The Forgotten Christian Middle East: A Region Baptized Long Before Islam
THE FORGOTTEN CHRISTIAN MIDDLE EAST: A Region Baptized Long Before Islam I would like to clarify a misconception. Here’s the truth most Christians never hear: Every major Middle Eastern country was touched by Christianity centuries before Islam. Not just Israel. Not just Egypt. But Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. These were not “Muslim nations.” They were Christian heartlands. Let’s break it down country by country so you can see the pattern clearly. Iran (Persia) • Christianity reached Persia in the 1st century • Some of the world’s oldest monasteries are in Iran • Armenian and Assyrian Christians lived there for nearly 2,000 years • The Persian Empire appears throughout Scripture (Cyrus, Darius, Esther, Daniel) Iran was part of the Christian world long before Islam. — Syria • The word “Christian” was first used in Antioch, in Syria • Paul was converted on the road to Damascus • Early councils, monasteries, and saints came from Syrian Christianity • The Syriac Churc...