CHRISTIANITY Three Faiths With One God
CHRISTIANITY Three Faiths With One God
Christianity is nearly 2,000 years old, beginning around 30 CE with the death of Jesus Christ. There is a strong Christian tradition in many parts of the Arab World. Some Arab Christians are the descendants of the very first Christians, and the world’s oldest churches are found in the Arab World. Some church services in the Arab World are still delivered in Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ.
Most Christians in the Arab World belong to the Eastern Rite churches, which are indigenous to the Arab World. These include - the Catholic Antiochian Orthdox (Greek Orthodox), the Catholic Maronite and Melkite churches, Syrian Orthodox churches, and the Egyptian Coptic Church. Most Iraqi Christians belong to the Catholic Chaldean Church. A smaller number of Arab Christians are Protestants converted by 19th century missionaries in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. Today, significant populations of Arab Christians also live in Iraq and Egypt.
Christianity is nearly 2,000 years old, beginning around 30 CE with the death of Jesus Christ. There is a strong Christian tradition in many parts of the Arab World. Some Arab Christians are the descendants of the very first Christians, and the world’s oldest churches are found in the Arab World. Some church services in the Arab World are still delivered in Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ.
Most Christians in the Arab World belong to the Eastern Rite churches, which are indigenous to the Arab World. These include - the Catholic Antiochian Orthdox (Greek Orthodox), the Catholic Maronite and Melkite churches, Syrian Orthodox churches, and the Egyptian Coptic Church. Most Iraqi Christians belong to the Catholic Chaldean Church. A smaller number of Arab Christians are Protestants converted by 19th century missionaries in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. Today, significant populations of Arab Christians also live in Iraq and Egypt.
The Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch (ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܡܪܘܢܝܬܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ ʿīṯo suryoiṯo morunoiṯo d'anṭiokia; Arabic: الكنيسة الأنطاكية السريانية المارونية al-Kanīsa al-Anṭākiyya al-Suryāniyya al-Mārūniyya; Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope, Bishop of Rome. It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Marun, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, Saint John Maron, was elected in the late 7th century.
Although reduced in numbers today, Maronites remain one of the principal ethno-religious groups in Lebanon, and smaller minorities of Maronites are also found in western Syria, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan.