These are the descendants of the peoples who lived in the Middle East before the conquest of this region by the Arabs and retained their religious affiliation.
They are the descendants of the population of the Kingdom of Jerusalem created by the crusaders.
Christian Arabs have largely lost their original national identity (with the exception of the Copts) and consider themselves Arabs.
All Christian Arabs have also lost their languages and speak various dialects of the Arabic language. However, the Copts in this case are also to some extent an exception, since their worship is conducted in the Coptic language.
28 Christian denominations and represent the interests of about 15 million Christians in the Middle East and North Africa.
However, these data are outdated, at present the number of Christian Arabs living in Arab countries is constantly decreasing, and their number in the USA, Canada, Australia and Western Europe (France, Great Britain) is growing rapidly.
In particular, about 4 million immigrants from Arab countries live in the United States, and the vast majority of them are Christian Arabs.
There are also large communities of Christian Arabs in Latin America. First of all, this is Argentina, where, according to various estimates, up to 1 million Christian Arabs live.
There are also Arab Christian communities in Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela and in some African countries (in particular, in Nigeria).
The largest community of Christian Arabs is the Copts living in Egypt (5-6 million people). Back in the 70s of the XX century. Christian Arabs (we are talking about the Maronites) made up the majority of the Lebanese population.
At present, their number does not exceed 1 million people.
A significant community of Christian Arabs lives in Syria, there are also in Israel and Jordan.
In Iraq, according to 1990 data, there were 1 million Christians. In 2005 - just over half a million.
There are two reasons for the rapid decrease in the proportion of the Christian population in the Arab countries.
The first of these is the significantly lower birth rate among Europeanized Christian Arabs compared to their Muslim compatriots.
In particular, there has never been any noticeable emigration of Christian Arabs from Israel, but, nevertheless, their share in the country's Arab population is rapidly declining.
By the time the state of Israel was founded, the proportion of Christians and Muslims among the Arab population of this country was one to four.
Currently, Christian Arabs make up about 13% of the Arab population of Israel - this is about 120 thousand people.
If we turn our eyes to Judea, Samaria and Gaza, where the mass emigration of Christian Arabs joins the difference in birth rates, then the numbers will be even more impressive.
Christians, in this article, include natives of Arab countries, regardless of their ethnic origin, who profess Christianity. For the most part, these are the descendants of the peoples who lived in the Middle East before the conquest of this region by the Arabs and retained their religious affiliation. The exception is the Christian Arabs living in Israel and the Palestinian territories, who are descendants of the population of the Kingdom of Jerusalem created by the crusaders. Christian Arabs have largely lost their original national identity and consider themselves Arabs.
Most of them have lost their languages and speak various dialects of Arabic. Christianity is also practiced by representatives of non-Arab ethnic groups - Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, etc. At present, a significant number of Christians in the countries of the Arab East are represented by foreigners, mainly citizens of European states. (According to the Institute for the Study of Israel and the Middle East)
The number of Christians in the Arab countries before the events associated with the "Arab spring" was approximately 15 million people. They belong to 28 Christian denominations, which can be conventionally grouped into three groups: Eastern Christian, Uniate (Eastern Catholic) and Western Christian.
Eastern Christian Churches are organizations of local origin that retain their own independence. These include: the Coptic Church, the Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church (Syro-Orthodox or Syro-Jacobite), the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, Nestorians, etc. Adherents of the Eastern churches live mainly in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
Uniate (Eastern Catholic) churches are religious organizations whose adherents at various times separated from the Eastern Christian churches and are in alliance with the Roman Catholic Church. These include: the Maronite Church, Greek Catholics, Chaldeans, Syro-Catholics, Armenian Catholics, etc. The largest Uniate communities are found in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian territories.
Western Christian churches are represented by Christian churches and religious organizations of Western European and North American origin in two directions - Roman Catholic and Protestant. There are large communities of these branches of Christianity in Lebanon and Kuwait.
About three-quarters of the Arab Christian population lives in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. In other Arab states, the number of Christians rarely exceeds 1 percent of their inhabitants. In a predominantly Muslim environment, the Arab followers of Jesus live mostly compactly: in villages, in cities - neighborhoods. There are large communities of Christian Arabs in the USA, Canada, Australia and Western Europe (mainly in France and the UK), as well as in Latin America, primarily in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela. There are also Arab Christian communities in African countries, in particular, in Nigeria.
There is a steady trend downsizing the Christian population in the Arab countries, which has noticeably increased during the period of political changes taking place now in the region. Experts note that “all revolutions in the Arab world led to waves of violence against Christians and their forced emigration”, and “the changes that took place in the countries of the Middle East brought only repression against the followers of Christ”, who lost their rights after the fall of the dictators. Christians, as practice shows, can become a bargaining chip in relations between secular regimes and Islamists. It is noted that, paradoxically, “under dictatorships, the rights of Christians were better protected than they are now.” At the same time, “the ongoing exodus of Christians from the countries of the Middle East, attacks on churches and monasteries, the killing of clergy and the taking of Christian hostages are the best gift to the open and secret enemies of Islam and one of the reasons for the growing Islamophobia throughout the world.”
The largest group of Christian Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa are Copts Egypt (up to 9 million people). The situation with the position of the Copts in the ARE is becoming more and more alarming. The Copts fear that the coming to power in the country of Islamists, the growth of the influence of conservative followers of Islam will lead to a further deterioration of their position. Islamists regularly attack Coptic churches and monasteries and kill SLFs.” And there are good reasons for this.
Attacks on churches and parishioners, killings, robberies and looting by Islamist militants and their supporters have become a characteristic phenomenon in civil war-torn Syria. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of local Christians were forced to leave the country after the outbreak of the conflict in 2011. At the same time, a significant number of Christians are ready to support the "wind of democratic change" and the transition of Syria to a democratic, pluralistic state. Separate Christian elements are also present in the ranks of the irreconcilable opposition. As for the highest authorities of the church, they officially support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. In general, the Syrian followers of Jesus are in favor of an early end to the bloodshed and "the beginning of a peaceful process of social reform."
Until 2003, a large Christian community (about 1 million people) lived in Iraq. Moreover, under S. Hussein, the authorities were more loyal to them than to the Shiites. After the overthrow of the Saddam regime by the Americans as a result of the terror unleashed against Christians, the latter began to leave the country en masse, and now there are from 300 to 500 thousand of them left. Only in 2003-2008. more than 40 Christian churches were destroyed in Iraq. It is noteworthy that all this happened in front of the eyes of the Americans.
About 56,000 Christians live in the Palestinian territories, including 43,000 in the West Bank of the Jordan River, 1,800 in the Gaza Strip and 11,000 in East Jerusalem. There is a mass emigration of Christian Arabs from the region. Their number in the Palestinian territories for 50 years has decreased from 22 percent of the total number of Palestinians to 2 percent. Christians are discriminated against, there are cases of their forced conversion to Islam. At the same time, the rights of the Christian population are formally enshrined in the Palestinian constitution.
There are 160-180 thousand Christians in Jordan. They are full members of society and are represented in government bodies. King Abdullah II stated that Muslims and Christians in the country "comprise one family working for the good of society."
Up to 1.7 million Christians live in Lebanon (about 34 percent of the population, mostly Maronites). The community continues to shrink, with many Lebanese Christians emigrating to other countries. Before the civil war of 1975-1990. the Christian community occupied a dominant position in the state and society. Currently, their influence in the country has decreased, but still remains significant.
Relatively large Christian communities exist in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. They are represented mainly by foreigners living in these countries. There are a small number of Christians (foreigners) in Qatar and Oman. The Saudi authorities allow people of other religions to enter the country, but they are prohibited from worshiping.
According to the data of the international charitable Christian organization "Open Doors" for 2012, Saudi Arabia ranks 3rd (after the DPRK and Afghanistan) in the list of states where the rights of Christians are most often oppressed. Christians are also severely persecuted in Yemen (6th place). In the countries of the Arab Maghreb, the largest Christian communities live in Tunisia and Libya. The number of Christians in Sudan is constantly decreasing, where the authorities are forcing them to move to the Republic of South Sudan.
Editorial opinion may not reflect the views of the author
Who are the Christians of the East?
Lebanon. The first Christians lived in the caves of the Kadisha Valley, centuries later the monks imposed fetters on their spiritual ailments here, seeking God's healing. Today Arab Maronite Christians come here to fan the coals of faith.
Hermit about. Johanna Kavan opens its doors to visitors for some part of the year. Hours of socializing complicate his busy daily routine, which includes translating ancient Aramaic hymns into modern Arabic.
Despite the fact that Fr. Yuhanna has retired as an Old Testament teacher at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, Lebanon, yet he still holds several services a day, offers ten thousand prayers, and sleeps only a few hours a night among his books. “People keep bringing me stuff to work with,” he sighs. “It seems to them that hermits have nothing special to do!”
Syria. Singing popular songs in a devout tone, Christian scouts parade through the village of Saidnaya on Palm Sunday, climbing up to the ancient church of Our Lady of Saidnaya, which is also revered by Muslims.
Syria. Muslim worship at the tomb of John the Baptist in Damascus. In Syria, the interaction of religions began in the 7th century, when Muslim Arabs conquered the lands of the Christian Byzantine Empire. Some Church Fathers even mistook early Islam for a form of Christianity.
Easter Sunday is the peak of the spring calendar for young people who like to dress fashionably in the Syrian village of Saidnaya, where the Church of the Virgin is the center of Christian fellowship.
Jerusalem. Having put on the cross, Arab Christians, residents of Jerusalem, join the crowds of foreigners on Good Friday (both Catholic and Orthodox), following the path of Jesus through the Old City. Once the majority, Arab Christians now make up a numerically smaller portion of the population and are often disregarded.
Grieving for the crucified Christ, in anticipation of the miracle of the Resurrection, Catholic parishioners attend Saturday worship in Jerusalem's Old City. 
Jerusalem. Encouraged Orthodox Arabs stir up the Christian quarter at Easter.
At-Tayiba- the only fully Orthodox Christian community in the West Bank of the Jordan River, numbering 1,300 people who are fed in three parishes. The ruins of El-Khader, a cruciform temple built between the 4th and 7th centuries. and restored by the Crusaders, are still preserved on the outskirts of the settlement. For about a thousand years after the advent of Christ, such Christian settlements dominated the rocky uplands of Palestine. After his conversion to Christianity in 312, Emperor Constantine proclaimed the area the Holy Land. 
Syria. In the desert north of Damascus is the monastery of Deir Mar Musa, founded in the 6th century BC. At that time, hundreds of temples and monasteries dotted this area. Today the monks say that they are "witnesses of the world", a kind of guardians of the dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
Lebanon. East Beirut. Milad Assaf is proud of his membership in the Lebanese Forces, a Maronite Christian political party that relies on heavily armed volunteers.
