Christiansen, “Palestinian Christians,” in The Vatican-Israel Accords: Political, Legal, and Theological Contexts, ed. M. J. Breger (Notre Dame, IN, 2004), 309–339.

  13. 13.

    D. M. Neuhaus, “New Wine into Old Wineskins: Russians, Jews and Non-Jews in The State of Israel,” The Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, 57 (2005), 207–236.

  14. 14.

    D. W. Winkler estimates that nearly half of all Catholics who live in the wider Middle East today are expatriate or migrant workers spread across the region but mainly living in the Gulf area. “Katholisch sein im Nahen Osten: Rückblick auf die Sondersynode im Vatikan,” Stimmen der Zeit, 229/1 (2011), 30–38.

  15. 15.

    A. O’Mahony, “Patriarchs and Politics: The Chaldean Catholic Church in modern Iraq,” in: Christianity in the Middle East: Studies in modern history, theology and politics, London, Melisende, 2008, 105–142.

  16. 16.

    A. O’Mahony, “Between Rome and Antioch: Syrian Catholic Church in the modern Middle East,” in: Eastern Christianity in the modern Middle East, eds. A. O’Mahony & E. Loosley, London, Routledge, 2010, 120–137.

  17. 17.

    John Whooley, “The Armenian Catholic Church in the Middle East,” The Catholic Church in the contemporary Middle East: Studies for The Synod of the Middle East, eds. A. O’Mahony and J. Flannery (London, 2010), 153–184.

  18. 18.

    Ignace Dick, Les Melkites, Turnhout, Brepols, 1994.

  19. 19.

    A. O’Mahony, “Latins of the East: The Vatican, Jerusalem and the Palestinian Christians,” in: The Christian Communities of Jerusalem and the Holy Land: Studies in History, Religion and Politics, Cardiff, University of Wales Press, 2003, 90–114.

  20. 20.

    Herman Teule, Les Assyro-Chaldéens, Turnhout, Brepols, 2008.

  21. 21.

    Christine Chaillot, “L’Église assyrienne apostolique en Iraq,” Proche-Orient Chrétien, Vol. 67, 2017, 62–74.

  22. 22.

    Samir Khalil Samir, Rôle culturel des chétiens dans le monde arabe, Beirut, Cahiers de l’Orient chrétien, 2003.

  23. 23.

    Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, “Ongoing Exodus: Tracking the Emigration of Christians from the Middle East,” Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Politics, Vol. 3, 2013–2014, 39–45, 39.

  24. 24.

    Sebastian Kim and Kirsteen Kim, Christianity as a World Religion, London, Bloomsbury, 2016.

  25. 25.

    Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, “Ongoing Exodus,” 44.

  26. 26.

    Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, “‘Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient à l’heure de Daesh,” Annuaire français des relations internationals, Vol. XVII, 2016, pp. 681–695, p. 681. Mayeur-Jaouen is referring to the work by Jean-Pierre Valognes, Vie et mort des Chrétiens d’Orient. Des origines à nos jours, Paris, Fayard, 1994.

  27. 27.

    Francine Costet-Tardieu, Les minorités chrétiennes dans la construction de l’Égypte modern 1922–1952, Paris, Karthala, 2016.

  28. 28.

    Boutros Labaki, “The Christian communities and the Economic and Social Situation in Lebanon,” Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future, ed. Andrea Pacini, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1998, pp. 222–258; Boutros Labaki, “Les chrétiens du Liban (1943–2008). Prépondérance, marginalisation et renouveau,” Confluences Méditerranée, no. 66, 2008, 99–116.

  29. 29.

    Bernard Sabella, “Palestinian Christian emigration from the Holy Land,” Proche-Orient Chrétien, Vol. 41 (1991), 74–85; B. Sabella, “Socio-economic characteristics and challenges to Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land,” Palestinian Christians: Religion, Politics and Society in the Holy Land, ed. A. O’Mahony, London, Melisende, 1999, 222–251.

