Turning Over a New Leaf: Evangelical Missionaries & the Orthodox Churches of the Middle East

Relations between evangelical mission workers in the Middle East and the Orthodox churches of the region have been characterised by tension and suspicion. Should mission workers ignore and even oppose these ancient churches, and should the Orthodox churches think of missionaries as ‘sheep stealers’? Or is there a way for cooperation and support to promote the worldwide mission of God – and, if so, how? Turning Over a New Leaf is written by evangelical mission workers for evangelical mission workers, but will also be helpful to Orthodox Christians in thinking about their relationship with evangelicals. Hailed as a seminal work when it was originally published in 1992, the present fully updated and revised edition represents over 30 years of experience in how evangelicals can serve in a thoughtful and sensitive manner alongside Middle Eastern Orthodox Christians.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Regnum Books International
• Release date: Jun 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781914454028

Book preview

PREFACE

In the 19th century, many of the first Protestant missionaries to the Middle East decided to work apart from and against the region's indigenous Orthodox churches. One of these early missionaries reportedly even referred to Orthodox Christianity as that wicked system.

More recently, a new wave of evangelical missionaries¹ have swept into the Middle East. Many of these new workers have been uncertain as how to regard the Orthodox churches of the region. Should they and their mission agencies ignore and perhaps even oppose the ancient churches as in the past? Or should evangelical missions now support them - and, if so, how?

In the early 1990s, a task group of evangelical missionaries serving in the Middle East studied this issue. Their report, Turning Over a New Leaf (1992), was the first broad-based review of the subject in modern times. It explored the practical issues involved in any mutual co-operation in mission and service and advocated that it should happen. This original report has now been thoroughly revised, updated and re-issued in the present edition (2021).

We are writing as evangelical missionaries to our fellow evangelical missionaries in the Middle East. We encourage you to become more acquainted with the Orthodox Christians of the region. When we did so ourselves, we were gladdened to meet many sincere and devoted followers of Christ. Their faithfulness to God in the midst of sometimes harsh circumstances has spoken deeply to us. We have fellowshipped with them, learned from them, and been enriched by them. It is our hope that greater understanding will lead to increasing mutual respect and more co-operation. Let us strive to serve God together with them.

A word about the contributors: Hugh Baird lived among the refuse collectors of Cairo. Serving under one of their Coptic Orthodox priests, he helped to run a vocational training shop. Joyce Napper, now deceased, had long service in the Middle East as a mission worker. Dr Ralph Lee MBE is a representative of the Navigators, is on the faculty of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, and taught Eastern Patristics at the Ethiopian Orthodox seminary in Addis Ababa. Ven Dr Bill Schwartz OBE has served since 2009 as Archdeacon in the Gulf and Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. Adrienne Strengholt-Ester did development work in Egypt for many years. Dr David P. Teague taught New Testament Greek in the Coptic Orthodox Seminary in Cairo.

Our special appreciation goes to Dr Ralph Lee MBE of the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative and to Dr Paul Bendor-Samuel MBE for their special guidance. Gratitude also is due to Dr Irini Thabet for her most helpful suggestions.

Dr David P. Teague

ENDNOTES

1 We use the phrase 'evangelical missionaries' to refer to Protestant mission workers who are theologically conservative. The historian David W. Bebbington in his book, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, defines evangelical Protestants as possessing four main characteristics: Bible-based, Cross-centred, Conversion-focused and Activistic.

INTRODUCING MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIANITY

1: THE EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY AND MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIANITY

Dr David P. Teague

2. SERVING GOD TOGETHER WITH THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH

Adrienne Strengholt-Ester

3. A SHORT HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Dr Ralph Lee MBE

1: THE EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY AND MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIANITY

Dr David P. Teague

Many of the evangelical missionaries who first come to the Middle East think of the region primarily in terms of the religion of Islam or the nation of Israel. Surprisingly, over 12,000,000 indigenous people in the Middle East identify as Christians. In this chapter, we would like to help our fellow evangelical missionaries to understand some of the concerns of Middle Eastern Christians, and to suggest ways in which we can co-operate with them and strengthen them and their witness.

