Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(; ; ) is the third largest religion in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, after

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. At the end of 2022, Christians made up 1.9% of the Israeli population, numbering approximately 185,000. 75.8% of the Christians in Israel are Arab Christians. Christians make up 6.9% of the Arab-Israeli population. Ten Christian churches are formally recognized under Israel's confessional system, for the self-regulation and state recognition of status issues, such as marriage and divorce: the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

, the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

, the Latin Catholic Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Maronite Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church. However, the practice of religion is free, with no restrictions on the practice of other denominations. Approximately 300

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

have converted from Islam according to one 2014 estimate, and most of them are part of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. About 20,000

Israelis Israelis (; ) are the Israeli citizenship law, citizens and nationals of the Israel, State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Israeli Jews, Jews and Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percen ...

practice

Messianic Judaism Messianic Judaism is a syncretic Abrahamic religious sect that combines Christian theology with select elements of Judaism. It considers itself to be a form of Judaism but is generally considered to be a form of Christianity, including by ...

, usually considered a syncretist form of Christianity. Arab Christians are mostly adherents of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (60% of Arab Christians in Israel). Some 40% of all Israeli Christians are affiliated with the Melkite Greek Church, and some 30% with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Smaller numbers are split between the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with 13% of Christians, as well as an unknown number of

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

Christians, about 13,000 Maronites and other Syriac Christians, 3,000 to 5,000 adherents of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

churches, a community of around 1,000 Coptic Christians, and small branches of

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. The number of Christians in Israel is higher than in the Occupied Palestinian territories. Christians in Israel are historically bound with neighbouring Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian Christians. The cities and communities where most Christians in Israel reside are

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

, Shefa-Amr, Jish, Mi'ilya, Fassuta and Kafr Yasif. The Christian communities in Israel run numerous schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, homes for the elderly, dormitories, family and youth centers,

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

, and guesthouses. The Christian community in Israel is one of the few growing Christian populations in the Middle East. Israeli Arab Christians generally have

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

al achievements and enjoy higher incomes than their Druze and Muslim counterparts.

History

Early Christians and the Roman period

Early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

is generally reckoned by Church historians to begin with the

ministry of Jesus The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with Baptism of Jesus, his baptism near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem in Christianity, Jerusalem in Judea, following the Last Supper with his Disciple (Chri ...

( 27–30) and end with the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea ( ; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325. This ec ...

(325). It is typically divided into two periods: the ''Apostolic Age'' ( 30–100, when the first apostles were still alive) and the ''Ante-Nicene Period'' ( 100–325). Driven by a universalist logic, Christianity has been, from its beginnings, a missionary faith with global aspirations. It first spread through the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...

along the trade and travel routes followed by merchants, soldiers, and migrating tribes. It achieved critical mass in the years between 150 and 250 when it moved from fewer than 50,000 adherents to over a million. This provided enough adopters for its growth rate to be self-sustaining.

Jewish–Hellenistic background

originated in 1st-century

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

from a sect of apocalyptic

Jewish Christian Jewish Christians were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Roman Judea during the late Second Temple period, under the Herodian tetrarchy (1st century AD). These Jews believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and ...

s within the realm of

Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is the Judaism, Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), destruction of Jerusalem in ...

. The basic tenets of the Jewish religion during this era were ethical monotheism and the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, or the Mosaic Law. In this period, the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

was still central to Judaism, but

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s were also established as institutions for

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

and the reading of Jewish sacred texts. The Hebrew Bible developed during the

Second Temple Period The Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years (516 BCE – 70 CE) during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstructio ...

, as the Jews decided which religious texts were of divine origin; the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

, compiled by the Jewish scribes and scholars of the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, comprises the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

24 books that they considered authoritative. The Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria produced a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called "the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

", that included books later identified as the

Apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

, while the

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

produced their own edition of the Torah, the

Samaritan Pentateuch The Samaritan Pentateuch, also called the Samaritan Torah (Samaritan Hebrew: , ), is the Religious text, sacred scripture of the Samaritans. Written in the Samaritan script, it dates back to one of the ancient versions of the Torah that existe ...

; according to the Dutch–Israeli biblical scholar and linguist

Emanuel Tov Emanuel Tov (; born Menno Toff, 15 September 1941) is a Dutch–Israeli biblical scholar and linguist, emeritus J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible Studies in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has been intimately invo ...

