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'<unowiki> == # Insert non-formatted text here ''Italic text''</nowiki>{{Short description|Christian traditions originating from Greek- and Syriac-speaking populations}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2023}} {{for|Eastern-Christian denominations and groups|Church of the East|Oriental Orthodox Churches|Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Catholic Churches}} {{Eastern Christianity}} {{Christianity|expanded=hide}} '''Eastern Christianity''' comprises [[Christianity|Christian]] traditions and [[Christian denomination|church families]] that originally developed during [[Classical antiquity|classical]] and [[late antiquity]] in [[Western Asia]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Eastern Europe]], [[Southeast Europe|Southeastern Europe]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Northeast Africa]], the [[Fertile Crescent]] and the [[Malabar coast]] of [[South Asia]], and ephemerally parts of [[Greater Iran|Persia]], [[Central Asia]] and the [[Far East]].<ref> Historically, [[Christianity in the Persian Empire]] and in [[Nestorianism|Central Asia]] also had great importance, especially in proselytising in East and South Asia. </ref> The term does not describe a single [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] or [[religious denomination]]. Major Eastern Christian bodies include the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], along with those groups descended from the historic [[Church of the East]] (aka the [[Assyrian Church (disambiguation)|Assyrian Church]]), as well as the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] (which have either re-established or always retained communion with [[Holy See|Rome]] and maintain [[Christian liturgy|Eastern liturgies]]), and the [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Eastern Protestant churches]]<ref name="HämmerliMayer2016" /> (which are Protestant in theology but Eastern in cultural practice). The various Eastern churches do not normally refer to themselves as "Eastern", with the exception of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and its offshoot, the [[Ancient Church of the East]]. The [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] are the largest body within Eastern Christianity with a worldwide population of 220 million,<ref name=about>{{Cite web |last=Fairchild |first=Mary |date=17 March 2017 |title=Eastern Orthodox Denomination |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/eastern-orthodox-church-denomination-700624 |access-date=19 October 2018 |website=ThoughtCo.}}</ref> followed by the Oriental Orthodox at 60 million.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century |journal=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |date=8 November 2017 |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |quote=Oriental Orthodoxy has separate self-governing jurisdictions in [[Syria]], [[Iraq]], [[Armenia]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Egypt]], [[Eritrea]], [[India]], and it accounts for roughly 20% of the worldwide Orthodox population.}}</ref> The Eastern Catholic Churches consist of about 16–18 million and are a small minority within the Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/the-beautiful-witness-of-the-eastern-catholic-churches/|title=The beautiful witness of the Eastern Catholic Churches|date=7 March 2019|website=Catholic Herald|access-date=29 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929010556/https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/the-beautiful-witness-of-the-eastern-catholic-churches/|archive-date=29 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Eastern Protestant Christian]] churches do not form a single communion; churches like the [[Ukrainian Lutheran Church]] and [[Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church]] have under a million members. The Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East, descendant churches of the Assyria-based Church of the East, have a combined membership of approximately 400,000, with other Assyrians being Catholics within the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] which broke away from the Assyrian Church in the late 17th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murre van den Berg |first=Heleen | author-link = Heleen Murre-van den Berg |chapter=Assyrian Apostolic Church of the East |title=The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization |year=2011 |orig-year=2009 |volume=1 |location=Malden |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |pages=154–159 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DYTRSAAACAAJ}}</ref> Historically, after [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|the loss of the Levant]] in the 7th century to the Islamic [[Sunni Caliphate]], the term '''Eastern Church''' was used for the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Church]] centered in [[Byzantium]], in contrast with the (''Western'') [[Latin Church]], centered on [[Holy See|Rome]], which uses the [[Latin liturgical rites]]. The terms "Eastern" and "Western" in this regard originated with geographical divisions in Christianity mirroring the cultural divide between the [[Greek East and Latin West|Hellenistic East and the Latin West]], and the political divide of 395 AD between the [[Western Roman Empire|Western]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empires]]. Since the [[Protestant Reformation]] of the 16th century, the term "Eastern Christianity" may be used in contrast with "[[Western Christianity]]", which contains not only the Latin Church but also [[Protestantism]] and [[Independent Catholicism]].<ref name="CSSR1976">{{cite book|title= Bulletin for the Study of Religion, Volumes 9–12|year= 1978|publisher= Council on the Study of Religion|language= en|page= 29|quote= Since Eastern Christianity is difficult to define, or even to describe, the subject parameters of the proposed works will be somewhat open-ended.