A Maronite guard escorts Lebanese Christian politicians and their supporters during a parade in east Beirut in honor of the fallen heroes of the Lebanese civil war.
“Save and save my father,” prays four-year-old Frank Yalda, affectionately called Nunu. His father, an Iraqi Christian, was abducted in April 2006. There has been no news of him since. When his uncle was also kidnapped, the family fled to Damascus, the Syrian capital, and the UN pays for their modest apartment. Of the 1.4 million Iraqi refugees now living in Syria, about 200,000 are Christians.
Lebanon. Fight or flight? For many Iraqi Christians (most of them belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches and are in communion with the Vatican), the only salvation has been to emigrate to Syria or Lebanon. Faraj Hermez from Kirkuk found refuge here for his wife and ten children.
Christian Lama Salfiti, 19, dresses modestly for classes at the Community College of Applied Science and Technology in Gaza. The college is part of the Islamic University of Gaza, where the dress code requires women to wear a head covering and an abaya, a long sleeved traditional Arabic dress. Of the total number of students - 20600 people - Christians make up only a small part. In December, Israel bombed the Hamas-linked university.
West Bank. Lonely shepherd of a waning flock, Fr. Artemy conducts the funeral of a 95-year-old parishioner in the church of St. Porfiry. This temple of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church has been known since 443. In the Christian community of the Gaza Strip, once very prominent, there are about two and a half thousand people left, many of whom are of advanced age.
Temple dome in Lebanon
A pilgrim from Nigeria in Jerusalem walks the Way of the Cross of the Savior
Ethiopian pilgrim
Baptism in Jordan
in Catholic service
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Christian Arabs
Christian Arabs are usually called natives of Arab countries, regardless of their ethnic origin, who profess Christianity.
These are the descendants of the peoples who lived in the Middle East before the conquest of this region by the Arabs and retained their religious affiliation.
The exception to this rule are Christian Arabs living in Israel (including Judea and Samaria) and Gaza.
They are the descendants of the population of the Kingdom of Jerusalem created by the crusaders.
Christian Arabs have largely lost their original national identity (with the exception of the Copts) and consider themselves Arabs.
All Christian Arabs have also lost their languages and speak various dialects of the Arabic language. However, the Copts in this case are also to some extent an exception, since their worship is conducted in the Coptic language.
28 Christian denominations and represent the interests of about 15 million Christians in the Middle East and North Africa.
However, these data are outdated, at present the number of Christian Arabs living in Arab countries is constantly decreasing, and their number in the USA, Canada, Australia and Western Europe (France, Great Britain) is growing rapidly.
In particular, about 4 million people from Arab countries live in the United States, and the vast majority of them are Christian Arabs.
There are also large communities of Christian Arabs in Latin America. First of all, this is Argentina, where, according to various estimates, up to 1 million Christian Arabs live.
There are also Arab Christian communities in Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela and in some African countries (in particular, in Nigeria).
The largest community of Christian Arabs is the Copts living in Egypt (5-6 million people). Back in the 70s of the XX century. Christian Arabs (we are talking about the Maronites) made up the majority of the Lebanese population.
At present, their number does not exceed 1 million people.
A significant community of Christian Arabs lives in Syria, there are also in Israel and Jordan.
In Iraq, according to 1990 data, there were 1 million Christians. In 2005 - just over half a million.
There are two reasons for the rapid decrease in the proportion of the Christian population in the Arab countries.
The first of these is the significantly lower birth rate among Europeanized Christian Arabs compared to their Muslim compatriots.
In particular, there has never been any noticeable emigration of Christian Arabs from Israel, but, nevertheless, their share in the country's Arab population is rapidly declining.
By the time the state of Israel was founded, the proportion of Christians and Muslims among the Arab population of this country was one to four.
Currently, Christian Arabs make up about 13% of the Arab population of Israel - this is about 120 thousand people.
If we turn our eyes to Judea, Samaria and Gaza, where the mass emigration of Christian Arabs joins the difference in birth rates, then the numbers will be even more impressive.
In the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the number of Christians has decreased over 50 years from 22% of the total Palestinian population to 2% and continues to melt.
If before the peace agreements of 1993, which transferred Bethlehem under the authority of the Palestinian Authority, Christian Arabs made up the majority in Bethlehem, today they are less than a third of the inhabitants.
In 1999, prior to the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the US Consulate in East Jerusalem issued 668 immigrant visas; in 2000, almost twice as many, 1,089.
One of the original ethnic races is the people of the Arabs. To date, there are 19 states in the Middle East and North Africa where they live. Their total number is about 430-450 million people. All of them are distinguished by individual ethnic characteristics and original refined culture. Most of the inhabitants of the eastern countries profess Islam, but it should be noted that there are also many people who profess Christianity.
Let's find out the origin of the people, as well as get acquainted with their rich history, way of life and culture.
History of the Arab people
Arabs are the people of the Semitic group that inhabits the Arab countries of Western Asia and North Africa. They also live in Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Zanzibar, East Africa. A significant number of Arab emigrants live in the Americas, West Africa, and also in France. For the first time, the term "Arabs" began to be used to refer to the nomads of northern Arabia in the 9th century. BC.