  30. 30.

    B. Sabella, “L’émigration des arabes chrétiens: dimensions et causes de l’exode,” Proche-Orient Chrétien, Vol. 47 (1997), 141–169.

  31. 31.

    Mar Awa Royel, “The Pearl of Great Price: The Anaphora of the Apostles Mar Addai & Mar Mari as an Ecclesial and Cultural Identifier of the Assyrian Church of the East,” Orientalia Christiana Periodica, Vol. 80 (2014), 5–22.

  32. 32.

    Joseph Yacoub, Babylone chrétienne. Géeopolitique de l’Église de Mésoptamie, Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1996.

  33. 33.

    Fabrice Balanche, “Un scénario à l’irakienne pour les chrétiens de Syrie, La vocation des chrétiens d’Orient. Défis actuels et enjeux d’avenir dans leurs rapports à l’islam,” ed. Robert & M. Younès, Paris, Karthala, 2015, 27–44, 27.

  34. 34.

    Religious discourses of the Syrian conflict are increasingly generalized as they seek refuge elsewhere. Andreas Schmoller, “Now My Life in Syria Is Finished: Case Studies on Religious Identity and Sectarianism in Narratives of Syrian Christian Refugees in Austria,” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations Vol. 27, no. 4, 2016, 419–437.

  35. 35.

    Balanche, “Un scénario à l’irakienne pour les chrétiens de Syrie,” 28.

  36. 36.

    Nicola Migliorino and Ara Sanjian, “Les communautes armeniennes du Proche-Orient arabe,” Confluences Méditerranée, no. 66, 2008, 73–82.

  37. 37.

    Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians since 1991 have also transited through Turkey via church and familial networks. Didem Danış, “Attendre au Purgatoire: les réseaux religieux de migrants chrétiens d’Irak en transit à Istanbul,” Revue européenne des migrations internationales, Vol. 22, no. 3, 2006, pp. 109–134, 2006; Didem Danış, “A Faith That Binds: Iraqi Christian Women on the Domestic Service Ladder of Istanbul: Solidarity or Exploitation,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Vol. 33, no. 4, 2007, pp. 601–615. See also for general context, A. O’Mahony, “Christianity in modern Turkey: an overview,” Living Stone Yearbook 2014: Christianity engages with Islam: contexts, creativity and tensions, London, Melisende, 2014, 41–63.

  38. 38.

    Laure Guirgis, Les coptes d’Égypte. Violences communautaires et transformations politiques (2005–2012), Paris, Karthala, 2012.

  39. 39.

    Paolo Maggiolini, “Christian Churches and Arab Christians in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” Arc hives de sciences sociales des religions, no. 171, 2015, 37–58.

  40. 40.

    B. Sabella, “Palestinian Christians: Realities and Hopes,” Studies in Church History: The Holy Land, Holy Lands, and Christian History, Vol. 36 (2000), 373–397.

  41. 41.

    Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient à l’heure de Daesh,” 682.

  42. 42.

    See the historical reflections in contemporary context by Bernard Heyberger, Les chrétiens au Proche-Orient, de la compassion à la compréhension, Paris, Payot, 2013.

  43. 43.

    Herman G. B. Teule, “Christianity in Western Asia,” The Oxford Handbook of Christianity in Asia, ed. Felix Wilfred (Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 17–29; A. O’Mahony, ‘Western Asia,’ Atlas of Global Christianity. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, 150–151.

  44. 44.

    Paolo Dall’Oglio, “Eglises plurielles pour un Moyen-Orient plurie,” Mélanges de sciences religieuses, Vol. 68, no. 3, (2011), 31–46. Dall’Oglio was the principal founder of the contemporary monastic community Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi, which attempted to incubate a new living tradition of Christian engagement with Islam under the influence of Charles de Foucauld and Louis Massignon. Dall’Oglio was kidnapped in Raqqa in July 2013 by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, see, P. Dall’Oglio, ‘La refondation du monastère syriaque de saint Moïse l’Abyssin à Nebek, Syrie, et la Badaliya massignonienne,” Badaliya au nom de l’autre (1947–1962)—Louis Massignon, eds., M. Borrmans and F. Jacquin, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 2011, pp. 372–374. See also his ‘political testimony’, La rage et la lumière: Un prêtre dans la révolution syrienne avec la collaboration de Eglantine Gabaix-Hialé, Paris, Les Editions de l’Atelier 2013. Massignon is a key-figure in the modern history of Christian-Muslim relations who is credited with defining the terms “The Muslim World” and Salafiyya, two ideas which seem to contest the plural religious character of the wider Middle East region. Henri Lauzière, “The construction of Salafiyya: Reconsidering Salafism from the Perspective of Conceptual History,” International Journal for Middle East Studies, Vol. 42, 2010, pp. 369–389; p. 3768–381; A. O’Mahony, “Louis Massignon: A Catholic Encounter with Islam and the Middle East,” in God’s Mirror: Renewal and Engagement in French Catholic Intellectual Culture in the Mid-Twentieth Century, eds. Katherine Davies and Toby Garfitt, Century, (New York: Fordham University Press, 2014), 230–251.

  45. 45.

    Joseph Maïla, “De la question d’Orient à le récente géopolitique des minorités,” Proche-Orient chrétien, Vol. 47, 1997, pp. 35–58; J. Maïla, “Réflexions sur les chrétiens d’Orient,” Confluences Méditerranée, no. 66, 2008, 191–204.

  46. 46.

    The reality of Eastern Christianity is often overlooked by Western, and, in particular, U.S. policy, especially in its relations with Islamic political movements and states in the Middle East. This is also noted in evaluating the Russian Orthodox Church’s concern for the Eastern Christian churches in the Middle East, which is seen as state-political concern, rather than a new aspect of the post-communist European context. See, Alicja Curanovic, The Religious Factor in Russia’s Foreign Policy, London, Routledge, 2012. The importance of this particular lacuna, the lack of understanding of Eastern Christianity, is gaining a wide purchase in political circles especially with regard to the present situation in Syria and future of Christianity in the Middle East. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, ‘The Politics of Human Rights: Orthodox Christianity Gets the Short End, Washington, DC. 5/8/2013. http://www.archons.org/news/detail.asp?id=638

  47. 47.

    John Paul II had the religious division in Europe primarily in his mind: A. O’Mahony, “… again to breathe fully from two lungs: Eastern Catholic Encounters with History and Ecclesiology,” The Downside Review, Vol. 134, 2016, pp. 107–118; A. O’Mahony, “The Vatican and Europe: Political Theology and Ecclesiology in Papal Statements from Pius XII to Benedict XVI” in: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, Vol. 9, no. 3, 2009, 177–194.

  48. 48.

    Frans Bouwen, “Unity and Christian Presence in the Middle East,” The Catholic Church in the contemporary Middle East: Studies for The Synod of the Middle East, eds. A. O’Mahony and J. Flannery (London: Melisende, 2010), pp. 87–105, who quotes the second pastoral letter of the Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East who state “In the East, we Christians will be together or we will not be,” 87.

  49. 49.

    Joseph Yacoub, “La dignité des personnes et des peuples. Apport mésopotamien et syrique,” Diogéne, no. 215, 2006, 18–37.

  50. 50.

    Fadel Sidarouss, quoted in Thom Sicking, “Théologie orientale ou théologie en orient?”, Proche-orient chrétien, Vol. 55, 2005, pp. 309–333, p. 320. See Fadel Sidarouss, “Pour une Théologie Contextuelle dans l’Orient Arabe Contemporain,” Quo Vadis, Theologia Orientalis? Actes du Colloque Théologie Orientale: contenu et importance,” (TOTT), Ain Traz, Avril 2005, Textes et Etudes sur l’Orient Chrétien, no. 6, CEDRAC, Université Saint Joseph, Beyrouth, 2008, 215–237.

