WotW Chapter 10: Christian Contraction (pgs 411-415)

Summary

By 1500, Christianity's earlier Asian and African communities had significantly contracted due to the rise of Islam. In Arabia, early Christian communities were largely replaced, and in the Middle East, Islam's spread led to a diminished Christian presence. In Syria and Persia, Christians were often second-class subjects. Nestorian Christians in China faced political challenges, and in Africa, coastal communities declined, though Ethiopia remained a Christian stronghold. Despite Islam's expansion, Ethiopian Christianity thrived, isolated yet distinct with its own unique practices.

Takeaways

• 🌏 By 1500, Christianity had become predominantly European due to the rise of Islam, which led to the contraction of Christian communities in Asia and Africa.
• 🕌 The rapid spread of Islam and the establishment of the Arab Empire significantly contributed to the decline of early Christian and Jewish communities in the Middle East.
• 🏰 In Arabia, early Christian communities were largely replaced within a century after Muhammad's death, with the construction of the Grand Mosque of Sana’a using materials from a destroyed cathedral.
• ⛪️ In Syria and Persia, Christians were generally allowed to practice their faith privately after paying a special tax, but they faced varying treatment depending on local rulers.
• 📜 The Nestorian Church, known as the Church of the East, survived in certain regions but as a shrinking and regulated minority, often abandoning religious art to avoid offending Muslims.
• 🇨🇳 A Nestorian Christian community in China, which had integrated Buddhist and Daoist concepts, declined due to Chinese political shifts against foreign religions, not directly due to Islam.
• 📉 In Africa, coastal Christian communities faced extinction as Islam expanded, although in Egypt, Christians continued to practice their faith as a protected minority for centuries.
• 🏰 Nubian Christianity thrived for a time but eventually succumbed to pressures from Islamized tribes and Arab migrants, leading to its decline by 1500.
• 📚 Ethiopian Christianity remained an exception, surviving as a Christian island in a Muslim sea, with its rulers tracing their lineage to Jesus and developing unique religious practices.
• 🏰 Ethiopian rulers constructed underground churches in the 12th century, attempting to create a New Jerusalem, reflecting their isolation and distinctive religious development.

Q & A

What was the primary factor contributing to the contraction of Christianity in Asia and Africa by 1500?

The primary factor was the rise of Islam, which led to the contraction of Christendom in Asia and Africa, leaving Europe as the principal center of the Christian faith.

How did the birth of Islam affect early Christian communities in Arabia?

The birth of Islam led to the decimation of earlier Christian communities in Arabia, with only a few Christian groups remaining within a century or so after Muhammad’s death in 632.

What was the significance of the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem for Christians and Jews?

The Dome of the Rock was constructed on a site that is sacred to both Christians and Jews. For Christians, it was a place Jesus visited, and for Jews, it contained the stone associated with Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac. The construction was a demonstration of Islam's victory and the establishment of the Islamic state.

What was the general policy towards Christians in Syria and Persia after the Arab conquest?

In Syria and Persia, accommodating policies generally prevailed. Christians were allowed to practice their religion largely in private, in return for payment of a special tax, and their communities were guaranteed the right to practice their religion.

How did the Nestorian Christian communities of Syria, Iraq, and Persia adapt to the rise of Islam?

The Nestorian Christian communities survived as shrinking communities of second-class subjects, regulated minorities forbidden from propagating their message to Muslims. They also abandoned their religious paintings and sculptures to avoid offending Muslims.

What was unique about the Nestorian Church in China and how did it adapt to local culture?

The Nestorian Church in China used Buddhist and Daoist concepts to articulate the Christian message. It referred to Christianity as the 'Religion of Light from the West' and used terms like 'Cool Wind' for God and 'bad karma' for sin.

Why did the Christian community in China decline despite the initial approval from the Tang dynasty rulers?

The contraction of the Christian community in China was due to the mid-ninth century Chinese state's turn against all religions of foreign origin, including Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

How did the expansion of Islam impact African Christianity, particularly in coastal North Africa?

The expansion of Islam led to widespread conversion to Islam in coastal North Africa, reducing Christian communities to virtual extinction over several centuries.

What was the situation of Christianity in Egypt after the Muslim conquest around 640?

Christianity had become the religion of the majority in Egypt by the time of the Muslim conquest. For the next 500 years, large numbers continued to practice their religion as dhimmis, legally inferior but protected people paying a special tax under relatively tolerant Muslim rulers.

How did the Ethiopian Christian community maintain its existence despite the pressures from Islamic expansion?

Ethiopian Christianity survived as a Christian island in a Muslim sea, protected by its mountainous geography and distance from major centers of Islamic power. It developed distinctive features, including a fascination with Judaism and Jerusalem, and maintained a presence in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher.