The Arab Christian Heritage

By Dr. Fr. Labib Kobti

1-              Introduction:

We all know that the Arabs existed before Islam. They were mentioned in history and in the Bible centuries before the coming of the Arab Prophet Muhammad.

Kingdoms like the Gassanids and the Muntherites were Christian kingdoms (from the third century to the eighth century) modeled after the Roman and the Byzantine Empires. Some Bedouin tribes were also Christians. They had a common language, the Arabic language.

We know also that mainly the Christian tradition at that time was using the Armenian and Syriac languages in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, the Chaldean and Assyrian languages in Iraq, the Coptic language in Egypt, the Arabic in those kingdoms mentioned above and between Arab Bedouins. Those languages are used still now in the liturgy of the Eastern Churches. Greek and Latin were the languages of culture and philosophy. They were used everywhere in the Roman or the Greek Empire had their colonies or influence. Latin and Greek are used in the liturgy of the Latin Catholic Church (the Roman Catholic). Greek is used in the liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church.

2- What is the Arab Christian Heritage?

Arab Christian Fathers started to use the Arabic language so as to defend their Christian faith and beliefs. They wrote in different issues: theology, philosophy, interpretation of scriptures, apologetics, liturgy, history of the church, and many other things that do not concern faith like medicine, history, chemistry, geography etc. They used their old languages: Armenian, Syriac, Chaldean, Assyrian, Coptic and translated many of their books on different issues into Arabic.

They translated from Greek and Latin what the Greek Fathers and Latin Fathers wrote. Then, after the coming of Islam, they started to write in Arabic to their people and to the Muslims in order to speak about their faith.

The Arabic language was imposed first in Egyptian the year 780 (about 140 years after the coming of Islam). Then, slowly, other Arabic Countries of today started to use the Arabic languages an official Language, as in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon etc.

It is the writings of the Christian Fathers. They gave us a full idea about their faith, beliefs, liturgy, way of life, traditions, history of the Church, apologetics etc. They wrote also on issues other than faith, like medicine, philosophy, geography, history, chemistry etc.

The first Northern Arabic letters were found on the church doors in Zabad on the South East of Aleppo in Syria on 512 A.D. and another in Irharan on 568 A.D. In Mecca itself, centuries before Islam, the Arab people used the Northern Arabic letters. Christians there had their schools and churches. They used Arabic in their liturgy poetry and in commerce.

We can find the sites of the churches, temples and houses of our ancestors everywhere in present day Arab Countries especially in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.

In different region of the actual Arabic Countries, Christians had Eparchies (dioceses and bishops). All over the actual Iraq, Syria Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia (Mekka itself), Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Palestine etc. You can find the sites of churches, convents and Christian centers and schools. Today, archeology tells us a lot about these monuments. Recently a convent was discovered in Karbala (Iraq) that returns to the first century of Christianity. The oldest one that was discovered ever since was in the Fourth Century.

3-              Who are the Arab Christian Fathers?

"Father" is a bishop, a priest , or a simple lay man who wrote in Arabic or translated to Arabic from the 8th to 14th Century what we call today the "Arab Christian Heritage". A lot of those Fathers were martyred with their folk defending their Christian faith and traditions.

Arab Christian are the first converted to Christianity, "the first Christians ever" and who spoke Arabic, wrote in Arabic, translated into Arabic and declared their faith in Arabic language later on between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Extracts from the article by Father Labib Kobti “The Christian Arab Heritage” from www.al-bushra.org