}}</ref> Some Eastern churches have more in common historically and theologically with Western Christianity than with one another. Because the largest church in the East is the body currently known as the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the term "Orthodox" is often used in a similar fashion to "Eastern", to refer to specific historical Christian communions. However, strictly speaking, most Christian denominations, whether Eastern or Western, regard themselves as "[[Orthodoxy|orthodox]]" (meaning "following correct beliefs") as well as "[[Catholicity|catholic]]" (meaning "universal"), and as sharing in the [[Four Marks of the Church]] listed in the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed]] (381 AD): "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic" ({{lang-gr|μία, ἁγία, καθολικὴ καὶ ἀποστολικὴ ἐκκλησία}}).{{NoteTag|This ecumenical creed is today recited in the [[liturgy]] of the [[Catholic Church]] (both [[Latin Church|Latin]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Rites]]), the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], the [[Assyrian Church of the East|Church of the East]], the [[Moravian Church]], the [[Lutheran Church]]es, the [[Methodist Church]]es, the [[Anglican Communion]], the [[Reformed Church]]es, and other [[Christian denominations]].<ref> {{cite book |last= Scharper |first= Philip J. |title= Meet the American Catholic |year= 1969|publisher= [[Broadman Press]]|language= en|page= 34|quote= It is interesting to note, however, that the Nicene Creed, recited by Catholics in their worship, is also accepted by millions of other Christians as a testimony of their faith – Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and members of many of the Reformed Churches.}} </ref>}} Eastern churches (excepting the non-liturgical dissenting bodies) utilize several [[Christian liturgy|liturgical rites]]: the [[Alexandrian Rite]], the [[Armenian Rite]], the [[Byzantine Rite]], the [[East Syriac Rite]] (also known as Persian or Assyrian Rite), and the [[West Syriac Rite]] (also called the Antiochian Rite). == Families of churches == {{Further|History of Eastern Christianity}} [[File:Orthodoxy by Country.svg|right|thumb|upright=2.1|Comparative distribution of [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] in the world by country {| |+ Legend ! scope=col | [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] ! scope=col | [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] |- | {{legend|#000055|Dominant religion (more than 75%)}} || {{legend|#660000|Dominant religion (more than 75%)}} |- | {{legend|#0000AA|Dominant religion (50–75%)}} || {{legend|#CD0000|Dominant religion (50–75%)}} |- | {{legend|#0000FF|Important minority religion (20–50%)}} || {{legend|#FF3030|Important minority religion (20–50%)}} |- | {{legend|#5555FF|Important minority religion (5–20%)}} || {{legend|#FF6666|Important minority religion (5–20%)}} |- | {{legend|#AAAAFF|Minority religion (1–5%)}} || {{legend|#FFCCCC|Minority religion (1–5%)}} |}]] Eastern Christians do not all share the same religious traditions, but many do share cultural traditions. Christianity divided itself in the East during its early centuries both within and outside of the Roman Empire in disputes about [[Christology]] and fundamental theology, as well as through national divisions (Roman, Persian, etc.). It would be many centuries later that Western Christianity fully split from these traditions as its own communion. Major branches or families of Eastern Christianity, each of which has a distinct [[theology]] and [[dogma]], include the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox communion, the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Assyrian Church of the East.<ref name="HindsonMitchell2013">{{cite book|last1=Hindson|first1=Edward E.|last2=Mitchell|first2=Daniel R.|title=The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History|year=2013|publisher=Harvest House Publishers|language=en|isbn=978-0736948074|page=225}}</ref> In many Eastern churches, some parish priests administer the sacrament of [[chrismation]] to infants after [[baptism]], and priests are allowed to marry before ordination. While all the Eastern Catholic Churches recognize the authority of the [[Pope|Pope of Rome]], some of them who have originally been part of the Orthodox Church or Oriental Orthodox churches closely follow the traditions of Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy, including the tradition of allowing married men to become priests. The Eastern churches' differences from Western Christianity have as much, if not more, to do with culture, language, and politics, as [[Eastern Orthodox – Roman Catholic theological differences|theology]]. For the non-Catholic Eastern churches, a definitive date for the commencement of [[Schism (religion)|schism]] cannot usually be given (see [[East–West Schism]]). The Church of the East declared independence from the churches of the [[Roman Empire]] at its general council in 424, which was before the [[Council of Ephesus]] in 431, and so had nothing to do with the theology declared at that council. Oriental Orthodoxy separated after the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451 but did not immediately formed separate patriarchates until 518, as for Syriac Patriarchate of Antioch and 536, as for Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria. Since the time of the historian [[Edward Gibbon]], the split between the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church has been conveniently dated to 1054, though the reality is more complex. This split is sometimes referred to as the ''Great Schism'', but now more usually referred to as the [[East–West Schism]]. This final schism reflected a larger cultural and political division which had developed in Europe and Southwest Asia during the [[Middle Ages]] and coincided with Western Europe's re-emergence from the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|collapse of the Western Roman Empire]]. The Ukrainian Lutheran Church developed within [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] around 1926, with its rites being based on the [[Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom]], rather than on the Western ''[[Formula missae|Formula Missae]]''.<ref name="Bebis2013"/><ref name="Webber1992"/> === Eastern Orthodox Church === {{Further|History of the Eastern Orthodox Church}} [[File:Christ Hagia Sofia.jpg|thumb|upright|Christ Pantocrator, detail of the Deesis mosaic in [[Hagia Sophia]] – [[Constantinople]] ([[Istanbul]]) 12th century]] The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body whose adherents are largely based in Western Asia (particularly [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], and [[State of Palestine|Palestine]]) and [[Turkey]], [[Eastern Europe]], the [[Balkans]] and the [[Caucasus]] ([[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Abkhazia]], [[Ossetia]] etc.), with a growing presence in the [[Western world]]. Eastern Orthodox Christians accept the decisions of the [[First seven Ecumenical Councils|first seven ecumenical councils]]. Eastern Orthodox Christianity identifies itself as the original Christian church (see [[early centers of Christianity]]) founded by Christ and the Apostles, and traces its lineage back to the [[early church|early Church]] through the process of [[apostolic succession]] and unchanged theology and practice. Characteristics of the Eastern Orthodox Church include the [[Byzantine Rite]] (shared with some Eastern Catholic Churches) and an emphasis on the continuation of [[Sacred tradition|Holy Tradition]], which it holds to be apostolic in nature. The Eastern Orthodox Church is organized into self-governing jurisdictions along geographical, national, ethnic or linguistic lines. Eastern Orthodoxy is thus made up of fourteen or sixteen [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] bodies. Smaller churches are autonomous and each have a mother church that is autocephalous. All Eastern Orthodox are united in doctrinal agreement with each other, though a few are not in communion at present, for non-doctrinal reasons. This is in contrast to the Catholic Church and its various churches. Members of the latter are all in communion with each other, parts of a top-down [[hierarchy]] (see {{lang|la|[[primus inter pares]]}}). The Eastern Orthodox reject the [[Filioque|Filioque clause]] as contrast to Catholics. The Catholic Church was once in communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church, but the two split after the [[East–West Schism]] and are no longer in communion. It is estimated that there are approximately 240&nbsp;million Eastern Orthodox Christians in the world.{{NoteTag|See details about [[major religious groups]].}} Today, many adherents shun the term "Eastern" as denying the church's universal character. They refer to Eastern Orthodoxy simply as the ''Orthodox Church''.<ref>{{citation |last=Ware |first=Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) |author-link=Kallistos Ware |title=The Orthodox Church |edition=new |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Books |year= 1993 |isbn=978-0-14-014656-1 |ref=none}}</ref> === Oriental Orthodoxy === {{Main|Oriental Orthodox Churches}} Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian tradition that keep the faith of the first three [[Ecumenical Council|ecumenical council]]s of the [[State church of the Roman Empire|undivided Christian Church]]: the [[First Council of Nicaea]] (AD 325), the [[First Council of Constantinople]] (381) and the [[Council of Ephesus]] (431), while rejecting the [[dogmatic definition]]s of the [[Council of Chalcedon]] (451). Hence, these churches are also called the ''Old Oriental churches''. They comprise the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], the [[Malankara Orthodox Church]] (India), the [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]], the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] and the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]. Oriental Orthodoxy developed in reaction to Chalcedon on the eastern limit of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and in [[Egypt]], Syria and [[Mesopotamia]]. In those locations, there are also Eastern Orthodox [[patriarch]]s, but the rivalry between the two has largely vanished in the centuries since the schism. === Church of the East === {{Main|Church of the East|Nestorianism|Lakhmids}} Historically, the Church of the East was the widest reaching branch of Eastern Christianity, at its height spreading from its heartland in [[Persia]]n-ruled [[Assyria]] to the Mediterranean, India, and China. Originally the only Christian church recognized by [[Zoroastrian]]-led [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid Persia]] (through its alliance with the Lakhmids, the regional rivals to the Byzantines and its [[Ghassanid]] vassal), the Church of the East declared itself independent of other churches in 424 and over the next century became affiliated with Nestorianism, a Christological doctrine advanced by [[Nestorius]], [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] from 428 to 431, which had been declared heretical in the Roman Empire. Thereafter it was often known, possibly inaccurately, as the Nestorian Church in the West. Surviving a period of persecution within Persia, the Church of the East flourished under the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and branched out, establishing dioceses throughout Asia. After another period of expansion under the [[Mongol Empire]], the church went into decline starting in the 14th century, and was eventually largely confined to its founding [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] adherent's heartland in the [[Assyrian homeland]], although another remnant survived on the [[Malabar Coast]] of India. In the 16th century, dynastic struggles sent the church into schism, resulting in the formation of two rival churches: The [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], which entered into communion with Rome as an Eastern Catholic Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East. The followers of these two churches are almost exclusively ethnic Assyrians. In India, the local Church of the East community, known as the Saint Thomas Christians, experienced its own rifts as a result of Portuguese influence. ==== Assyrian Church of the East ==== {{Main|Church of the East|Assyrian Church of the East}} The Assyrian Church of the East emerged from the historical Church of the East, which was centered in Mesopotamia/Assyria, then part of the [[Sasanian Empire|Persian Empire]], and spread widely throughout Asia. The modern Assyrian Church of the East emerged in the 16th century following a split with the Chaldean Church, which later entered into communion with Rome as an Eastern Catholic Church. The Church of the East was associated with the doctrine of Nestorianism, advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428 to 431, which emphasized the disunion between the human and divine natures of [[Jesus]]. Nestorius and his doctrine were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, leading to the [[Nestorian Schism]] in which churches supporting Nestorius split from the rest of Christianity. Many followers relocated to Persia and became affiliated with the local Christian community there. This community adopted an increasingly Nestorian theology and was thereafter often known as the Nestorian Church. As such, the Church of the East accepts only the first two ecumenical councils of the undivided Church—the First Council of Nicaea and the First Council of Constantinople—as defining its faith tradition, and rapidly took a different course from other Eastern Christians. The Church of the East spread widely through Persia and into Asia, being introduced to India by the 6th century and to the Mongols and China in the 7th century. It experienced periodic expansion until the 14th century, when the church was nearly destroyed by the collapse of the Mongol Empire and the conquests of [[Timur]]. By the 16th century it was largely confined to Iraq, northeast Syria, southeast Turkey, northwest [[Iran]] and the Malabar Coast of India ([[Kerala]]). The split of the 15th century, which saw the emergence of separate Assyrian and Chaldean Churches, left only the former as an independent sect. Additional splits into the 20th century further affected the history of the Assyrian Church of the East. ==== Saint Thomas Syrian Christians ==== {{Main|Saint Thomas Christians}} The [[Saint Thomas Christians|Saint Thomas Syrian Christians]] are an ancient body of [[Syriac Christianity|Syrian Christians]] in Kerala, Malabar coast of [[India]] who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of [[Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century. Many [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] and [[Jews|Jewish]] communities like the [[Knanaya]] and the [[Cochin Jews]] assimilated into the [[Saint Thomas Christian|Saint Thomas Syrian Christian]] community.<ref name="AFM">A. E. Medlycott, ''India and The Apostle Thomas'', pp. 1-71, 213–297; M. R. James, ''Apocryphal New Testament'', pp. 364–436; Eusebius, ''History'', chapter 4:30; [[J. N. Farquhar]], ''The Apostle Thomas in North India'', chapter 4:30; V. A. Smith, ''Early History of India'', p. 235; L. W. Brown, ''The Indian Christians of St. Thomas'', pp. 49–59</ref> By the 5th century the Saint Thomas Syrian Christians were part of the [[Church of the East]] ([[Nestorian Church]]). Until the middle of the 17th century and the arrival of the [[Portuguese India|Portuguese]], the Thomas Christians were all one in faith and rite. Thereafter, divisions arose among them, and consequently they are today of several different rites. The [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac Chaldean Rite]] (Edessan Rite) Churches among the Saint Thomas Syrian Christians are the [[Syro-Malabar Church|Syro Malabar Church]] and the [[Chaldean Syrian Church]]. The [[West Syriac Rite|West Syriac Antiochian Rite]] Churches among the Saint Thomas Syrian Christians are the [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church|Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church]], the [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]], the [[Mar Thoma Syrian Church]], the [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church|Syro Malankara Church]] and the [[Malabar Independent Syrian Church|Thozhiyur Church]]. === Eastern Catholic Churches === <!--Use of "churches" denotes plural, not proper noun--> {{Main|Eastern Catholic Churches}} [[File:Kanjirappally Bishop Mar Mathew Arackal at Tomb of Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly.jpg|thumb|An Eastern Catholic bishop of the [[Syro-Malabar]] Church holding the Mar Thoma Cross which symbolizes the heritage and identity of the [[Saint Thomas Christians]] of [[Christianity in India|India]]]] The twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches are in communion with the [[Holy See]] at the Vatican whilst being rooted in the theological and liturgical traditions of Eastern Christianity. Most of these churches were originally part of the Orthodox East, but have since been reconciled to the Latin Church. Many of these churches were originally part of one of the above families and so are closely related to them by way of ethos and [[Liturgy|liturgical practice]]. As in the other Eastern churches, married men may become priests, and parish priests administer the [[sacrament|mystery]] of [[confirmation]] to newborn infants immediately after baptism, via the rite of chrismation; the infants are then administered [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]]. The Syro-Malabar Church, which is part of the Saint Thomas Christian community in India, follows East Syriac traditions and liturgy. Other Saint Thomas Christians of India, who were originally of the same East Syriac tradition, passed instead to the West Syriac tradition and now form part of Oriental Orthodoxy (some from the Oriental Orthodox in India united with the Catholic Church in 1930 and became the [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]]). The [[Maronite Church]] claims never to have been separated from Rome, and has no counterpart Orthodox Church out of communion with the Pope. It is therefore inaccurate to refer to it as a "Uniate" Church. The [[Italo-Albanian Catholic Church]] has also never been out of communion with Rome, but, unlike the Maronite Church, it resembles the [[Byzantine Rite|liturgical rite]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. === Dissenting movements === In addition to these four mainstream branches, there are a number of much smaller groups which originated from disputes with the dominant tradition of their original areas. Most of these are either part of the more traditional [[Old Believer]] movement, which arose from a [[Schism (religion)|schism]] within Russian Orthodoxy, or the more radical [[Spiritual Christianity]] movement. The latter includes a number of diverse "[[Low church|low-church]]" groups, from the Bible-centered [[Molokan]]s to the anarchic [[Doukhobor]]s to the self-mutilating [[Skoptsy]]. None of these groups are in communion with the mainstream churches listed above. There are also national dissidents, where ethnic groups want their own nation-church, such as the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]] and the [[Montenegrin Orthodox Church]]; both are domiciles of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]. There are also some [[Protestantism|Reformed]] Churches which share characteristics of Eastern Christianity, to varying extents. ===="True Orthodox" churches==== {{Main|True Orthodoxy}} Starting in the 1920s, [[Greek Old Calendarists|parallel hierarchies]] formed in opposition to local Orthodox churches over ecumenism and other matters. These jurisdictions sometimes refer to themselves as being "True Orthodox". In Russia, underground churches formed and maintained solidarity with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia until the late 1970s. There are now traditionalist Orthodox in every area, though in Asia and Egypt their presence is negligible. ==== Eastern Protestant Churches ==== {{Main|Eastern Protestantism}} [[Eastern Protestant Christianity]] comprises a collection of heterogeneous Protestant denominations which are mostly the result of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Churches adopting Reformation variants of [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox Christian]] liturgy and worship.<ref>{{cite web |title=Believers Eastern Church |url=https://www.bec.org/history/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Church History |url=http://steci.org/church-history/ |website=St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (steci) is an episcopal Church |access-date=2019-07-23 |archive-date=2019-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720140346/http://steci.org/church-history/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some others are the result of [[reformation]]s of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] beliefs and practices, inspired by the teachings of Western Protestant missionaries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Heritage – Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church |url=http://marthoma.in/the-church/heritage/}}</ref> Denominations of this category include the [[Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church ]], [[Ukrainian Lutheran Church]], [[St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India]], [[Evangelical Orthodox Church]], etc. ===== Byzantine Rite Lutheranism ===== {{Main|Byzantine Rite Lutheranism}} [[Byzantine Rite Lutheranism]] arose in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church around 1926.<ref name="HämmerliMayer2016">{{cite book |last1=Hämmerli |first1=Maria |last2=Mayer |first2=Jean-François |title=Orthodox Identities in Western Europe: Migration, Settlement and Innovation |date=23 May 2016 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |language=en |isbn=978-1317084914 |page=13}}</ref> It sprung up in the region of Galicia and its rites are based on the [[Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom]].<ref name="Bebis2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.omhksea.org/2013/03/the-divine-liturgy-of-saint-john-chrysostom-used-by-the-ukrainian-lutheran-church-and-its-missing-elements/|title=The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, used by the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, and its missing elements |last=Bebis |first=Vassilios |date=30 March 2013 |publisher=[[Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia]] |language=en |access-date=18 September 2018 |quote=A revised Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is also celebrated in Ukraine by members of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. This Church was organized originally in 1926 in the “Galicia” region of Ukraine, which was at that time under the government of Poland. The liturgical rites used by the Ukrainian Lutherans reflected their Byzantine tradition. They did not use a Lutheran revision of the Latin Mass in their services, but instead they used a Lutheran revision of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.}}</ref><ref name="Webber1992">{{cite web|url=https://www.blc.edu/comm/gargy/gargy1/liturgical_church.html|title=Why is the Lutheran Church a Liturgical Church?|last=Webber|first=David Jay|year=1992|publisher=[[Bethany Lutheran College]]|language=en|access-date=18 September 2018|quote=In the Byzantine world, however, this pattern of worship would not be informed by the liturgical history of the Latin church, as with the Reformation-era church orders, but by the liturgical history of the Byzantine church. (This was in fact what occurred with the Ukrainian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, which published in its 1933 Ukrainian Evangelical Service Book the first ever Lutheran liturgical order derived from the historic Eastern Rite.)}}</ref> The church suffered [[Persecution of Christians in the Eastern Bloc|persecution under the Communist régime]], which implemented a policy of [[state atheism]].<ref name="Dushnyck1991">{{cite book|last=Dushnyck|first=Walter|title=The Ukrainian Heritage in America|year=1991|publisher=Ukrainian Congress Committee of America|language=en|isbn=978-1879001008|page=94}}</ref> == Catholic–Orthodox ecumenism == Ecumenical dialogue since the 1964 meeting between [[Pope Paul VI]] and Orthodox Patriarch [[Athenagoras I]] has awoken the nearly 1,000-year hopes for Christian unity. Since the lifting of excommunications during the Paul VI and Athenagoras I meeting in Jerusalem there have been other significant meetings between Popes and Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople. One of the most recent meetings was between Benedict XVI and Bartholomew I, who jointly signed the ''Common Declaration''. It states that "We give thanks to the Author of all that is good, who allows us once again, in prayer and in dialogue, to express the joy we feel as brothers and to renew ''our commitment to move towards '''full communion'''''".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecupatriarchate.org/ |title=Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople |publisher=Ecupatriarchate.org |access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref> In 2013 Patriarch [[Bartholomew I]] attended the installation ceremony of the new Catholic Pope, [[Pope Francis|Francis]], which was the first time any Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had ever attended such an installation.<ref>{{cite web|title=auto|url=http://orthodoxyandheterodoxy.org/2013/03/21/the-first-ecumenical-patriarch-at-a-papal-inauguration-not-just-since-1054/|access-date=2013-04-08|archive-date=2014-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105020411/http://orthodoxyandheterodoxy.org/2013/03/21/the-first-ecumenical-patriarch-at-a-papal-inauguration-not-just-since-1054/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2019, Primate of the [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine|OCU]] [[Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine|Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine]] [[Epiphanius I of Ukraine|Epiphanius]] stated that "theoretically" the [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]] and the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] could in the future unite into a united church around the Kyiv throne.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://espreso.tv/article/2019/05/11/epifaniy|title = Предстоятель ПЦУ Епіфаній: Найперше мусимо зберегти свою незалежність}}</ref> In 2019, the primate of the UGCC, [[Lists of leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia]] [[Sviatoslav Shevchuk|Sviatoslav]], stated that every effort should be made to restore the original unity of the Kyivan Church in its Orthodox and Catholic branches, saying that the restoration of Eucharistic communion between [[Catholic Church|Rome]] and [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Constantinople]] is not a utopia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://synod.ugcc.ua/data/blazhennishyy-svyatoslav-vidnovlennya-vharystiynogo-spilkuvannya-mizh-rymom-i-konstantynopolem-ne-utopiyu-315/ |script-title=uk:Блаженніший Святослав: "Відновлення євхаристійного спілкування між Римом і Константинополем не є утопією" |title=Blazhennishyy Svyatoslav: "Vidnovlennya yevkharystiynoho spilkuvannya mizh Rymom i Konstantynopolem ne ye utopiyeyu" |language=ik |trans-title=His Beatitude Svyatoslav: "Restoration of Eucharistic communication between Rome and Constantinople is not a utopia"}}</ref> === Rejection of Uniatism === At a meeting in [[Balamand]], [[Lebanon]], in June 1993, the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church declared that these initiatives that "led to the union of certain communities with the See of Rome and brought with them, as a consequence, the breaking of communion with their Mother Churches of the East … took place not without the interference of extra-ecclesial interests";<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930624_lebanon_en.html Seventh Plenaey Session (Vatican Website)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031223144638/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930624_lebanon_en.html |date=23 December 2003 }}</ref> and that what has been called "[[uniatism]]" "can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed nor as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking" (section 12). At the same time, the Commission stated: * 3) Concerning the Eastern Catholic Churches, it is clear that they, as part of the Catholic Communion, have the right to exist and to act in response to the spiritual needs of their faithful. * 16) The Oriental Catholic Churches who have desired to re-establish full communion with the See of Rome and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and obligations which are connected with this communion. * 22) Pastoral activity in the Catholic Church, Latin as well as Oriental, no longer aims at having the faithful of one Church pass over to the other; that is to say, it no longer aims at proselytizing among the Orthodox. It aims at answering the spiritual needs of its own faithful and it has no desire for expansion at the expense of the