The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700 - 1700: An Anthology of Sources

NIU Series in Orthodox Christian Studies

by Samuel Noble

Arabic was among the first languages in which the Gospel was preached. The Book of Acts mentions Arabs as being present at the first Pentecost in Jerusalem, where they heard the Christian message in their native tongue. Christian literature in Arabic is at least 1,300 years old, the oldest surviving texts dating from the 8th century. Pre-modern Arab Christian literature embraces such diverse genres as Arabic translations of the Bible and the Church Fathers, biblical commentaries, lives of the saints, theological and polemical treatises, devotional poetry, philosophy, medicine, and history. Yet in the Western historiography of Christianity, the Arab Christian Middle East is treated only peripherally, if at all.

The first of its kind, this anthology makes accessible in English representative selections from major Arab Christian works written between the 8th and 18th centuries. The translations are idiomatic while preserving the character of the original. The popular assumption is that in the wake of the Islamic conquests, Christianity abandoned the Middle East to flourish elsewhere, leaving its original heartland devoid of an indigenous Christian presence. Until now, several of these important texts have remained unpublished or unavailable in English. Translated by leading scholars, these texts represent the major genres of Orthodox literature in Arabic. Noble and Treiger provide an introduction that helps form a comprehensive history of Christians within the Muslim world. The collection marks an important contribution to the history of medieval Christianity and the history of the medieval Near East.

 

Genres: Christianity, History, Religion, Christian History, Middle East

355 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2014

Reviews

[Sincerae Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ended abruptly. Since I was reading the e-book version I didn't keep track of where it would end. The final 39% of this book contains notes which I will complete over time.

The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700-1700: An Anthology of Sources is a volume which contains writings by Arab Orthodox Christians, many which have never been available in English before until now, and some which haven't been accessed even by the average Arab Orthodox Christian since some of these works can only be found in certain monasteries in the Middle East and Egypt.

This was a life changing book for me like The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins which I read a few years ago. For the last decade I have been quietly searching out and examining the early history and the roots of Christianity because what is called Christianity here in America is often only an interpretation and has little to do with the early history and the mindset of the church. Christianity like the other two Abrahamic religions began in the Middle East. It is not a European religion as some radical liberal African Americans argue and which some Muslims, who should know better, also say. This anthology destroys so many of the latter day myths about Christianity and the Middle East and opens up even more questions. For one thing, many people in the West believe all Arabs are Muslims, which is not the case. Palestinian Christians say they are the first Christians. No doubt some of their ancestors listened to the teachings of Jesus's great "prophets", the Apostles, who had spend several years gathered around the Christ's feet absorbing His teachings.

As to what this anthology contains, it is a collection of Christian polemics, poetry, histories and personal journals by Arab Orthodox monks, priests, and laypeople over the centuries. They lived in the areas of what is now Turkey and also in Syria and Palestine. All were highly educated people, often speaking not only Arabic or Syriac, but also Greek. Writers like Sulayman al-Ghazzi (Solomon of Gaza, died about 1027) was the author of the first collection Christian poetry in Arabic. Unlike in the West or here in America where the churches are more segregated by race, al-Ghazzi mentions in one of his poems the diversity of the peoples in the churches of his time. What he wrote can be read below.

http://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com/201...

Therefore, early Middle Eastern Christianity was as racially diverse as Islam says it is racially diverse. Also Richard Challoner's (1691-1781) also hints at this fact in his hagiography on Egypt's early saints, the desert fathers and mothers.

Some of the writers in this collection lived in and were heads of their churches in Aleppo, Syria. To see the names of Aleppo, Raqqa, Homs, Gaza, Antioch is so poignant to me considering what is going on in the world and the Middle East at this time, and how the country I live in has an active hand in destroying Christianity here and abroad along with also destroying the lives of Muslims.

The two final writers in this collection were father and son and actually traveled to Romania and Russia to collect funds to rescue their destitute and suffering church during Ottoman times in the 1600s; Patriarch Macarius Ibn al Za'im and his son Paul both resided in Aleppo. Another writer 'Abdallah ibn al-Fadl al-Antaki's name gives it away that he lived near Antioch, today's Antakya, Turkey.

This book also answered some of the pondering I've experienced for years about Islam. I'm not a Christian Zionist or American evangelical Christian, so I don't see all Muslims as my enemy or the only problem in the world. Even the writers presented in The Orthodox Church in the Arab World who were under Muslim rule and whom presented treatises defending Christianity were respectful but firm about their loyalty to their faith unlike today's very rude and disrespectful TV pundits and others making big bucks in the Islamophobic industry.

Portions of The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700-1700: An Anthology of Sources may be a difficult or dull read for people who aren't Christian or for Christians who are not very knowledgeable about their own faith and its' history, but just reading the biography of all 12 writers in the volume will begin to answer some questions about the faith, the past, and what we are living through in the present.

I highly recommend this book for the serious Christian or anyone with a curious or scholarly bent.

http://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com/

[Noah Senthil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important collection of sources from an under-appreciated facet of historic Christianity: Orthodox Arabs. Many of these texts are translated into English for this first time in this anthology. For example, “The Noetic Paradise” (anonymous) was brimming with theological and philosophical insight, and Paul of Antioch’s “Letter to a Muslim Friend” deserves to be studied widely as a crucial medieval text on the topic of inter-religious dialogue. Many people simply do not realize that the Middle East has always had orthodox Christians, and they have a strong religious and intellectual heritage. There are Middle Eastern families that have been Christian for 2000 years. Arabic is a Christian language! Arabic-speaking Christians pre-date Islam. They deeply influenced the formation of Islam—and not only in opposition—along with the science, philosophy, and theology that was eventually transferred to the Latin West.

In sum: This is a needed volume, though it’s not the easiest read, and I don’t think they made all the best editorial decision. But either way, the editors, translators, and contributors should be thanked and commended.

[Rusty del Norte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Orthodox Church in the Arab world is a collection of sample writings from a little understood area of Christianity. It has usually been dominated by others & so their voices are generally not heard. This is true for a Western audience as we generally understand the Western as well as the Greek to a point. But this book tries to change that perception.

The beginning of the book gives some history. It talks about some of the different Christian groups (Nestorians, Monophysiates, etc) and their influences. It identifies the Lakhmids & Ghassanids as early Christianized Arabs before the rise of Islam. It also mentions briefly the curious case of Yusuf Dhu Nuwas - whom converted to Judaism & began persecuting Christians. The Introduction is a good source of history, especially if you already have some basic understanding of the history there.

The rest of the book, once we get out of the Introduction & into the chapters, are translated works. There is a lot of original translations here, although they are not always complete. The early works give you an understanding of the theological development in this area. Each translation gives a brief introduction. Some writers cover many different thoughts, while others convey largely legendary accounts of historical events. Very interesting.

Overall, if this a area that interests you then you should read it.

[Madeleine Dearden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing and exposes the reader to a broad selection of sources... this book is amazing for both academics and the general public.

[Allison]

This book is a bit difficult to rate. I spent the entire semester reading it, as we had to read one primary document a week for the class in which it was assigned. As such, it was not very enjoyable or engaging. At the same time, though, it's fascinating and quite valuable to have all of these early Christian sources translated, introduced, and annotated within the same volume.

I have not given this book a star rating. Reading it start-to-finish seems like it would be slightly miserable, but it is an excellent research resource.