Content area
Full Text
Habib Badr, et al, eds., Christianity: A History in the Middle East. Beirut, Lebanon: Middle East Council of Churches, 2005. Pp. 934. $80.00.
This book is an English translation of a work that appeared first in 2001 in Arabic under the title Al Masihiyya 'Abra Trikhiha fi al Mashreq. It began as a project of the Studies and Research Program of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) (5). Since the book was a product of the MECC, it is characterized by great diversity and looks like an encyclopedia. The text of the English book is 934 pages long consisting of 46 articles, organized as 31 chapters, and written by 41 contributors. Of the 46 articles, 24 were written in Arabic, 13 in French, and nine in English (29). The 41 authors come from 10 different countries, five Arabic and five Western; 29 contributors come from the region of the Middle East and 12 from outside it (35).
In addition to reflecting the diversity of the contributors, the project reflects the diversity within MECC itself. The Council of Churches is made up of four Christian families: The Eastern Orthodox (Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Cyprus); the Oriental Orthodox (Syriac, Armenian, Coptic); Latin (Catholic, including Maronite); and Evangelical (Protestant: Reformed, Episcopal, Lutheran). It was deemed best not to have one author write on behalf of the four families but to allow each one to present its own history, heritage, and point of view, thus resulting in the 46 essays by 41 contributors. This decision was a bold step in the light of previous ill-feelings and animosities among these families who, in earlier times, had ex-communicated each other. A clear example that illustrates these disagreements can be seen on page 210. The...