Arabs speak Arabic and use the Arabic script. Arabic belongs to the Semitic-Hamitic language group and contains many territorial dialects. In all Muslim countries, the population uses a common literary language (al-lugat al-fusha). Most of the population of the countries of the East are Sunni Muslims.
Scientists have identified the first information about the Arabs in the Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles, but the Bible tells more specifically about them. It is the biblical historical traditions that inform us about the appearance in the XIV century BC. in Transjordan (and later in Palestine) Aramaic shepherd tribes from the southern Arabian land. Initially, these tribes were designated as Ibri (“beyond the river” or “passed over the river”). According to scientists, the Arabian tribes first went to Mesopotamia, and later turned south. The word "ibri" is associated with the name of Abraham, the biblical patriarch from whom Jews and Arabs descend.
Arabs consider Arabia as their homeland - Jazirat al-Arab (“Island of the Arabs”). The center of the Arab world is the eastern regions of Syria and Jordan. Another historical and ethnographic zone consists of the rest of the territory of Syria, Jordan, as well as Lebanon and Palestine. Iraq is a separate historical and ethnographic zone. One zone includes Egypt, Northern Sudan and Libya, as well as the Maghrebino-Mauritanian zone, which includes the countries of the Maghreb: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara.
The modern Arab people arose after their conquest of the ancient peoples of Western Asia and North Africa: Arameans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Libyans (Berbers) and other nationalities. Scientists suggest that the ancient Arab people developed from the Semitic tribes, the indigenous population of the Arabian Peninsula. From 3000 B.C. Semites of Arabia settled in Mesopotamia and Syria. They spoke the Akkadian language, named after the name of the capital of the state, which arose in 2300 BC. Later, the Akkadians captured all the Arabian tribes that settled in Mesopotamia during this period. From the 13th century BC Aramaic tribes of Arabian origin began to settle in Western Asia, and in the 7th-6th centuries. BC. Aramaic was replaced by Akkadian.
Almost all the ancient peoples of Syria and Mesopotamia were captured by the Arameans.
During this period, several first Arab states arose on the territory of Yemen:
- according to scientists, in the XII or VI-V centuries. BC. in South Arabia, the Minean, Sabaean and Himyarite kingdoms arose;
- from the 6th century BC on the northern border of Arabia, the Nabataean, and later the Palmyrene and Lichian kingdoms arose.
All the states that arose due to the Himyarite kingdom united.
Features of the society of the Ancient East:
- The birth of the slave system.
- Construction, repair of large irrigation systems, agriculture at the expense of the state.
- The population was represented by artisans who made high-quality products: agricultural implements, weapons, household utensils, leather goods, fabrics, jewelry from sea shells.
- Extraction of gold, fragrant resins: frankincense and myrrh.
- Implementation of transit trade. It stimulated the interchange of goods between the Arabian Arabs and the Christian population of the regions of the Middle East.
From the end of the 1st millennium BC. and in the first centuries A.D. Arab tribes actively populated Asia Minor. As a result of settlement by the 5th-6th centuries. AD the Arab people made up the bulk of the population of Palestine, Jordan, southern Syria and other regions of Mesopotamia. On the lands of Arabia, the Arab tribes of Amila, Juzam, Lahm, Ghassan, as well as groups of kuda spread. In the 5th century The Arab states of Hassan (in southern Syria) and Lahm (on the Middle Euphrates) were founded. The state of Ghassan was dependent on Byzantium, and Lakhm depended on Sasanian Iran. In the IV-VI centuries. AD a single Arab nation began to form on the territory of Arabia. The formation process was completed by the 630s.
The growth in the number of new cities was facilitated by the development of trade between nomadic tribes and agricultural settlements, as well as with neighboring countries: Syria, Mesopotamia, Ethiopia, Iran. Despite the wars between the tribes over pastures, territories and theft of herds, large political alliances of tribes were concluded, for example Kinda.
Religions of the Arab population
Muslims
Muslims are people who practice the religion of Islam. Previously, Muslims were called Basurmans, in the Russian Empire - Mohammedans. Muslims follow the rules of the holy book - the Quran, as well as the teachings and practices of Muhammad, recorded in the collections of Hasidim (sunnah). Islam says that the Quran is the word of God, which was transmitted through the angel Jibrail (Gabriel) to the prophet Muhammad.
Muslims believe that God (Allah) is eternal and has no partners. They believe that Allah is incomparable, does not give birth and was not born (Al-Ihlyas). According to Muslim beliefs, the emergence of Islam was the final stage of the Abrahamic religions. It was transmitted through the prophets: Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus). According to Islam, all previous scriptures and revelations have been slightly modified (takrif). The Qur'an is the final revelation from God. Muslims recognize Muhammad as the last prophet. In their opinion, after Muhammad there can be no other prophets ("Seal of the Prophets").
To date, the number of Muslims in the world is approximately 1.7 billion people. Among religions, Islam ranks second in the world after Christianity. Muslims are divided into two groups: Sunnis (90%) and Shiites (10%).
The largest number of Muslims live in Indonesia - 12.7%. Pakistan ranks second with 11.0%. Further Bangladesh (9.2%) and Egypt (4.9%). The smallest number of Muslims live in countries such as India, China, Russia and Ethiopia.
A person is a Muslim if he pronounces the formula of Monotheism (shahada): "I testify that there is no God but Allah, and I also testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
Religious duties of every devout Muslim (five pillars):
- Shahada;
- daily five prayers (prayers);
- fasting during Ramadan (uraza);
- alms (zakat);
- pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.
In the religious practice of Muslims, there are also six pillars of iman (faith). If a Muslim does not recognize at least one of them, his faith is considered invalid.
Pillars of iman (faith):
- faith in Allah;
- Belief in Angels (Malaika);
- faith in the scriptures;
- belief in prophets (nabis) and messengers (rasul);
- belief in the Day of Judgment (qiyamat);
- belief in the predestination of fate (kidar), that everything good and bad happens by the will of Allah.
Christians
Christians are people who are baptized and profess the religion of Christ. Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ described in the New Testament. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.
Christianity is the largest world religion. The number of believers in the world is 2.3 billion people. Every country has at least one Christian community.
The first use of the term "Christian" can be found in the New Testament. The followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians because they were like Jesus Christ in their behavior, actions and words.
The term "Christian" was first used outside of the Bible by Tacitus, who noted that Nero blamed "Christians" for the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD.
Christianity arose in the 1st century in Palestine, which was at that moment under the rule of the Roman Empire, first among the Aramaeans of Mesopotamia. Already in the first decade of its existence, Christianity spread to other provinces among other ethnic groups.
Christianity was first adopted as a state religion in Greater Armenia in 301. During the reign of Emperor Constantine I, who issued an edict on freedom of religion in 313, Christianity received the status of a state religion in the Roman Empire.
In 1054, the Christian Church split into Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox). As a result of the reform movement in the Catholic Church in the 16th century, Protestantism arose.
Therefore, Christianity is divided into three groups:
- orthodoxy;
- Catholicism;
- Protestantism
Who are Arab Christians?
These are the descendants of the peoples of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created by the crusaders. They profess Christianity. They lived in the East until the conquest by the Arabs in the 7th century. Most of them have lost their languages and speak various dialects of Arabic.
There are 28 Christian denominations in the Middle East and North Africa:
- Copts;
- Orthodox (belong to Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria Orthodox churches).
- Maronites (many Arabic-speaking Maronites consider themselves descendants of the Phoenicians);
- Melkites;
- Chaldeans;
- Syro-Jacobites;
- Catholics;
- Protestants;
- Syro-Catholics;
- adherents of the Assyrian Church of the East.
The number of Arab Christians in the world
The total number is 15 million people. All of them live in different countries of the world. To date, their number in the countries of the East is constantly decreasing, and in the USA, Canada, Australia and Western Europe (France and Great Britain) it is rapidly increasing.
In the Middle East
The largest number lives in Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Currently, the largest group in the East and North Africa region are the Copts of Egypt. The Copts are the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians. Their number is about 8 million (9% of the country's population). Most of the Coptic Arabs belong to the Cop Orthodox Church. The community of the Cop Catholic Church includes about 100,000 Copts of Egypt. In total, there are 161 parishes of this church on the planet with a population of 164 thousand people. Divine services among the Copts are held in Arabic and Cop languages (derived from the language of the ancient Egyptians).
About 2 million people live in Syria. The parishioners of the Greek and Armenian Orthodox churches predominate, but there are also Greek Catholics, Syro-Catholics, Jacobites, Maronites and adherents of other Christian churches.
Lebanon is home to 1.7 million people. A third of the country's population are Maronites. The community is declining, many Lebanese Christians are emigrating to other countries.
Until 2003, about a million people lived in Iraq. After the overthrow of the Saddam regime by the Americans as a result of terror against Christians, they began to emigrate en masse, and now they number from 300 to 500 thousand people. In the period 2003-2008. more than 40 Christian churches were destroyed in Iraq.
160-180 thousand people live in Jordan.
Unfortunately, in the 21st century, the number of Christians living in countries in the east is constantly decreasing. This happens in connection with the processes of radicalization of Islam, as well as as a result of military conflicts. All this led to the fact that Christians emigrated to the countries of Western Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia, and also Latin America. In addition, Christians in the Middle East have lower birth rates than Muslims.
In Israel
With the advent of the state of Israel on the world map, the Arab population accounted for at least a quarter. Today, they make up about 13% of the inhabitants of Israel, which is about 120 thousand people. They live mainly in the northern regions of Israel (70%). Of these, about 22 thousand people live in Nazareth.
There are about 14,000 Christians in Haifa. 12,000 Christians live in Jerusalem. 52% of Israeli Arabs are Greek Orthodox, 30% are Catholics, and less than 6% are Greek Catholics.
At the beginning of 2012, there were 154,500 Christians in Israel, of which more than 30,000 came as part of mixed families (with Jewish spouses). Today, the Israeli population is 2% Christian.
There are a small number of different evangelical churches in Israel - about a thousand, despite being active for more than a hundred years.
In the territories of Palestine
About 56,000 Christians live in the Palestinian territories, including 43,000 in the West Bank of the Jordan River, 1,800 in the Gaza Strip and 11,000 in East Jerusalem. Eastern Christians are emigrating en masse. In the territory of Palestine, which includes the territory of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, the number of Christians has decreased from 22% to 2% over the past half century. In Saint Bethlehem in 1993, Orthodox Arabs were the majority, now they make up 12% of the city's population (slightly more than 11 thousand inhabitants).
Christians are discriminated against, there are cases of their forced conversion to Islam. And this despite the fact that the rights of the Christian population are enshrined in the Palestinian constitution.
Today, more than 70,000 Palestinian Christians live in the Chilean city of Santiago.
