The Middle East Council of Churches : a brief presentation -- The funding bodies -- The Book Committee -- Forward [sic] / Guirguis Ibrahim Saleh -- Preface / Afaf Deeb-Kandis -- Introduction to the Arabic edition / the Editorial Committee -- Introduction to the English edition / Habib Badr -- Christianity in the 1st century. In the context of the Mediterranean civilizations : Judaic, Greek, Roman and Asian / Pierre Canivet. In the context of the Mediterranean civilizations : Coptic civilization / Gawdat Gabra -- Christianity in the Middle East, in the 2nd and 3rd centuries / Pierre Maraval -- Autocracy and religion in Byzantium, in the 4th and 5th centuries / Alain Ducellier -- The rise of Christian thought. Theological thought in the School of Alexandria / Tadros Yacoub Malaty. The theological schools of Antioch, Edessa and Nisibis / Sebastian Brock -- The shaping of Christian thought.

The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople / Joseph Buhagiar. The Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries / Metropolitan Bishoy -- The rise of Eastern churches and their heritage (5th to 8th century) : the Arab Christian tradition / Irfan Shahid --The rise of Eastern churches and their heritage (5th to 8th century) : churches of the Syriac tradition. The West Syriacs / Mār Sāwirus Isḥāk Sāka. The Assyrians (East Syriacs) / Mār Bawai Soro. The Maronites / Elias Khalifeh el-Hachem -- The rise of Eastern churches and their heritage (5th to 8th century) : churches of the Byzantine tradition / George Aṭiyyeh -- The rise of Eastern churches and their heritage (5th to 8th century) : churches of the Coptic tradition. The Copts / Gawdat Gabra. The Nubians / Gawdat Gabra. The Ethiopians / Getatchew Haili -- The rise of Eastern churches and their heritage : the Armenian Church : cultural role and heritage / Manoushag Boyadjian -- Ascetic movement in the East : origins, development and dissemination. In Egypt / Pope Shenouda III. In Syria, Iraq and Palestine / Shafiq AbouZayd -- The deaconess in the Syriac Church / Clémence Hélou -- Arab Christianity before the rise of Islam / Irfan Shahid -- Christianity in the early Islamic decades (610-660) / Gérard Troupeau -- Christianity in the Umayyad era (661-750) / Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim -- The role of Christians in the Abbasid renaissance in Iraq and Syria (750-1050) / Samir Khalil Samir -- The Copts in the Faṭimīd era / Coptic Center for Social Studies -- Christians of the Middle East under the Franks. Motives for the Crusades : a European perspective / Jonathan Riley-Smith. The Crusades : a Middle Eastern perspective / Farah Firzli -- Christians in the non-Arab Islamic eras. Christians in the Ayyūbīd era / Farah Firzli. Christians under the Mamlūks / Jorgen Nielsen -- Christianity in the first Ottoman era (1516-1650) / Asterios Argyriou -- The development of Catholicism in the Middle East (16th to 19th century) / Bernard Heyberger -- Christians in the second Ottoman era (17th century). [Christians in the second Ottoman era (17th century)] / Vicenzo Poggi. The Copts / Samir Morcos -- Catholic missions in the Middle East / Salim Daccache -- Evangelical missions and churches in the Middle East. Introduction. Lebanon, Syria and Turkey / Habib Badr. Palestine and Jordan / Rafiq Farah. Egypt and Sudan / Adib Naguib Salamah. Iraq and the Gulf / Lewis R. Scudder, Jr. -- The renaissance of churches at the end of the Ottoman era (excluding Egypt) : the 18th and 19th centuries / Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen -- Revival of the Egyptian church since the middle of the 19th century / Metropolitan Bishoy -- Christians and the Arab Renaissance / Jerôme Chahine -- Origins of the principle of citizenship in the tradition of the Copts and the history of their country / William Suleiman Qalada -- Christians in the Arab East : an interpretation of contemporary history / Tarek Mitri -- Ecumenism in the Middle East. History / Jean Corbon. A personal experience / Gabriel Habib. Future horizons / Riad Jarjour -- Ecumenism on the threshold of the third millenium / Catholicos Aram I.

Further reading - p.: 913-926; Index of hist. places - p.: 927-930; Index of hist. prop. names - p.: 931-933.