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Christians of the Middle East
العربية
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Palestine

فلسطين

The mother church in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the birthplace of the first Christian community, and from it Christianity spread to the world. Palestine holds the holiest Christian sites and some of the oldest churches still in continuous use, and is home to a small Arab Christian community with very deep roots.

Christian population

About 47,000 Christians in the West Bank and Gaza

Estimates; roughly 1% of the population. A further 185,000 or so Arab Christians live in Israel.

Languages of liturgy and life

Arabic is the main liturgical language, alongside Greek among the Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac, and historically Latin.

Churches and denominations

  • Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

    بطريركية القدس للروم الأرثوذكس

    The oldest see in the city and the largest Christian denomination in Palestine.

  • Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

    بطريركية القدس للاتين

    Re-established in 1847 after a long interruption.

  • Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate

    البطريركية الأرمنية الأرثوذكسية

    Centred on the Armenian Quarter of the Old City.

  • Melkite Greek Catholic Church

    الروم الكاثوليك (الملكيون)

    Present in Galilee, Jerusalem and Ramallah.

  • Episcopal (Anglican) Diocese

    الكنيسة الأسقفية (الأنجليكانية)

    Founded a wide network of schools and hospitals.

  • Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox

    السريان والأقباط والأحباش

    Small communities with established rights in the holy places.

Historical milestones

  1. c. 33 AD

    Pentecost in Jerusalem and the beginning of the first Christian community, with James the brother of the Lord as its first bishop.

  2. 326–335

    Helena and Constantine build the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

  3. 451

    The Council of Chalcedon raises the see of Jerusalem to a patriarchate.

  4. 638

    The Muslim conquest; the Covenant of Umar sets out the terms for Christians and their holy places.

  5. 1099–1187

    The Crusader Latin Kingdom introduces Western denominations to the city.

  6. 1852

    The Status Quo firman fixes each denomination's rights in the holy places; it is still in force today.

  7. 1948 and 1967

    The Nakba and then the occupation; large-scale emigration cuts the Christian share of the population from around 8% to under 2%.

Places and heritage sites

Looking up into the golden dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Christ Pantocrator at its centre holding a book, ringed by saints and archangels with Greek inscriptions, and the Mother of God below.
Image: Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

كنيسة القيامة

Jerusalem

The site of the crucifixion and the tomb, administered jointly by several denominations.

Inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: rows of columns and hanging lamps.
Image: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Church of the Nativity

كنيسة المهد

Bethlehem

One of the oldest churches still in use anywhere, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mar Saba Monastery and its domes, built into the desert cliff of the Kidron Valley.
Image: Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Mar Saba Monastery

دير مار سابا

Kidron Valley

An Orthodox monastery where monastic life has continued unbroken since the fifth century.

The Church of St George in Burqin: an old stone façade with a round window and arched doorway, a small arched bell gable above it holding a bell and topped with a cross, and a paved courtyard in front with potted palms and flowers.
Image: Sylwia Ufnalska · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Church of St. George

كنيسة القديس جورج

Burqin, Jenin

Considered one of the oldest churches in the world.

A printed plate from 1903 showing the excavated ruins of Jacob's Well and a Crusader church: low stone walls and broken column drums on stony ground, with its original English caption beneath.
Image: Sanday, W. (William) Waterhouse, Paul · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Jacob's Well

بئر يعقوب

Nablus

Where Christ met the Samaritan woman, according to the Gospel of John.

An abandoned two-storey traditional stone house in Taybeh: stone vaults on the lower floor, weathered wooden shutters, and grass and trees grown over the roof.
Image: AnasNashashibi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Taybeh

الطيبة

Ramallah

The only entirely Christian town in the West Bank.

On the map

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References

General further reading, not citations to specific pages.

Further reading

  • Habib Badr, Suad Abou el-Rouss Slim, Joseph Abou Nohra (eds.). Christianity: A History in the Middle East. Middle East Council of Churches, 2005
  • Andrea Pacini (ed.). Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future. Clarendon Press, 1998
  • L. G. A. Cust. The Status Quo in the Holy Places. Government of Palestine, 1929
  • Anthony O'Mahony and Emma Loosley (eds.). Eastern Christianity in the Modern Middle East. Routledge, 2010
  • UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO World Heritage List. whc.unesco.org
  • Pew Research Center. Religious composition reports for the Middle East and North Africa. www.pewresearch.org