, professor of Bible Studies at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, both of these ancient editions of the Hebrew Bible differ significantly from the medieval Masoretic Text. Currently, all the main non-Protestant (

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, and

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...

)

Christian denominations A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

accept as canonical the

Deuterocanonical books The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be canonical books of the Old Testament by the Catholic Chur ...

, which were excluded from the modern

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Protestant Bible. The Septuagint was influential on early Christianity as it was the Hellenistic Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible primarily used by the 1st-century Christian authors. First century Iudaea province

The

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

, and

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

climate of 1st-century Roman Judea and its neighbouring

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

was extremely diverse and constantly characterized by socio-political turmoil, with numerous Judaic movements that were both religious and political. The ancient Roman–Jewish historian

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...

described the four most prominent sects within Second Temple Judaism:

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

Sadducees The Sadducees (; ) were a sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Sadducees are described in contemporary literary sources in contrast to ...

, Essenes, and an unnamed "fourth philosophy", which modern historians recognize to be the

Zealots The Zealots were members of a Jewish political movements, Jewish political movement during the Second Temple period who sought to incite the people of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Land ...

and Sicarii. The 1st century BC and 1st century AD had numerous charismatic religious leaders contributing to what would become the ''

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

'' of

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

, including the Jewish sages Yohanan ben Zakkai and Hanina ben Dosa. Jewish messianism, and the Jewish Messiah concept, has its

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

in the

apocalyptic literature Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post- Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. '' Apocalypse'' () is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding o ...

produced between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century BC, promising a future "anointed" leader (messiah or king) from the

Davidic line The Davidic line refers to the descendants of David, who established the House of David ( ) in the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. In Judaism, the lineage is based on texts from the Hebrew Bible ...

to resurrect the

Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

Kingdom of God, in place of the foreign rulers of the time.

Ministry of Jesus

The main sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four

canonical gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

, and to a lesser extent the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

and the Pauline epistles. According to the Gospels, Jesus is the Son of God, who was crucified in

. His followers believed that he was raised from the dead and exalted by God, heralding the coming

Kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" ...

Apostolic Age

Broad overview of geography relevant to paul of tarsus

The Apostolic Age is named after the Apostles and their missionary activities. It holds special significance in Christian tradition as the age of the direct apostles of Jesus. A

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...

for the Apostolic Age is the

, but its historical accuracy has been debated and its coverage is partial, focusing especially from Acts 15 onwards on the ministry of Paul, and ending around 62 AD with Paul preaching in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

. The earliest followers of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

were a sect of apocalyptic

s within the realm of

. The early Christian groups were strictly Jewish, such as the Ebionites, and the early Christian community in

, led by James the Just, brother of Jesus. According to Acts 9, they described themselves as "disciples of the Lord" and ollowers"of the Way", and according to Acts 11, a settled community of disciples at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

were the first to be called "Christians". Some of the early Christian communities attracted God-fearers, i.e. Greco-Roman sympathizers which made an allegiance to Judaism but refused to convert and therefore retained their Gentile (non-Jewish) status, who already visited Jewish synagogues. The inclusion of Gentiles posed a problem, as they could not fully observe the

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

. Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

, persecuted the early Jewish Christians, then converted and started his mission among the Gentiles. The main concern of Paul's letters is the inclusion of Gentiles into God's

New Covenant The New Covenant () is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...

, sending the message that faith in Christ is sufficient for

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. Because of this inclusion of Gentiles, early Christianity changed its character and gradually grew apart from Judaism during the first two centuries of the Christian Era. The fourth-century church fathers Eusebius and Epiphanius of Salamis cite a tradition that before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 the Jerusalem Christians had been warned to flee to Pella in the region of the Decapolis across the Jordan River.

Late antiquity

In contrast to other groups of Christians in the Near East such as the largely Assyrian

Nestorians Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinary, doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian t ...

, the vast majority of Christians in Judea (later renamed

Syria Palaestina Syria Palaestina ( ) was the renamed Roman province formerly known as Judaea, following the Roman suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, in what then became known as the Palestine region between the early 2nd and late 4th centuries AD. The pr ...

) were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the emperors of the Roman Empire and later Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD (which would be part of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

after the Great Schism), and were known by other Syrian Christians as Melkites (followers of the king).