Orthodox Church. Within these perspectives, so that there will be no longer place for mistrust and suspicion, it is necessary that there be reciprocal exchanges of information about various pastoral projects and that thus cooperation between bishops and all those with responsibilities in our Churches, can be set in motion and develop. == Migration trends == There has been a significant Christian migration in the 20th century from the Near East. Fifteen hundred years ago Christians were the majority population in today's Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. In 1914 Christians constituted 25% of the population of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 21st century Christians constituted 6–7% of the region's population: less than 1% in Turkey, 3% in Iraq, 12% in Syria, 39% in Lebanon, 6% in Jordan, 2.5% in Israel/Palestine and 15–20% in Egypt. As of 2011 Eastern Orthodox Christians are [[American upper class|among the wealthiest]] Christians in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/faith-education-and-income/ |title=Faith, Education and Income |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 May 2011 |first=David |last=Leonhardt |date=13 May 2011}}</ref> They also tend to be better educated than most other religious groups in America, having a high number of [[Academic degree|graduate]] (68%) and [[post-graduate]] (28%) degrees per capita.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=US Religious Landscape Survey: Diverse and Dynamic |publisher=The Pew Forum |page=85 |date=February 2008 |access-date=17 September 2012 |ref=refEducationLevel}}</ref> == Role of Christians in Arabic culture == {{See also|Christian influences in Islam}} {{Christian culture}} Scholars and intellectuals agree [[Christian influences on the Islamic world|Christians have made significant contributions]] to Arab and Islamic civilization since the introduction of [[Islam]],<ref name="Hill, Donald 1993">Hill, Donald. ''Islamic Science and Engineering''. 1993. Edinburgh Univ. Press. {{ISBN|0-7486-0455-3}}, p. 4</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Legend of the Middle Ages|author=Brague, Rémi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8YjEkLPXNYC|isbn=978-0-226-07080-3|page=164|year=2009|publisher=University of Chicago Press }}</ref> and they have had a significant impact contributing the culture of the [[Middle East and North Africa]] and other areas.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pacini|first=Andrea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMfYAAAAMAAJ|title=Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-829388-0|pages=38, 55|access-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310101859/https://books.google.com/books?id=KMfYAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=10 March 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Jews, Antisemitism, and the Middle East|first=Kail|last= C. Ellis|year= 2017| isbn=978-1351510721| page =173|publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Secular Nationalism and Citizenship in Muslim Countries: Arab Christians in the Levant|first=Michael |last=Curtis|year= 2018| isbn=978-1351510721| page =11|publisher=Springer|quote=Christian contributions to art, culture, and literature in the Arab-Islamic world; Christian contributions education and social advancement in the region.}}</ref> [[Byzantine science]] played an important and crucial role in the [[Greek contributions to the Islamic world|transmission of classical knowledge]] to the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]].<ref>{{cite web|author=George Saliba|author-link=George Saliba|title=Islamic Science and the Making of Renaissance Europe|website=[[Library of Congress]]|date=2006-04-27|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3883|access-date=2008-03-01|archive-date=29 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629204411/https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3883|url-status=live}}</ref> Christians, especially Nestorians, contributed to the Arab Islamic Civilization during the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] and the [[Abbasids]] by translating works of [[Greek philosophers]] to [[Syriac language|Syriac]] and afterwards to [[Arabic language|Arabic]].<ref name="Hill, Donald 1993"/> They also excelled in philosophy, science (such as [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]], [[Qusta ibn Luqa]], [[Masawaiyh]], [[Patriarch Eutychius of Alexandria|Patriarch Eutychius]], [[Jabril ibn Bukhtishu]] etc.) and [[theology]] (such as [[Tatian]], [[Bar Daisan]], [[Babai the Great]], [[Nestorius]], [[Toma bar Yacoub]], etc.) and the personal physicians of the Abbasid Caliphs were often [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Christians such as the long serving [[Bukhtishu]]s.<ref>Rémi Brague, [http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm Assyrians contributions to the Islamic civilization]</ref><ref>Britannica, [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409819/Nestorian Nestorian]</ref> Many scholars of the [[House of Wisdom]] were of Christian background.<ref>Hyman and Walsh ''Philosophy in the Middle Ages'' Indianapolis, 1973, p. 204' Meri, Josef W. and Jere L. Bacharach, Editors, ''Medieval Islamic Civilization'' Vol. 1, A–K, Index, 2006, p. 304.</ref> A hospital and medical training center existed at [[Gundeshapur]]. The city of Gundeshapur was founded in AD 271 by the Sassanid king [[Shapur I]]. It was one of the major cities in [[Khuzestan]] province of the Persian empire in what is today Iran. A large percentage of the population was Syriacs, most of whom were Christians. Under the rule of [[Khusraw I]], refuge was granted to Greek [[Nestorian Christian]] philosophers including the scholars of the Persian School of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] ([[Urfa]]), also called the academy of [[Athens]], a Christian theological and medical university. These scholars made their way to Gundeshapur in 529 following the closing of the academy by Emperor Justinian. They were engaged in medical sciences and initiated the first translation projects of medical texts.<ref>''The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 22:2'' Mehmet Mahfuz Söylemez, ''The Jundishapur School: Its History, Structure, and Functions'', p. 3.</ref> The arrival of these medical practitioners from Edessa marks the beginning of the hospital and medical center at Gundeshapur.<ref>Gail Marlow Taylor, ''The Physicians of Gundeshapur'', (University of California, Irvine), p. 7.</ref> It included a medical school and hospital (bimaristan), a pharmacology laboratory, a translation house, a library and an observatory.<ref>Cyril Elgood, ''A Medical History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate'', (Cambridge University Press, 1951), p. 7.</ref> Indian doctors also contributed to the school at Gundeshapur, most notably the medical researcher Mankah. Later after Islamic invasion, the writings of Mankah and of the Indian doctor Sustura were translated into Arabic at [[Baghdad]].<ref>Cyril Elgood, ''A Medical History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate'', (Cambridge University Press, 1951), p. 3.</ref> [[Daud al-Antaki]] was one of the last generation of influential Arab Christian writers. [[Arab Christians]] and Arabic-speaking Christians, especially [[Maronites]], played important roles in the [[Nahda]], and because Arab Christians formed the educated [[upper class|upper]] and bourgeois classes, they have had a significant impact in politics, business and culture, and most important figures of the Nahda movement were Christian Arabs.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131019093522/http://miradaglobal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1643%3Amarcha-historica-de-los-arabes-iel-tercer-momento&catid=27%3Apolitica&Itemid=16&lang=en] "The historical march of the Arabs: the third moment."</ref> Today [[Arab Christians]] still play important roles in the Arab world, and Christians are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-belt/pope-to-arab-christians-k_b_203943.html |title=Pope to Arab Christians: Keep the Faith |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=20 April 2016 |date=15 June 2009}}</ref> == See also == {{Portal|Christianity|Religion}} {{Columns-list|colwidth=22em| * [[Apophatic theology]] * [[Ascetical theology]] * [[Cappadocian Fathers]] * [[Desert Fathers]] * [[Eastern Christian monasticism]] * [[Eastern Orthodox – Roman Catholic ecclesiastical differences]] * [[Eastern Orthodox Christian theology]] * [[Eastern Party]] * [[Essence–energies distinction (Eastern Orthodox theology)]] * [[History of Eastern Christianity]] * [[History of the Eastern Orthodox Church]] * [[Index of Eastern Christianity–related articles]] * [[Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy]] * [[Mystical theology]] * [[Syriac Christianity]] * [[Tabor Light]] }} == Notes == {{NoteFoot}} == References == {{Reflist}} == Further reading == * {{cite book |editor-last=Angold |editor-first=Michael |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity |volume=5, Eastern Christianity |year=2006 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-81113-2}} * Julius Assfalg (ed.), Kleines Wörterbuch des christlichen Orients, Wiesbaden 1975. * {{Cite book |last=FitzGerald |first=Thomas |chapter=Eastern Christianity in the United States |title=The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity |year=2007 |location=Malden, MA |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |pages=269–279 |isbn=978-0470766392 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHtSuvaVAAoC |via=[[Google Books]]}} * {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Philip |title=The Lost History Of Christianity |url=https://archive.org/details/losthistoryofchr00jenk |url-access=registration |year=2008 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-147281-7}} *Michelson, David Allen. (2022).''The Library of Paradise: a History of Contemplative Reading in the Monasteries of the Church of the East.'' Oxford University Press. * {{cite book |editor-last=Walters |editor-first=J. Edward |title=Eastern Christianity: A Reader |year=2021 |publisher=Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids, MI |isbn=978-0-8028-7686-7}} == External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091205011935/http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=3&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches] * [http://www.melkite.org/eastern.htm Eastern Catholics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204033501/http://www.melkite.org/eastern.htm |date=2012-02-04 }} Information concerning Christians of Eastern rites who are in communion with, and under the jurisdiction of, the [[Pope]], the Bishop of Rome. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070709011102/http://chant.theologian.org/ Byzantine Chant Studies Page] * [http://www.gocanada.org/ The Greek Orthodox Church in Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105105644/http://www.gocanada.org/ |date=2019-11-05 }} * [http://commons.orthodoxwiki.org/Main_Page OrthodoxWiki] * [http://steliasmelkite.org/music/ Sample of Melkite Chant in English] * [http://maryourmother.net/Eastern.html The Eastern Christian Churches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930145525/http://maryourmother.net/Eastern.html |date=2017-09-30 }} * [http://facecharity.org Fellowship and Aid to the Christians of the East] {{Chant}} {{Oriental Orthodoxy footer}} {{Eastern Orthodox Church footer}} {{Catholic Church footer}} {{Ethnic groups with significant Eastern Christian membership}} {{Christianity footer}} {{Western culture}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Eastern Christianity| ]] [[Category:Christian terminology]] == ''Italic text'''