Oriental Christians

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Members of pre-Reformation churches in the Middle East are referred to as Oriental Christians , Oriental Christians or Eastern Christians . These include u. a. Assyrian / Aramaic , Iranian , Turkish , Armenian , Ethiopian , Coptic and Arab Christians .

At least until the year 1000 AD, the Eastern Christians were still the majority in today's Islamic states. They currently make up around 39% of Lebanon's population . In Egypt they make up around 10% of the population. In Jordan they make up about 5% of the population, a little more in Syria and a little less in Palestine and Iraq . The non-Muslims in the area of ​​today's Turkey, who made up approx. 2.5% of the population until 1927, are z. B. by the pogrom of Istanbul in the 1950s, by reprisals and emigration to a maximum of 0.3% of the population. In Iran , their numbers have decreased significantly since the Islamic revolution . Today they only make up 0.5% of the population.

Already in Byzantine times there were a majority of Christian denominations in the areas in which today Oriental Christians live. Another fragmentation often occurred later. The Roman Catholic Church tried long and with great success to bind Christian groups in the Orient to itself through church unions. The best known examples are the Maronites and the Chaldeans . Often, however, communities were also divided, such as the Greek Orthodox community, which today also has a Greek Catholic branch.

Since the 19th century , mainly American, Protestant missionaries worked among the Eastern Christians and founded many small Protestant communities.

Demography in modern times

As a result of conversion to Islam , emigration, wars and pogroms (e.g. genocide against the Aramaeans , massacre of the Pontic Greeks and the Armenians ) and demographic change, the proportion of Christians in the region has steadily declined.

In 1900 it was still over 20% in Egypt, 30% in Syria and over 50% in Lebanon.

For 1970 the statistics indicate: Egypt 4.27 million = 13%, Lebanon 1.035 million = 50%, Syria 0.591 million = 10%, Iraq 0.295 million = 4%, Jordan 0.195 million = 10%, Israel and Palestinian Territories 0.15 million = 10% of the Arab population.

In 2006 the Christian share in the Middle East was : Syria 10%, Egypt 7%, Lebanon almost 50%. This also dwindles the chances that Christians will be represented in the states. In addition, the rise of Islamists makes life for religious minorities in the Orient more difficult .

The original settlement areas of the indigenous population of the Syro-Mesopotamian area have been rigorously emptied by oriental Christians for many years. The massacres and deportations in Turkey at the beginning of the last century cost the lives of more than 500,000 locals. Most of the survivors have left their original settlement areas and moved to the south.

Christian identity

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Christians in the Orient are often referred to as Arabs by outsiders (out of ignorance) but also by their Muslim fellow citizens (for reasons of assimilation) ; on the other hand, Arab Christians are often viewed by Muslims as non-Arabs. Both from the western and the Islamic side, “Arabic” is often equated or associated with “Islamic”, which is incorrect. There is no homogeneous Christian ethnic group in the region, but different ethnic groups (Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Kaukas, Europeans, etc.). Many non-Arab Christians in the Orient therefore also refer to themselves as Phoenicians (in Lebanon), the Syrian-Aramaic- speaking Christians as Aramaeans , Assyrians or Chaldo-Assyrians , as Copts in Egypt, or Armenians (if they live outside Armenia) to create or designate your own identity. The names usually go back to the names of their ancient pre-Christian ancestors. The use of the term “Phoenicians” in modern times goes back to Michel Chiha and Yussef al-Sauda . The question of cultural, linguistic, historical, political and religious identity is often very controversial in the Orient and shows the difficult problems in the Arab and Islamic areas with minorities.

The ancient peoples of Mesopotamia and Syria merged with one another. Their descendants find a strong bond with each other than the indigenous people of the area. This is caused by the roots in their historical homeland and the solidarity in the Syrian language. This carried over many traditions with it - also in the national churches and grew in the consciousness of the oriental Christians of the Syro-Mesopotamian area. Belonging to the indigenous, Eastern Eastern churches not only offers an additional identity, but also a strengthening of national affiliation and its roots.

An Eastern Christian identity was formed in Lebanon, and people have long spoken of an Eastern Christian society.

Role of the Orient Christians

The Oriental Christians were and are in many cases the engine of social and technological development in the Arab world. Through multilingualism and through experiences abroad in the West, they have made contributions to secularization , science and medicine, education, journalism and culture in general. The position of cultural mediator of the East Syrian writers in the Islamic empire had a profound effect on the developing Muslim teaching systems. Important Muslim philosophers had East Syrian teachers.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ N. Horner, from Paul Löffler: Arabian Christians in the Middle East Conflict, p. 14, Frankfurt, 1976
  2. ↑ Raif Toma, The Search for the Roots of National Consciousness in Understanding Home in the Mesopotamian Primitive People, http://www.beepworld.de/members41/assyrismus/dienationaleidenti.htm
  3. ^ Ghassan Tuéni: Rôle et Avenir des Chrétiens d´Orient aujourd'hui, CEDRAC, Beyrouth 2005
  4. ↑ Martin Tamcke, Christians in the Islamic World - from Mohamed to the Present, Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2008

See also

literature

  • Julius Aßfalg : Small dictionary of the Christian Orient. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975.
  • Anna-Dorothee von den Brincken : The "Nationes christianorum orientalium" in the understanding of Latin historiography. From the middle of the 12th to the second half of the 14th century . (Kölner Historische Abhandlungen, Volume 22) Böhlau, Cologne 1973.
  • Kenan Engin : Iraqi Civil War: Are Christians Still Here? In: New Society. Frankfurter Hefte, 9/2015.
  • Evangelical Mission in Germany, Information Project Near and Middle East ( INAMO ), Alexander Flores (Hrsg.): The future of the oriental Christians. A debate in the Middle East. Hamburg / Berlin 2001.
  • Wolfgang Hage : Oriental Christianity . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2007.
  • Andreas Knapp: The last Christians. Flight and expulsion from the Middle East . Adeo Verlag, Asslar 2016, ISBN 978-3-863341-18-3 .
  • Paul Löffler: Arab Christians in the Middle East Conflict: Christians in Political Tension . Lembeck, Frankfurt / Main 1976.
  • Bat Ye'or : The Decline of Oriental Christianity under Islam: 7-20 Century. Between jihad and dhimmitude . Resch, Graefelfing 2002, ISBN 3-935197-19-5 .

Web links