  51. 51.

    F. Sidarouss, “Élements d’anthropologies copte,” Proche-Orient chrétien, 2011, Vol. 61, no. 1–2, 45–59; 59.

  52. 52.

    Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orien,” pp. 687–688; Mayeur-Jaouen, “L’Église copte à la lumière de la Révolution égyptienne de 2011,” Istina, Vol. 59, (2014), 5–20.

  53. 53.

    Edward Watkin, A Lonely Minority: The Modern Story of Egypt’s Copts, New York, William/Morrow & Co, 1963.

  54. 54.

    Samuel Rubenson, “Tradition and Renewal in Coptic Theology.” Between the Desert and the City: The Coptic Orthodox Church Today, edited by Nelly van Doorn-Harder and Kari Vogt, Oslo, Novus forlag, 1997, pp. 35–51; A. O’Mahony, “Tradition at the heart of Renewal: The Coptic Orthodox Church and monasticism in Modern Egypt,” International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, Vol. 7, no. 3 (2007), 164–178.

  55. 55.

    Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient,” 689.

  56. 56.

    Edouard S. Sabanegh, “Débats autour de l’application de la Loi islamique (Shari’a) en Égypte,” in: Mélanges de l’Institut Dominicain d’Études Orientales du Caire, Vol. 14, 1980, 329–884.

  57. 57.

    Meir Hatina “On the Margins of Consensus: The Call to Separate Religion and State in Modern Egypt,” Middle Eastern studies, Vol. 36, no. 1, 2000, 35–67, 35.

  58. 58.

    Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient,” 690.

  59. 59.

    Two Christian thinkers have engaged with this text situating it within a contemporary context. Nayla Tabbara, “Une lecture de ‘la délaration d’ al-Azhar sur la citiyenneté et le vivre-ensemble,’ and Antoine Messarra, “La Déclaration d’al-Azhar: Que faire? Tentative d’analyse et proposition d’action,” Proche-Orient Chrétien, Vol. 67, 2017, pp. 131–135 and pp. 138–146. The model of the so-called Constitution of Medina used in both liberal—moderate and radical Islamic thought to promote notions regarding the possibility of Jews and Christians living within Dar al-Islam, continues to influence Islamic political thought; see, Harald Suermann, ‘Die Konstitution von Medina Erinnerung an ein andreres Modell des Zusammenlebens,’ Collectanea Christiana Orientalia, Vol. 2, 2005, 225–244.

  60. 60.

    Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient,” 690.

  61. 61.

    Antoine Audo: “The Current situation of Christianity in the Middle East, especially Syria, after the Synod of the Middle East’s Final Declaration (September 2012) and the Papal Visit to Lebanon,” Living Stones Yearbook 2012: Christianity in the Middle East: Studies in Modern History, Politics, Theology and Dialogue, Vol. 1, 2012, 1–17.

  62. 62.

    Joseph Yacoub, “Les régimes politiques arabes et l’islam politique,” in: Fièvre démocratique et ferveur fondamentaliste Dominantes du XXIe siècle, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 2008, 121–140.

  63. 63.

    Rafael Palomino, “The Role of Concordats Promoting Religious Freedom with Special Reference to Agreements in the Middle East,” In CONGREGAZIONE PER LE CHIESE ORIENTALI, Ius Ecclesiarum vehiculum caritatis, Città del Vaticano, 2004, 893–900.

  64. 64.

    Sebastian Brock, “The Syriac orient: a third “lung” for the church?” Orientalia Christiana Periodica, Vol. 71, no. 1, 2005, 5–20, 15.

  65. 65.

    Frans Bouwen reflects upon many of these issues, including religious freedom, in his contribution on the Synod for the Middle East held in Rome October 2010 by the Eastern Catholic bishops of the region: “The Synod for the Middle East: First results and Future Possibilities,” Living Stones Yearbook 2012: Christianity in the Middle East: Studies in Modern History, Politics, Theology and Dialogue, Vol. 1, 2012, 18–37.