In other territories
Most Eastern Christians emigrated. As a result, today there are about 4 million people living in the United States who came from eastern countries. Most of them are Christians. Large communities exist in Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as in some African countries (Nigeria).
Arab Christian denominations
There are 28 Christian denominations among the Eastern inhabitants in the world.
Eastern Christian
Eastern Christian churches are organizations of local origin that have retained their own independence.
These include:
- Kopskaya Church;
- Antiochian Orthodox Church;
- Jerusalem Orthodox Church;
- Syriac Orthodox Church (Syro-Orthodox or Syro-Jacobite);
- Armenian Apostolic Holy Church;
- Nestorians and others.
The believers of the Eastern churches live mainly in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
Uniate
Uniate (Eastern Catholic) churches are religious organizations whose believers at different times separated from the Eastern Christian churches and are in union with the Roman Catholic Church.
These include:
- Maronite Church;
- Greek Catholics;
- Chaldeans;
- Syro-Catholics;
- Armenian Catholics and others.
The largest Uniate communities live in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian territories.
Western Christian
Western Christian churches are Christian churches and religious organizations of Western European and North American origin in two directions: Roman Catholic and Protestant. Large communities of this denomination are located in Lebanon and Kuwait. About three-quarters of the Christian Arab population lives in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. In other Eastern states, the number of Christians rarely exceeds 1% of their inhabitants.
The history of Eastern Christians is very multifaceted. Throughout their lives, Arabs who are faithful to Orthodoxy have to fight against the principles of Islam, to defend the right to their original faith, the origins of which are in the Byzantine Church. Some remain faithful to the religion in their homeland, many emigrate.
It should be remembered that the word "Arab" and "Muslim" are not synonymous. Despite the Islamic predominance, a large number of people professing other religions, in particular Christianity, live in the countries of the East.
Video about the culture of Christians of the East before Islam
From this video you will learn about the culture of Eastern Christians before Islam.
And in this video you will see an Orthodox church built in the United Arab Emirates.
Conventional term for Arabic-speaking Christians. The penetration of Christianity into the environment of the tribes of Arabia began in the 4th century. and went in different directions. The greatest influence of Christ. Religions tested Arab. tribal associations that roamed the Syro-Palestinian borders of the Byzantine Empire, were in alliance with it and guarded the Byzantines. lands from the raids of the Bedouins - vassals of Sasanian Iran. In this region, Christianity spread primarily in the form of Monophysitism. Arab. kings of the Ghassanid tribe in the 6th century. played a significant role in the history of the formation of the Monophysite Church. To the east the outskirts of the Syrian desert in the IV-VI centuries. formed an Arab. the state of Lakhmidov, which was in allied relations with Iran. Although most of the kings of this dynasty remained pagans, Christianity in the VI century. took firm roots among the Lakhmid tribes.
Dr. The region of the Persian Gulf, where the Nestorians from Mesopotamia penetrated by sea, became the area for the spread of Christianity among the Arabs. In the IV century. two metropolises arose here, covering the territories of modern. Bahrain, Qatar and adjacent areas east. and southeast. coast of Arabia. The Nestorian presence in the region continued until the end. VII century, and possibly longer.
The third center of Christianity developed in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen, where a highly developed urban and agricultural civilization existed. Christianity in the form of Monophysitism, partly Orthodoxy, penetrated into this country from the Byzantines. trade caravans. There was a powerful Jewish community in Yemen that competed with the Christians. In the 20s. 6th century this confrontation resulted in a bloody civil war, accompanied by the extermination of a significant part of the Yemenite Christians (see Nagran Martyrs). As a result, the Christians won, supported by the troops of Christ. Ethiopia (see Himyaro-Ethiopian wars). During most of the sixth century Yemen was dependent on Ethiopia, in the 70s. 6th century came under Persian control, and in 630 submitted to Muhammad. Despite the guarantees of inviolability, given at the same time Christ. community of Nagran, Caliph Umar (634-644), following the command of Muhammad to make all of Arabia Muslims. country, deported Christians to the Kufa area; over the next 100 years, this community gradually disappeared.
Christ. Arab. tribes of the Syrian desert during the time of the Muslims. conquests partly migrated to Byzantium, partly joined the Muslims or took a wait-and-see attitude. In the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750), where the Arabs constituted the ruling class, the Arab was cultivated in every possible way. tribal solidarity, Bedouin Christ. the tribes were in a favorable position, to the point that they were sometimes connected by family ties with the ruling dynasty. With the coming to power of the Abbasids (750), Islamic values began to play a decisive role in the Caliphate, and already under Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785), the last Bedouin Christians were forced to convert to Islam.
In the VII-VIII centuries. there was a process of gradual Arabization of Christ. Caliphate subjects in Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia. Christians quickly assimilated Arabic. language at the colloquial-everyday level; as they lose the knowledge of their former languages (Sir., Coptic, Greek), an Arabic-speaking Christ appears. literature, designed to convey to the Christians of the caliphate in a language they understand cultural and religious. Byzantine tradition. civilization. This lit-ra included both liturgical texts and theological, apologetic, historical works, partly oriented to Muslims. The process of Arabization proceeded most rapidly among the Orthodox (Melkites), since in the pre-Chalcedonian Churches the “national” language (Sir., Coptic) was the sacred language of worship, which was cultivated and artificially maintained even when it fell into disuse at home. Among the Orthodox, especially in Palestine, divine services were originally performed both in Greek and Sir. language, and as the Melkites lost Greek. Arabic took its place. The first works of Arabic-speaking Christ. lit-ry were created in the South. Palestine and Sinai, ch. arr. in the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified; the oldest of these texts dates from the 740s. In the ninth century Arab. the tongue is spreading among Christ. writers of Syria and Mesopotamia, in the X century - Egypt. Gradually Arab. displaces other languages of the Middle East-Christ. culture: Greek in Palestine to the beginning. 9th century Sir. among the Jacobites to con. XIII century, among the Nestorians - to the beginning. 14th century (single works were created in these languages even later, up to the 16th - early 17th centuries); the Orthodox Sirs. language ceases to be used in ser. XVII century; liter per COP. language disappears in the 14th century. In present only separate compact groups of Syro-speaking Christians survived in Anti-Lebanon and among the Assyrians of Mesopotamia. Thus, almost all Middle East. Christ. communities of the era cf. centuries - Copts, Melkites, Maronites, Syro-Jacobites, partly Nestorians-Assyrians - can be conditionally ranked as A.-x.
At the same time, there never existed a single Arab-Christ. culture. To Near In the East, 5 largely self-sufficient cultures of the mentioned ethno-confessional groups developed, and for each of them the literature was bilingual or trilingual: among the Copts - in Copt. and Arab. languages, among the Jacobites, Nestorians, Maronites, Melkites - on Syr. and Arabic., among Melkite writers, in addition, knowledge of Greek was widespread. There were close contacts between the cultures of confessionally close peoples: Copts, Ethiopians, Syro-Jacobites, Armenians; other areas were the Melkites and Byzantium. Various Arabic Christians. cultures mutually influenced each other, especially in secular areas of knowledge - historiography, philology, medicine. Middle East. Christians were closely associated with the Arab-Muslims. culture. In con. VIII-X centuries dozens of Christ The authors undertook a grandiose job of translating into Arabic. the language of the ancient scientific and philosophical heritage, which served as the basis for the flourishing of the Middle Ages. Arab Muslim. science. However, Muslim. scientists quite quickly overtook Christians in their scientific level, and later Arab-Christ. the scribes already relied on the achievements of the Muslims. authors.
Ethnic self-consciousness A.-kh. on Wednesday. century was weakly expressed. Their sense of ethnic unity was largely drowned out by the realization that they belonged to their confession, to Christ. the world. The word "Christians" was their self-name; in cases where it was required to distinguish oneself from others. Christ. ethno-confessional groups, the terms "Melkites", "Syrians", "Copts", "Maronites" were used; practically all of them also called themselves "Orthodox", opposing their community to others who were considered heretical. None of A.-x. did not call himself an Arab; with this word Christ. the authors called Muslims or Bedouin nomads.
During Wed. centuries of Arab-Christ. Communities knew periods of prosperity (especially in the first centuries of Muslim dominion), when Christians had a fairly favorable social status, their culture developed rapidly, and missionary activity unfolded along the trade routes to the Center. Asia and along the coast of the Indian Ocean. However, later, with the decline of the Abbasid caliphate, interfaith relations among Muslims. around the world, persecution of Christians has intensified and become more frequent. The Crusades, the aftermath of the Mong. invasion of the 13th century, during which part of the Christians were first brought closer to themselves by the conquerors, and then, after the Islamization of the Mong. nobility, was subjected to unprecedented persecution (for example, in Iraq under the Hulaguids), in the XIV century, Timur's wars led to the disappearance of many. Middle Eastern Christ. communities. The survivors were in a state of deep political and cultural decline. Ottoman sources of the 16th century. fix number A. - x. in Egypt and Syria at the level of 6-8% of the total population.
In the Ottoman era, which was distinguished by relative political stability and religious tolerance, a new cultural and demographic upsurge of A.-kh. First of all, he affected the Maronites, who were increasingly Catholic-oriented. Europe, and the Orthodox, who were influenced by their Balkan co-religionists. The influx of Greek clergy in Syro-Egypt. region, from the 16th century. which led, in particular, to the Hellenization of the East. Patriarchates, when all the highest positions in the church hierarchy were occupied by the Greeks.
In the XVI-XVIII centuries. cultural and economic penetration into the East began. Mediterranean Europe. powers and the Catholic Churches; lat. missionaries launched a propaganda union with Rome. Part of the Middle East. Christ. commercial and business layers associated with Europe. economy, in cultural and religious. plan gradually reoriented to Catholicism. Some groups of East. clergy, trying to overcome the decline and ignorance of their communities, also sought to rely on the cultural potential of Europe. This led to a whole series of splits within the ancient East. Churches and the formation of a number of Uniate Churches. The papal throne achieved the greatest success among the Maronites, to-rye were subjected to Catholicism. influence back in the period of the Crusades, finally went into union with Rome in the beginning. XVI century., And at the Council of 1736 agreed to the adoption of many. lat. rituals. In 1553 part of the Nestorian community accepted the union; their Church was called Chaldean. In 1656-1662. as a result of the split of the Syrian-Jacobite community, the Syrian Catholic Church was formed. In the Antiochian Orthodox Church a similar schism took place in 1724 with the formation of the Uniate Melkite Patriarchate. In 1741, Rome established the Copt. Catholic hierarchy. The Maronites went over to the union completely; the Nestorian, Syro-Jacobite and Orthodox communities split into supporters and opponents of Rome approximately in half; among the Copts, the number of Uniates was extremely small.
In the course of the struggle against the union of the K-Polish Patriarchate, under the pretext of distrust, the Arab. to the clergy, he ensured that from 1724, for more than 170 years, Patriarchs of Antioch were appointed only from the Greeks. Later Uniate authors interpreted the transition of Syrian Christians to the union as a protest of the Arabs against the Greek. dominance. In fact, the national self-consciousness of A.-x. in the XVII-XVIII centuries. has not yet taken distinct forms (although the Syrian Christian authors of the 17th century already call their co-religionists "Arabs"). In addition, the Uniate Churches themselves had to face the desire of the See of Rome to Latinize the Middle East. Uniate communities and suppress their identity.
Along with the Uniate Churches among A.-x. Palestine there was a small group of Christians Lat. rite. After the restoration in 1846, the Catholic. of the Jerusalem Patriarchate missionaries began active propaganda activities in Palestine, and in 40 years the number of Arab Catholics increased from 10 to 33% of Christians. the population of the country.
Since 1822 in the Middle. The East also acted Protestant. missionaries from Germany, Great Britain, USA. Despite the huge funds invested in propaganda, the results of these missions turned out to be much more modest than the efforts expended. At the same time, the Arabs are insignificant in number. Protestant. the community gave many leaders of the Arab-Christian culture 2nd floor. 19th century
With the weakening of the Ottoman Empire in the XIX century. on Wednesday A.-x. more and more penetrated nationalist, liberal and secular values of Europe. culture. A relatively high level of education, mass migration to work in America, familiarity with the new way of life led to the spread of A.-x. anti-clerical views, breaking the traditions. value systems. In the 2nd floor. XIX - beginning. 20th century in almost all Arab-Christ. communities there were sharp conflicts between the conservative clergy and groups of laity, demanding the reformation of church life. For the Orthodox Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem, this conflict was aggravated by the ethnic factor - the confrontation, on the one hand, with the Greek. the tops of the clergy, and with others - the ordinary clergy and laity Arab. origin. Arising among the Orthodox Arabs, the movement for the restoration of the national hierarchy, and above all for the replacement of the primatial cathedra with an Arab hierarch, received the support of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian public. In Apr. 1899 Meletios II, an Arab by nationality, became Patriarch of Antioch.
Con. 19th century was the time of the awakening of national consciousness in the Middle. East. A.-x., more than their Muslims. neighbors, imbued with the latest European. ideologies, were the first to formulate the doctrine of the secular, trans-confessional Arab. nationalism, the idea of the unity of all Arabs, regardless of religion. accessories. Sometimes this was accompanied by a rejection of the traditions of their community and an expression of sympathy for Islam, which played a key role in the history of the Arabs. nation. Such ideologies were, among other things, a way of Christ's self-preservation. communities, trying to find their own way of integration into the Arab-Muslims. about.
Along with this, among the Maronites and, to a lesser extent, other Uniate confessions, isolationism sentiments, an awareness of the Maronite national identity, and opposition to the rest of the Arabs matured. world, focus on Europe. (primarily French) culture and military-political patronage of the West.
The Copts, mostly conservative peasants, were little familiar with Europe. culture and, accordingly, with Europe. doctrines of secular nationalism. Traditionally, they considered themselves the true masters of Egypt, Muslim Arabs were perceived as conquerors, so it was difficult for most Copts (unlike the Syrians) to accept those who arose in the Middle. East nationalist ideologies based on pan-Arab. solidarity and nostalgia for the former greatness of Islamic civilization. This led to painful isolation in Egypt for them. about-ve of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. from the outside as an Arab. nationalists, and Britons. administration. Trying to break through this isolation, the Copts in the beginning. 20th century tend to the ideology of secular Egypt. patriotism and renunciation of the autonomy of their community.
In the XX century. all the noted trends in the development of the Arab-Christ. self-awareness has been further developed. Among the Maronites, a so-called. the ideology of Phoenicianism, which erected the origins of Lebanon. identity to the Phoenician-Ars. antiquity, when the country dominated the Mediterranean trade and acted as an intermediary between the cultures of East and West. Arab. presence in Lebanon was declared alien and temporary. France, relying on the Maronite community, created the state of Lebanon (1920), where the Maronites sought to play a leading role, enshrined in a confessional-proportional system of representation in power. However, the growing changes in the demographic structure and the balance of political forces in Lebanon. about-ve led to a bloody civil war of 1975-1990, from which the Maronites came out weakened and lost many of them. levers of power. Even more tragic was the fate of the Assyrians, who also aspired to the beginning. 20th century to the creation of their own statehood with the support of the great powers. This policy ended with the genocide of the Assyrians in Turkey in 1915 and in Iraq in 1933.
Orthodox, Syro-Jacobites, Copts in the 20th century. more organically fit into their Muslims. environment. Orthodox Arabs of Palestine in the 20-30s. together with Muslims opposed the Zionist colonization of the country, and many of the Christians after the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-1949. shared the fate of the Palestinian refugees. Representatives of the Orthodox communities stood at the origins of a number of Arabs. secular nationalist movements, in particular the doctrines of Pan-Sirianism, Baathism (Syrian National Party). At the same time, despite the non-confessional nature of these ideologies and the fact that the majority of modern Oh. unequivocally refer to themselves as an Arab. nations, they largely retain their religious and cultural identity, remain faithful to Christ. traditions.
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K. A. Panchenko