Helena, mother of Constantine I Flavia Julia Helena (; , ''Helénē''; – 330), also known as Helena of Constantinople and in Christianity as Saint Helena, was an ''List of Augustae, Augusta'' of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. She was b ...

was responsible for the beautification or construction of the

Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, and the Church of Eleona on the Mount of Olives; sites of Christ's birth and ascension, respectively. The Melkites, during the late Roman period and under the Byzantine Empire were Hellenized, and abandoned Western Aramaic languages in favor of Greek. By the 7th century,

and the Byzantine province of

had become major centers of Greek and Christian culture in the Orient.

Early Middle Ages

Due to the Arab Muslim invasions of the Middle East (7th–11th centuries), Christians living in the region underwent a gradual process of

Arabization Arabization or Arabicization () is a sociology, sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arabs, Arab, meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic, Arabic language, Arab cultu ...

in which they abandoned

and Greek in favor of

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. The Melkites began abandoning Greek for

, a process which made them the most Arabicized Christians in the Levant. Most Arab

Ghassanids The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian state, Christian kingdom unde ...

remained Christian and joined Melkite and Syriac communities within what is now

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. The 11th-century Melkite bishop of Gaza Sulayman al-Ghazzi holds a unique place in the history of Arab Christian literature as author of the first '' diwan'' of Christian religious poetry in Arabic. His poems give insights into the life of Palestinian Christians and the

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

they suffered under the rule of Fatimid caliph al-Hakim (). During the

, the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

was the scene of several military conflicts between Christians and Muslims. In 1081, following the Byzantines' confrontation with the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

and the fear of Turkish expansion in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

sought aid from Western Christendom. The emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

asked Pope Urban II for help; the latter proposed a holy war, the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

in 1096. The call for a crusade gained momentum, promising indulgences for sins. Despite conflicts with the Byzantine leadership, they captured Antioch (1098) and eventually

(1099). The conquests were marked by brutality and savagery against Muslims and Jews. The Second Crusade (1147–1148) followed a generation later and aimed to recover lost territories. It faced internal strife and external betrayals, and resulted in failure. The

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

(1189–1193) was in response to Saladin's recapture of Jerusalem. Notable European leaders like Richard the Lion-heart fought in the Crusader, however they failed to recapture Jerusalem. The

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

(1201–1204), initiated by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

, it faced financial and organizational challenges. Deviating from their intended path, the Crusaders sacked Zara and

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, causing lasting damage to the Byzantine Empire. The Crusaders' actions accelerated the decline of the Byzantine Christians in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ottoman rule

Since they are considered " People of the Book" in the Islamic religion, Christians under Muslim rule were subjected to the status of '' dhimmi'' (along with

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Gnostics Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

, Mandeans, and Zoroastrians), which was inferior to the status of Muslims. Christians and other religious minorities thus faced religious discrimination and

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

in that they were banned from proselytising (for Christians, it was forbidden to evangelize or spread Christianity) in the lands invaded by the Arab Muslims on pain of death, they were banned from bearing arms, undertaking certain professions, and were obligated to dress differently in order to distinguish themselves from Arabs. Under the

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

(''sharīʿa''), Non-Muslims were obligated to pay the ''

jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

'' and '' kharaj'' taxes, together with periodic heavy ransom levied upon Christian communities by Muslim rulers in order to fund military campaigns, all of which contributed a significant proportion of income to the Islamic states while conversely reducing many Christians to poverty, and these financial and social hardships forced many Christians to convert to Islam. Christians unable to pay these taxes were forced to surrender their children to the Muslim rulers as payment who would sell them as slaves to Muslim households where they were forced to convert to Islam. Under the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Christians and Jews were treated as '' dhimmi'', i.e. Non-Muslim subjects. They were granted the freedom to practice their religion under certain conditions, and were given a level of communal autonomy as outlined in the ''Millet'' system. Religious communities falling under the ''dhimmi'' category were required to pay the ''

'' and '' kharaj'' taxes, exclusive to them. Furthermore, ''dhimmi'' were bound by specific rules that didn't apply to Muslim citizens, including the prohibition from attempting to convert Muslims to their religious faith.

Modern period

The territory of present-day Israel came under control of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

following the defeat and collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The British established an administration in the region called

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. Following the Balfour Declaration (1917) and the visit of the Zionist Commission to Mandatory Palestine (1918), local Christians participated in forming groups which opposed Zionism, called " Muslim-Christian Associations". During the 1948 Palestine war, Palestinian Christians they were directly affected by the war and the creation of the

state of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

with what is called the " nakba" or disaster for the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

. Generally, most Christians were expelled like Muslims from the territory that is now Israel, especially in the main cities and

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by ...