  66. 66.

    Elizabeth Prodromou, “Orthodox Christianity and pluralism: Moving beyond Ambivalent?” in E. Clapsis, ed. The Orthodox Churches in a Pluralistic World: An Ecumenical Conversation, (Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications/Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Press, 2004), pp. 22–46 (p. 24). Quoted in Ina Merdjanova, “Orthodox Christianity in a Pluralistic World,” Concilium, no. 1, 2011, 39–50, 39.

  67. 67.

    Antoine Courban, “Chrétientés au milieu du monde musulman. Le cas des pays du Levant Arabe” Irénikon, Vol. 89, 2016, 5–24, 24.

  68. 68.

    Maurits H. van den Boogert, “Millets: Past and Present,” Religious Minorities in the Middle East Domination, Self-Empowerment, Accommodation, ed. Anne Sofie Roald; Anh Nga Longva, Leiden, Brill, 2011, 25–45.

  69. 69.

    Fabrice Balanche, “Communautarisme en Syrie: lorsque le mythe devient réalité,” Confluences Méditerranée, no. 89, 2014, 29–44.

  70. 70.

    Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient,” 685.

  71. 71.

    www.Leorientlejour 21 January 2013. The Maronite patriarchate is an important religious actor in Lebanon. These thoughts are developed further in Patriarche Béchara Rai, Au coeur du chaos: la résistance d’un chrétien en Orient—Entretiens avec Isabelle Dillmann, Paris, Albin Michel, 2016. See also Sami E. Baroudi & Paul Tabar, “Spiritual Authority versus Secular Authority: relations between the Maronite Church and the State in Postwar Lebanon: 1990–2005,” Middle East Critique, Vol. 18, 2009, 195–230.

  72. 72.

    F. Sidarouss, quoting Amin Maalouf in “The Renewal of the Coptic Catholic Church: Grappling with Identity and Alterity,” in The Catholic Church in the contemporary Middle East: Studies for The Synod of the Middle East, eds. O’Mahony and Flannery, 139–152.

  73. 73.

    F. Sidarouss, “LÉglise d’Êgypte, people de prophètes, de rois et de prêtres—lectures théologique de la evolution de Janvier 2011,” Proche-Orient chrétien, Vol. 63, 2013, 64–84, 67.

  74. 74.

    A. Fleyfel, La théologie contextuelle arabe, modèle libanais (Paris, 2011).

  75. 75.

    Harald Suermann, quoted in Thom Sicking, “Théologie orientale ou théologie en orient?” Proche-orient chrétien, Vol. 55, 2005, 309–333, 313.

  76. 76.

    Harald Suermann, quoted in Thom Sicking, “Théologie orientale ou théologie en orient?” Proche-orient chrétien, Vol. 55, 2005, 309–333, 315–316.

  77. 77.

    A. Fleyfel and G. Haddad, La théologie contextuelle arabe, modèle libanais (Paris, 2011), 147–175.

  78. 78.

    Samir Khalil Samir, “Le synode des évêques pour le Proche-Orient,” Nouvelle revue théologique, 133/2 (2011), 191–206.

  79. 79.

    M. Aoun, “Pour une théologie arabe de la liberation: contribution à l’étude de la pensée de Grégoire Haddad,” Proche-orient chrétien, 59/1–2 (2009), 52–76, at 52–53. In his recent work builds upon these themes, “actuality of the Christian faith in the current intercultural context of Arab societies. Arab Christianity seeks to express the Christian faith in the categories of openness to Muslim otherness, of existential conviviality and fraternal solidarity. In order to safeguard not only the physical existence of these communities but also and above all the relevance and fecundity of their message of life,” Le Christ arabe: Pour une théologie chrétienne arabe de la convivialité, Paris, Cerf, 2016.

  80. 80.

