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Christians of the Middle East
العربية

Churches & traditions

The church families of the East

The denominations of the East carry many similar-sounding names, and they are easy to confuse. These are the major church families: what distinguishes each one, which churches belong to it, and where to find it.

Oriental Orthodox Churches

الكنائس الأرثوذكسية المشرقية

The largest of the Eastern church families, taking in the Coptic Church in Egypt, the Syriac Church in the Levant and Mesopotamia, and the Armenian Church. More Middle Eastern Christians belong to this family than to any other.

What sets it apart

They did not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, holding that Christ has one united nature, divine and human, without separation or confusion. They were labelled “monophysite” from outside — a term they reject, preferring “miaphysite”.

Churches in this family

  • Coptic Orthodox Church
  • Syriac Orthodox Church
  • Armenian Apostolic Church

Liturgical languages

Coptic, Syriac and Armenian in the liturgy, with Arabic in most services today.

Where to find it

Eastern Orthodox (Greek Orthodox)

الروم الأرثوذكس

Three of the five ancient patriarchal sees are in the region: Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. The Greek Orthodox are the largest Christian denomination in Syria, Jordan and Palestine.

What sets it apart

They accepted Chalcedon and follow the Byzantine rite, in communion with the wider Eastern Orthodox world. Most of their members in the region are Arabs: “Greek” here is a historical and liturgical label, not an ethnic one.

Churches in this family

  • Patriarchate of Antioch
  • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
  • Patriarchate of Alexandria

Liturgical languages

Arabic is the main language of worship, with Greek in some services and prayers.

Where to find it

The Church of the East

كنيسة المشرق

It grew up east of the Roman frontier, in Persia and Mesopotamia, and became the most geographically far-reaching church of the Middle Ages: its missions reached India, Central Asia and China.

What sets it apart

It follows the East Syriac rite and did not accept the Council of Ephesus in 431, emphasising the distinction between the two natures in Christ. It was historically called “Nestorian”, a label the church rejects for itself.

Churches in this family

  • Assyrian Church of the East
  • Ancient Church of the East

Liturgical languages

East Syriac is the liturgical language, and Sureth remains an everyday language for many of its members.

Where to find it

Eastern Catholic Churches

الكنائس الكاثوليكية الشرقية

Eastern churches in full communion with Rome that keep their own Eastern rites, canon law and patriarchs. The largest are the Maronite Church in Lebanon, the Chaldean Church in Iraq and the Melkite Church in the Levant.

What sets it apart

They are not Latin churches: each keeps its own Eastern liturgy, liturgical language and traditions, and several ordain married men. Most arose from unions with Rome between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries — the exception being the Maronite Church, which regards its communion as unbroken.

Churches in this family

  • Maronite Church
  • Chaldean Catholic Church
  • Melkite Greek Catholic Church
  • Syriac Catholic Church
  • Coptic Catholic Church
  • Armenian Catholic Church

Liturgical languages

Arabic, Syriac, Greek and Armenian, depending on the church and its rite.

Where to find it

Latin Catholic

اللاتين

The Latin Church is smaller in the region than the Eastern Catholic churches, but has a long presence in the holy places. Its main institutions are the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

What sets it apart

It follows the same Western Latin rite used in Europe. Its presence in the East goes back to the Crusades, and later to religious orders, schools and institutions.

Churches in this family

  • Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
  • Custody of the Holy Land

Liturgical languages

Arabic in worship today, and Latin historically.

Where to find it

Protestant and Evangelical Churches

الكنائس الإنجيلية

The most recent of the church families in the region, formed out of Evangelical, Anglican and Lutheran missions in the nineteenth century. The largest is the Evangelical Church of Egypt (the Synod of the Nile).

What sets it apart

Their influence has been felt more in education, printing and healthcare than in numbers: schools, universities, hospitals and presses — including the Van Dyck Arabic Bible of 1865, which spread across the whole Arab world.

Churches in this family

  • Evangelical Church of Egypt
  • Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
  • National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon

Liturgical languages

Arabic is the language of worship and teaching.

Where to find it

References

General further reading, not citations to specific pages.

Primary sources

  • Richard Price and Michael Gaddis (trans.). The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon. Liverpool University Press, 2005
  • Norman P. Tanner (ed.). Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. Georgetown University Press, 1990

Further reading

  • J. N. D. Kelly. Early Christian Doctrines. A. & C. Black, 1958
  • Aziz S. Atiya. A History of Eastern Christianity. Methuen, 1968
  • Sebastian P. Brock. An Introduction to Syriac Studies. Gorgias Press, 2006
  • Otto F. A. Meinardus. Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity. American University in Cairo Press, 1999
  • Aziz S. Atiya (ed.). The Coptic Encyclopedia. Macmillan, 1991
  • Henry Chadwick. The Early Church. Penguin, 1967
  • 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
  • Christoph Baumer. The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity. I.B. Tauris, 2006
  • Philip Jenkins. The Lost History of Christianity. HarperOne, 2008
  • Matti Moosa. The Maronites in History. Syracuse University Press, 1986
  • 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

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