, but some were allowed to remain in their homes, especially in the lower, central and Upper Galilee, because the Galilee region was conquered at the end of the war, the area was less strategic,

needed Arab human resources in the Galilee, and the international pressure that was visible at that time there. Four Christian villages were depopulated, razed, and had their residents expelled, such as Al-Bassa, Iqrit, Al-Mansura and Kafr Bir'im. Massacres of Christians were conducted at the villages of Eilabun and Al-Bassa.

, at that time a town with a Christian majority, was spared devastation after agreeing to halt resistance and surrender, and because Israel did not want to visibly provoke an outcry in the Christian world. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since the reunification of Jerusalem after the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

(1967), the Christian as well as Jewish and Islamic holy sites were opened for multinational pilgrims by the Israeli authorities for the first time since 1948, when the Kingdom of Jordan took over the eastern half of the city. The Christian population in Israel has increased with the immigration of many mixed families from the former Soviet Union (1989 to late 1990s), and through the influx of approximately 7,000 Christian Maronites from Lebanon in 2000. Recently, a further increase in Christianity came with arrival of many foreign workers and asylum seekers, some of Christian background (for instance from the Philippines,

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, and

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

). As a result, numerous churches have opened in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. , the Government - Christians Forum was formed in Jerusalem by Mordechai Zaken, head of the Minorities Affairs Desk at the Ministry of Public Security, to address the concerns of Christians as a minority group. A 2021 survey by CBS found that 84% of Christians were satisfied with life in Israel. The survey also found Arab Christian women were the most educated demographic in Israel. Concern was expressed by the patriarchs, however, over extremist groups in Israeli society. In 2023, the Latin Patriarch—the head of the Latin Church in the Holy Land—alleged that a shift toward

far-right politics Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

under the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu led to greater attacks on Christians. The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and the Israeli chief of police condemned the violence against Christians. The Israeli police chief stated the police conducted operations to "eradicate" the phenomena. However, Christians have said they do not necessarily feel protected by authorities. In March 2023, Knesset legislators Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher submitted a bill that would have banned the proselytizing of Christianity in Israel. Due to an uproar from Evangelical Christians in America, who generally support Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that the bill would not move forward.

Affiliations

Catholic Church

Six of the particular churches of the

have jurisdiction within Israel: the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (by far the largest Catholic church in Israel), the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

(by far the dominant Catholic church worldwide), the

, the

, the Syriac Catholic Church and the Maronite Church. According to 2020 estimates, Catholics make up more than half of all Christians in Israel. The majority are of Arab descent, while there is a small community of Hebrew Catholics.

Eastern Orthodox churches

Around 30% of Christians in Israel are adherents of the

, mostly to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has jurisdiction over all Israel and Palestine. Eastern Orthodox Christians in Israel and Palestine have many churches, monasteries, seminaries, and other religious institutions all over the land, particularly in Jerusalem. Israel also has many followers of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, mainly through interfaith marriages and immigration from the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(1989–1990s).

Oriental Orthodox churches

Oriental Orthodoxy in Israel is represented mainly by adherents of the

, represented by the

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James (, , ), is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian Apostolic Church is officially recognised under Israel's confessional syste ...

, and adherents of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Protestantism

Since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, there has been a small

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

community, composed of both Arab Christians, who changed their religious affiliation to Protestant teachings, and European and American residents moving to the area, and divided in several denominations. According to 2020 estimates, Protestants make up less than one in ten of Christians in Israel.

Anglican Communion

The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, whose Bishop of Jerusalem has its seat in the St. George's Cathedral of Jerusalem. Other prominent Episcopal churches in the Holy Land include the Christ Church in Jerusalem (built in 1849, it is inside the Jaffa Gate of the contested Old City of Jerusalem) and the Christ Church in

(built in 1871); they were both built during the Ottoman rule of the Holy Land. The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East counts 35,000 members, scattered all over the region while the Diocese of Jerusalem counts 7,000 members and 29 congregations.

Baptists

The Association of Baptist Churches in Israel, established in 1965, is part of the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

, the home mission for Baptist churches in Israel and the "largest network of evangelical churches in the country", counting 18 churches, 1000 baptized members and a community of 3000 people. The Baptist Village (''Kfar HaBaptistim''), north of

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, was established in 1955 as a farming community with "a boarding school for orphans ... now used mainly for conferences and camps."

Lutherans

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

denomination, part of the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global Communion (religion), communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of L ...

, that has congregations also in

and

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. First recognized as an autonomous religious community by

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until Death and state funeral of King Hussein, his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hu ...

in 1959,Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land
History and Mission
the church currently has 2,500 members and six congregations. The cathedral church is the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, where the Bishop has its seat and that is the only congregation in Israel.

Messianic Jews

The Messianic Jewish movement, usually considered a syncretist form of Christianity, emerged in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the 1960s. The number of Messianic Jews in Israel is estimated at around 20,000. In 2006, there were at least twelve Messianic congregations in Jerusalem. On 23 February 2007, Israeli '' Channel 2'' released a news documentary about the growing number of Messianic Jews in Israel. Messianic Jews are not considered ''bona-fide'' Jews under Israel's

Law of Return The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...

. (''See also'': Rufeisen v. Minister of the Interior). The Law of Return stipulates that a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

is someone with a Jewish mother or someone who has

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...

and is not a member of another religion. The Israeli Chief Rabbinate requires documents proving the Jewishness of one’s mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother when applying for

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

. The British Office of the Chief Rabbi (OCR) has underlined the basic principle that a child is not recognised by the OCR and other bodies as Jewish unless their mother is Jewish, or they underwent a conversion recognized by the body.

Restorationism

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

have been present for decades in Israel. By 1999 it was estimated there were about 850 Jehovah's Witnesses in Israel. In 2020, there were 1,957 active members, organised in 31 congregations, while 3,653 people attended the annual celebration of Lord's Evening Meal. Israeli JW congregants have faced some religious persecution in the past century: for instance, in March 1997, a mob of over 250 ultra-orthodox Jews attacked one of their meeting halls.Alt URL
/ref>

Mormons

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) is present in Israel with 338 members and three congregations. Israeli LDS congregants hold their Sabbath services on Saturday. In 1989 the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, sponsored by the LDS Church, established the satellite campus BYU Jerusalem Center on Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

Relations with other religions

Christian–Jewish relations

Background

-speakers call Christians ''Notzri'' (also romanized ''Notsri''), which means Nazarene (originated from Nazareth).Bromiley, Geoffrey W., "Nazarene," ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: K-P'', pp. 499–500. The word is cognate to the Arabic '' Nasrani''. The Israeli Declaration of Independence, issued in 1948, describes the country as a

Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland for the Jewish people. Overview Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewi ...

but extends religious freedoms to its inhabitants by stating that the State of Israel will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions.

Tensions

Some ultra-Orthodox Jews have been reported to have a decades-old practice of cursing and spitting on Christian clergymen in

, and there have been cases where churches and cemeteries were defaced by price taggers. When the doors of the Latrun

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monastery were set aflame and the phrase "Jesus was a monkey" was painted on its walls in September 2012, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

reacted with a rare official complaint against the Israeli government's inaction. In June 2015, an auxiliary building of the Church of the Multiplication was significantly damaged by an arson attack and its walls defaced by Hebrew graffiti, bearing the words "the false gods will be eliminated" (quoted from the Aleinu prayer). This attack was labelled as "terrorism" by Israeli officials. In June and July 2023, Jewish extremists repeatedly stormed a Catholic church and monastery in Haifa, leading to protests by the local Christians and clashes at the site between them and the extremists. From 2018 to 2023, a total of 157 attacks on Christian sanctities in Israel by extremist Jews were documented.

Prosperity of the Christian community

Gabriel Naddaf argues that Israel is the only country in which Christian communities have been able to thrive in the Middle East. However, there has also been criticism by Palestinian Christians of this claim, with such statements being called a "manipulation" of the facts. Members of the Palestinian Christian community claim that such statements attempt to hide the discrimination that Arab Christians face within Israel due to alleged discrimination against Arabs as well as the effect of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza on the Christian population in these areas.