    A. Fleyfel, “La centralité de l’œcuménisme pour l’élaboration d’une théologie arabe moderne et contextuelle,” Théologiques, 2 (2010), 213–238.

  81. 81.

    J. Corbon, “Ecumenism in the Middle East,” in Christianity: A History in the Middle East, ed. Habib Badr, Beirut, Middle East Council of Churches, 2005) 871–883, at 882.

  82. 82.

    Fiona McCallum “Christian political participation in the Arab World,” Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, Vol. 23, 2012, 3–18.

  83. 83.

    Statistics are very difficult to obtain in relation to the numbers of Christians in the Middle East; however, see Philippe Fargues, “The Arab Christians of the Middle East: A Demographic Perspective,” Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future, ed. Andrea Pacini, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1998, pp. 48–66; Youssef Courbage, “Démographie des communautés chrétiennes au proche-orient: une approche historique,” Confluences Méditerranée, no. 66, 2008, 27–44.

  84. 84.

    Ch. Cannuyer, “Les diasporas chrétiennes proche-orientales en Occident,” in L’Œuvre d’Orient: Solidarités anciennes et nouveaux defies, eds. H. Legrand and G. M. Croce (Paris, 2010), 319–344.

  85. 85.

    The dynamic of an increasingly global reality faced by Middle Eastern churches, due to emigration and a significant growth in a diaspora community, strongly encourages these ecclesial cultures to redefine their identity in such a way as to make it compatible with an ethnic and cultural pluralisation of its congregation. This has been particularly noticeable for the Maronite Church. According to the Annuario Pontificio 2016, declared Maronites who relate to the Church number 3,537,690. Latin America has been a significant destination for Middle Eastern Christians, especially for those from Lebanon and Syria, with some 700,000 in Argentina; 481,000 in Brazil and 153,000 in Mexico. Paul Tabor, “The Maronite Church in Lebanon: From Nation-building to a Diaspora/Transnational Institution,” Migration et politique au moyen-orient, ed. Françoise De Bel-Air, Damascus, Institut françai du Proche-Orient, 2006, 185–201.

  86. 86.

    Georges Labaki, “La jurisdiction territorial du patriarche maronite d’antioche: de l’orient à l’occident,” Christianisme oriental: Kérygme et Histoire, ed. Charles Chartouni, Paris, Geuthner, 2007, 143–158.

  87. 87.

    A. O’Mahony considers the fate of an earlier migration from of a significant number of Eastern Christians from Ottoman lands into Europe in “Between Rome and Constantinople: The Italian-Albanian Church—a study in Eastern Catholic history and ecclesiology,” International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, Vol. 8, no. 3, 2008, pp. 232–251. These Albanian Christians who have lived for four centuries on the Italian peninsula continue hold a historical focus upon Christian-Muslim coexistence as a contemporary experience.

  88. 88.

    Mayeur-Jaouen, “Les chrétiens au Moyen-Orient,” 691–693.

  89. 89.

    Sebastian Brock, “The Syriac Churches in Ecumenical Dialogue on Christology,” in A. O’Mahony, ed. Eastern Christianity. Studies in Modern History, Religion, and Politics, London, Melisende, 2004, 44–65.

  90. 90.

    Laurence Ritter, “La découverte d’une thématique efface et l’importance de la categorisation: Arméniens caches et Arméniens islamisés de Turquie,” La vocation des chrétiens d’Orient. Défis actuels et enjeux d’avenir dans leurs rapports à l’islam, ed. Robert & M. Younès, Paris, Karthala, 2015, 123–136.

  91. 91.

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  1. Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London, London, UK

    Anthony O’Mahony

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  1. Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA

    Kail C. Ellis

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O’Mahony, A. (2018). Christianity in the Wider Levant Region: Modern History and Contemporary Contexts. In: Ellis, K. (eds) Secular Nationalism and Citizenship in Muslim Countries. Minorities in West Asia and North Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71204-8_3

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