Christianity in the Middle East: History, Persecution & Survival

Introduction: Christianity's Origins and Fragmentation in the Middle East

Although Christianity was born in the Middle East, the religion has become globalized, leaving a relatively sparse and scattered Christian presence in the region today. Currently, Christians suffer from frequent persecution, especially at the hands of terrorist groups like ISIS/ISIL. As Thomas (2014) points out, "members of the Islamic State have targeted Christian churches, destroyed symbols of Christian faith and killed Christians because of their beliefs." Current events echo the roots of the religion in the Middle East. Just as now, Christianity was a minority religion when it started in the Middle East, and as it spread throughout the Roman Empire, persecution became commonplace. The history of Christianity in the Middle East has therefore been one of continual struggle and persecution.

Perhaps because of the experience of perpetual persecution, Christianity in the Middle East is as diverse—if not more so—than Christianity in Europe. Fragmentation and the distinctions between different linguistic and ethnic groups have meant that Eastern Orthodox, Chaldean, Maronite, Coptic, Assyrian, and other Christian denominations evolved separately, without the type of centralization that occurred under the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church. It is precisely because of the stark differences in theology, ritual, and doctrine that Western Christians—such as those in the United States—do not feel culturally connected to Middle Eastern Christians. Likewise, within academia, Christianity in the Middle East has been a "neglected field" of study, due to the "psychological wall" that has been erected between East and West (Parry, 2010, p. xv). Unfortunately, the theological and cultural gaps between Western and Eastern branches of Christianity may account for the lack of overt political or economic support for the vast numbers of Christians currently under attack in places like Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Historically, the schism between Eastern and Western branches of Christianity solidified a cultural chasm that transcends even the most fundamental common element of the faith: Jesus Christ himself.

In the centuries following Christ's death, Christianity had spread from Judea in all cardinal directions, including Egypt and North Africa, Syria and Mesopotamia, the Levant, Cyprus, Asia Minor, and even parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Even before Constantine's conversion and the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, Alexandria and Antioch had become important Christian hubs. After Constantine's conversion, Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and other Christian centers in the Middle East could just as easily have become the seats of Christian power as Rome itself. These hubs of Christian power were called patriarchates, because their head of state was a Christian bishop (The Jerusalem and the Middle East Church Association, 2011).

Early Doctrinal Disputes and the Great Schism

Significant political, social, and doctrinal changes determined the course of Christianity in the Middle East during the first several centuries after Christ. The Roman Empire was dissolving rapidly due to weak governance and decentralized power, and the resulting geopolitical changes allowed Christianity to become a quasi-political institution throughout the extent of the Empire and beyond. Although hubs of power would form primarily in Rome and Constantinople, the former Christian centers in the Middle East remained viable until the rise of Islam and the subsequent transformation of Arab culture. In addition to these geopolitical changes, doctrinal issues shaped the character of Middle Eastern Christianity. The Great Schism was not a single event, but a culmination of centuries of doctrinal disputes related to key theological topics in the Christian faith.

Among the most important doctrinal issues that distinguished Eastern from Western Christianity were the divinity of Christ and the nature of Christ's mother, Mary. The Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in particular revealed the depth of the schism between Eastern and Western Christianity. The Council of Ephesus specifically condemned the beliefs of the patriarch Nestorius of Syria regarding the divinity of Christ. Christian groups throughout the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq, also did not accept the Council of Ephesus's ruling on the nature of Mary as the Mother of God (The Jerusalem and the Middle East Church Association, 2011). Likewise, Syrian and Egyptian Christian groups—which would become the Coptic family of Christian churches—disputed the Council of Chalcedon's ruling on the dual nature of Christ as being both divine and human. The followers of Nestorius, referred to as Nestorians, and other Christian groups such as the Monophysites established doctrinal differences that severed their political and theological connections with Rome. Instead, the Eastern churches flourished in the Middle East and Mesopotamia.