United Allies

Recently, there has been a steady undercurrent of Arab Christians who seek deeper integration into Israeli society. Under the leadership of Greek Orthodox priest Gabriel Naddaf, United Allies is a political party that advocates Christian enlistment in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and a more distinct societal separation of Christians from Muslims. This separation is partly based on the purported fact that Christians in Israel are not technically Arabs, seeing as they were present in the holy land long before the Arab conquest, hallmarked by the Siege of Jerusalem. This distinction is in the process of being formalized into law, as the Likud government is currently drafting legislation to grant this request. This new attitude is founded largely by the perception by some that only in Israel the Christian population is growing due to natural increase and no state persecution, seeing the entire Middle East, except Lebanon, as where Christianity is and has been rapidly on the decline. In addition, increasing numbers of Christian leaders and community members are pointing to Muslim violence as a threat to their way of life in Arab majority cities and towns. Sons of the New Testament as a party and a national movement has been met with wide admiration from the Jews of Israel, harshly negative scorn from the Muslim Arabs, and mixed reactions from the Christians themselves. Because of Israel's parliamentary system where each party must attain at least 2% of the popular vote, Sons of the New Testament must be supported by non-Christians to enter the Knesset. In its strongest performance since it began contesting elections in 2019, the party's received a total of 677 votes, or 0.01% of the vote, in the 2020 Israeli legislative election. In the 2022 Israeli legislative election, the party received 234 votes.

Interfaith institutions

In 2008, Shlomo Riskin, the chief rabbi of Efrat (Israeli settlement), Efrat, established the Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC), the first Orthodox Jewish institution to dialogue with the Christian world on a religious and theological basis. The center, currently located in

, engages in Hebraic Bible Study for Christians, from both the local community and from abroad, has organized numerous interfaith praise initiatives, such as ''Day to Praise'', and has established many fund-raising initiatives such as ''Blessing Bethlehem'' which aim to aid the Persecution of Christians, persecuted Christian community of

, in part, and the larger Persecution of Christians in the Middle East, persecuted Christian population of the Middle East region and throughout the world.

Christian–Muslim relations

A 2012 survey indicated that Christians in Israel were prosperous and well-educated, but some feared that Muslim intimidation would provoke an exodus to the West. The Christian communities in Nazareth tend to be wealthier and better educated compared to other Arabs elsewhere in Israel, and Christians in Nazareth occupy the majority of the top positions in the town: three hospitals and bank managers, judges and school principals and faculties. The socio-economic gap between the Christians' wealth and Muslims' poverty led sometimes to sectarian crises. Recently there has been an increase of anti-Christian incidents in the Nazareth area, inspired by the rise of jihadist forces in the Middle East. Many Christians have complained of being targeted by Muslims, whom they believe are trying to either drive them out of cities that have traditionally had large Christian populations, or to "persuade" them to convert. In 1999, for example, radical Muslims in Nazareth rioted as they attempted to wrest land from a major Christian shrine to build a mosque. In one incident during 2014, a flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was installed in front of a church in Nazareth. There has also been increasing incitement and violence by the Muslims against Christians who voice their support for the Israel Defense Forces. In a recent case, the son of Gabriel Naddaf, a prominent Eastern Orthodox priest who is regarded as being pro-Israel, was severely beaten. Naddaf has experienced considerable hostility from Muslims in recent years. A 2015 study estimated that some 300 Christians were from a Muslim background in Israel. A 2016 study by Pew Research Center, Pew research points to the convergence of political views of both Muslims and Christians over issues like– Israel cannot be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time (Christians: 72%; Muslims: 63%), US being too supportive of Israel (Christians: 86%; Muslims: 75%), Israeli government not making enough efforts to make peace with Palestine (Christians: 80%; Muslims: 72%).

Demographics

Israel has a population of 182,000 Christians. As of 2021, it was the only growing Christian community in the Middle East. In 2019, 77.5% of Christians in Israel were Arab Christians, representing 7.2% of the total Arab citizens of Israel, Arab population in the country. Christians in Israel population pyramid in 2021

Christians in Israel population pyramid in 2021

Education

Christian schools in Israel are among the best schools in the country, and while those schools represent only 4% of the Arab schooling sector, about 34% of Arab citizens of Israel, Arab university students come from Christian schools, and about 87% of the Arab citizens of Israel, Israeli Arabs in the high tech sector have been educated in Christian schools.

High school and matriculation exams

In 2012, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics noted that when taking into account the data recorded over the years, Arab Christians fared the best in terms of education in comparison to any other group receiving an education in Israel. In 2016 Arab Christians had the highest rates of success at matriculation examinations, namely 73.9%, both in comparison to Muslim and Druze in Israel, Druze Israelis (41% and 51.9% respectively), and to the students from the different branches of the

(majority Jewish) education system considered as one group (55.1%).

Higher education

According to various reports, Arab Christians are one of the most educated groups in Israel. According to data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2023), Arab Christians in Israel have one of the highest levels of educational attainment among all religious communities. Specifically, 55% of Arab Christians have completed college degree or postgraduate education. According to data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2019), Arab Christian students were less likely than their Arab Muslim counterparts to pursue fields such as teacher training, business, or paramedical studies. However, a higher proportion of Arab Christian students chose to study fields such as law, medicine, computer sciences, mathematics, engineering and architecture. In 2023, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that Arab Christian women were the most highly educated demographic in Israel. According to a 2016 study by the Pew Research Center, 33% of Jews (based on a sample of 3,020) have a college degree (ranging from 13% for Haredi Judaism, Haredi to 45% for Hiloni), compared to 18% for Christians (based on a sample of 375). The percentage of Arab Christian women who attend institutions of higher education is also higher than that of other groups. The rate of students studying in the field of medicine was higher among Christian Arab students than that of all other sectors. In 2013, Arab Christian students were also the vanguard in terms of eligibility for

, as the Christian Arab students had the highest rates of receiving Psychometric Entrance Test scores which make them eligible for acceptance into universities, data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics show that 61% of Arab Christians were eligible for university studies, compared to 50% of Jewish, 45% of Druze, and 35% of Muslim students.

Socio-economic

In terms of their socio-economic situation, Arab Christians are more similar to the Jewish population than to the Muslim Arab population. They have the lowest incidence of poverty and the lowest percentage of unemployment which is 4.9% compared to 6.5% among Jewish men and women. They have also the highest median household income among Arab citizens of Israel and second highest median household income among the Israeli ethno-religious groups. Arab Christians also have a high presentation in science and in the White-collar worker, white collar professions. In Israel, Arab Christians are portrayed as a hard-working and upper-middle-class educated ethno-religious minority. According to study the majority of Christians in Israel (68.2 per cent) are employed in the service sector, i.e. banks, insurance companies, schools, tourism, hospitals etc.

Largest communities

In 2019, approximately 70.2% of Arab Christians resided in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District, 13.3% in the Haifa District, 9.5% in the Jerusalem District, 3.4% in the Central District (Israel), Central District, 2.7% in the Tel Aviv District and 0.5% in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District. Approximately 23.5% of Non-Arab Christians resided in the Tel Aviv District, 19.4% in the Haifa District, 17.5% in the Central District (Israel), Central District, 14.4% in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District, 14.3% in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District and 9.8% in the Jerusalem District.

has the largest Christian Arab population, followed by

. The majority of Haifa's Arab minority is Christian. The Christian Arab communities in Nazareth and Haifa tend to be wealthier and better educated compared to Arabs elsewhere in Israel. Arab Christians also live in a number of other localities in the Galilee; such as Abu Snan, Arraba, Israel, Arraba, Bi'ina, Deir Hanna, I'billin, Jadeidi-Makr, Kafr Kanna, Muqeible, Ras al-Ein, Reineh, Sakhnin, Shefa-Amr, Tur'an and Yafa an-Naseriyye. Localities such as Eilabun, Jish, Kafr Yasif and Rameh are predominantly Christian, and nearly all residents of Fassuta and Mi'ilya are Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Melkite Palestinian Christians, Christians. Some Druze villages, such as Daliyat al-Karmel,Daliyat al-Karmel
Ein Qiniyye, Hurfeish, Isfiya, Kisra-Sumei, Maghar, Israel, Maghar, Majdal Shams and Peki'in, have small Christian Arab populations. Mixed cities such as Acre, Israel, Acre,

, Lod, Ma'alot-Tarshiha, Nof HaGalil, Ramla and

-Jaffa have significant Christian Arab populations."The Arab Population of Israel 2003," Nurit Yaffe, Israel Central Bureau of Statistics

* Note: The overwhelming majority of the Christians in the Northern District are Arab Christians.

Religiosity

Christians in Israel are generally more religious than Israeli Jews and Druze. Over half (57%) say religion is very important in their lives. About one third (34%) pray daily and 38% report that they Church attendance, attend church at least once a week. Israeli Christians also are more likely than Jews and Druze to participate in weekly worship services. Nearly all (94%) Israeli Christians believe in God in Christianity, God, of whom 79% say they are absolutely certain.

Beliefs and practices

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2015, 60% of Christians in Israel Religious fasting, fast during Lent, Most (81%) also said that they have icons of saints or other holy figures in their home. Of them, 83% claimed that their icons were anointed with Chrism, holy oil. The survey also found that the majority of Israeli Christians (89%) say the Christian Bible, Bible is the word of God, of whom 65% believe that the Bible should be taken biblical literalism, literally. 33% of Christians believe that Jesus will return during their lifetime, which was similar to the number of Muslims who held that belief (33%). The majority of Christians are not comfortable with their child marrying outside of the faith.

Identity

Christians in Israel are more likely than Jews, Muslims, and Druze to say they are proud of their identity. About 89% say they have a strong sense of belonging to the Christian community. Two thirds believe that they have a special responsibility to help fellow members of their religious group who are in need around the world. The nature of Christian identity varies among Christians as well. Christians in Israel are about evenly divided among those who say their identity is mainly a matter of religion (31%), those who say being Christian is mainly about Cultural Christian, ancestry and/or Christian culture, culture (34%) and those who say their identity is characterized by a combination of Christianity, religion and Cultural Christian, ancestry/Christian culture, culture (34%).

Aramean identity

In September 2014, Minister of the Interior Gideon Sa'ar instructed the to recognize Arameans as an ethnicity separate from Israeli Arabs. Under the Ministry of the Interior's guidance, people born into Christian families or clans who have either Aramaic or Maronite cultural heritage within their family are eligible to register as Arameans. About 200 Christian families were thought to be eligible prior to this decision. According to an August 9, 2013 Israel Hayom article, at that time an estimated 10,500 persons were eligible to receive Aramean ethnic status according to the new regulation, including 10,000 Maronites (which included 2,000 former South Lebanon Army, SLA members) and 500 Syriac Catholic Church, Syriac Catholics. The first person to receive the "Aramean" ethnic status in Israel was 2 year old Yaakov Halul in Jish on October 20, 2014. Another milestone in recognizing Aramean minority as a distinct culture in Israel was made by Israeli court in 2019, which ruled that the Aramean minority could choose Jewish or Arab education, rather than making children with Aramean identity to be automatically designated to Arabic-language schools. The recognition of the Aramean ethnicity led to mixed reactions among Israeli minorities, the Christian community, and among the general Arab Israeli population. While some celebrated the success of their long legal struggle to be recognized as a non-Arab ethnic minority, other members of the Arab community in Israel denounced it as an attempt to divide Arab Christians. Representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem officially denounced the move. Many in Israeli academia advocate the recognition of the Aramean identity and have called on the government of Israel to promote the awareness regarding this issue on the basis of the international principle of ethnic self-determination as espoused by Wilson's 14 points. One of the staunchest supporters of the recognition of the Aramean identity is Gabriel Naddaf, who is one of the leaders of the Christians in Israel. He advocated on behalf of his Aramean followers and thanked the Interior Ministry's decision as a "historic move".

Maps

File:Israeli Arab-speaking Christians.jpg, Geographical distribution of the Arabic-speaking Christian population of Israel by statistical area. File:Israeli Non-Arab Christians.jpg, Geographical distribution of the Non-Arabic-speaking Christian population of Israel by statistical area. File:Geographycal distribution of the main ethno-cultural communities Haifa and Northern districts.jpg, Geographical distribution of the main ethno-cultural communities Haifa and Northern districts

References

Bibliography

Printed sources * * * * * * * * Brown, Schuyler. ''The Origins of Christianity: A Historical Introduction to the New Testament''. Oxford University Press (1993). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Johnson, L.T., ''The Real Jesus'', San Francisco, Harper San Francisco, 1996 * * * * * * Ludemann, Gerd, ''What Really Happened to Jesus?'' trans. J. Bowden, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

M. Avrum Ehrlich, Past, Present and Future Developments of Arab Christianity in the Holy Land
* Amnon Ramon,
Christianity & Christians in the Jewish State: Israeli Policy toward the Churches and Christian Communities
', Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. {{DEFAULTSORT:Christianity In Israel Christianity in Israel, Culture of Israel Society of Israel