Middle East
See an interactive map of the Middle East.
Crisis in Syria
Get the latest updates on the ongoing crisis in Syria here.
Visit Our Partners in the Middle East
Opportunity for PC(USA) church leaders and mission pastors to accompany World Mission staff to the Middle East. If interested, please contact Rylan Truman at (502)569-5324.
News
Arab Christians have built hope in hopeless situations
"We do not live in the mentality of the ghetto, nor in the mentality of a minority complex, nor do we live as dhimmi (dependent) people. We have always been, as Arab Christians, building our societies, loyal to our countries and nationalities, bringing hope in hopeless situations."
A Palestinian Christian speaks at the WCC / MECC conference on the Christian presence and witness in the Middle East
Churches express solidarity with Christians in the Middle East
Church leaders call for prayer after kidnapping of Syrian Christian leaders
Syria war fuels Christian flight from the Middle East
Middle Eastern churches discuss future of Christians
Future uncertain for Syrian Christians, church leader says
THE CHURCH AND THE ARAB awakening
Background
The Middle East has been of prayerful concern for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for more than a century and a half. Over the years, educators, theological teachers, medical teams, rural health workers, agricultural experts, engineers and other specialists have been sent as missionaries by the Presbyterian Church to Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Israel, Iran, Iraq, other Gulf States and Afghanistan. In the 1800s Presbyterians are credited with the establishment of distinguished educational and health institutions in the region. Among those are the American University of Beirut, Beirut College for Women (later called Beirut University College and now Lebanese American University), the American University at Cairo and an impressive number of high-quality private primary and secondary schools and colleges. The American Mission Hospitals at Tanta and Assiut (Egypt) and Hamlin Hospital in the hills of Lebanon and places where many have experienced the love of God and the healing presence of Christ. Women’s formal education was an early initiative of Presbyterians in the region, recognizing that the strength of any society depends primarily on equal opportunities in education. The long vision of Presbyterians for theological education and rural-urban evangelism was primarily responsible for the development and growth of many vibrant new churches and two strong seminaries, one in Cairo (The Evangelical Theological Seminary) and the other in Beirut (The Near East School of Theology).
Middle Eastern Christians trace their faith traditions to the Apostolic age.
Today our church’s mission commitment is carried out through partnership with churches, church institutions, ecumenical bodies, Christian development agencies and health care programs, seeking to make known the love and compassion of Jesus Christ, and with nongovernmental organizations committed to promoting justice, peace, interfaith understanding and cooperation, stewardship of the environment, human and civil rights, religious liberty and the improvement of the quality of life.
The Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches brings together Protestant denominations throughout the Middle East.
Countries
All countries in the Middle East region are listed below; countries with web pages are highlighted.
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Afghanistan Algeria
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Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Yemen
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Staff
Amgad Beblawi, area coordinator for the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia
Rylan Truman, administrative assistant
Regional liaisons for the Middle East
Douglas Dicks, regional liaison for Israel-Palestine, Jordan and Egypt
Nuhad Tomeh, regional liaison for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait
For more information about other PC(USA) mission co-workers in the Middle East, please contact the office for the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia at 888-728-7228 ext.5324.
Resources
Plentiful harvest: Presbyterians’ commitment to education is bearing fruit in rising aspirations for freedom across the Middle East —Presbyterians Today, August 2012 issue
American Presbyterians and the Middle East Conflict —American Presbyterians, Fall 1990
Arabic-speaking Christianity, a lecture by the Rev. Dr. Kenneth Bailey
Horizons, September/October 2010 issue, "Christians in the Middle East"
Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth
Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace
Read about Christians in the Middle East (from the BBC)
See the 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 298, 315
October 22
November 8 (Arabian Peninsula)
(See also individual countries)
Support the work of World Mission among our ministry partners in the Middle East.