Christianity has three major divisions - Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. In the Middle East, Christianity is predominantly Orthodox. In fact, 77% of Middle Eastern Christians identify as such. The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt alone has at least 8,800,000 people, which is 94% of all the Christians in Egypt. Aside from the Orthodox, 18% of Middle Eastern Christians are Catholic while Protestants number around 5%.a

Historically, the Protestant churches in the Middle East began in the 19th century with the arrival of Presbyterian, Congregational and Anglican missionaries. This earlier missionary effort has now been nationalised.² Through the many years since their founding, these older Protestant denominations also have been gradually developing relationships with the Orthodox and Catholic churches of the region.

Today in the modern era, a new influx of evangelical missions has come to the Middle East. These newer organisations are in different stages of thinking through their relationship with and their effect upon the region's Orthodox and Catholic communities. As they do so, they are becoming aware of the concerns, struggles, and hopes of these indigenous Christian communities. Below, we summarise these concerns and hopes under the themes: Churches Under Pressure and Signs of Renewal.

CHURCHES UNDER PRESSURE

Although Christianity has had a presence in the Middle East since the time of Christ, today the percentage of Christians in the total population has been declining. Emigration is one of the major reasons for this decrease. Difficult economic conditions in some countries, the threat of military conflict in others, and worries concerning militant versions of Islam all combine to encourage the emigration of a high percentage of Christians.³ For Egypt, Iraq, Israel / Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, the percentage of Christians in the total population shrank from 9.2% in 2000 to 6.9% in 2020 according to the World Christian Database.

Emigration began in the latter half of the 19th century but, since 1950, it has reached unprecedented levels. For example, in 2020, the annual Christian migration from Egypt was estimated to be around 135,000 persons.⁴ In places torn apart by warfare, such as in Iraq and Syria, emigration is more truly described as mass displacement. In 2000, there were 951,000 Christians in Iraq, amounting to 4% of the entire population. In 2020, only 175,000 Christians remained, amounting to a mere 0.4% of the total population. In twenty years, the Christian presence in Iraq became decimated, quite literally.

The positive aspects of emigration cannot be denied. Émigrés leave to seek security, safety and freedom for their families. Also, in such receiving countries as Australia and Canada, émigrés have established vibrant churches which provide a Christian witness to the Arab diaspora. Still, despite these positives, we cannot ignore the fact that emigration also weakens the Christian voice in the Middle East.

Those Christians who remain behind struggle to maintain a participatory role in their own national cultures. Their place is threatened by those who insist that a truly Arab society can only be Islamic and that Christians should be restricted and marginalised. In practical terms, this leads to discrimination against Christians in employment, in career advancement, and in leadership. There is also the pressure which many Christians face to convert to Islam. In Egypt, it is estimated that about 18,500 do so each year, with intermarriage being a dominant factor.⁵

Given such pressures, many Christian leaders see the need to maintain good relationships with the Muslim majority. For instance, we know of a leading Egyptian pastor who has contributed to an Islamic relief society. Although this may raise some eyebrows among evangelical missionaries, he has scores of Muslim friends and over fifty Muslims attended his ordination out of respect for him. Again, one indigenous Christian agency has regularly invited Muslims to a breakfast. This helped to defuse a potentially difficult situation because these Muslims had been very jealous of the foreign aid which the agency had been receiving.

All of these trends and pressures explain why many Middle Eastern church leaders consider the problem of maintaining a viable Christian presence to be their most important concern. Middle Eastern Christians have no other choice but to continue to strive for a place in their own society. The alternative is isolationism and marginalisation.

SIGNS OF RENEWAL

In the face of such pressures, many Middle Eastern Christians have responded by deepening their faith. A spiritual renewal movement has been touching the lives of many believers - Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic alike. In Egypt, we witnessed wonderful examples of this in churches which were absolutely packed with young adults, in the renewal of ancient desert monasteries, and in worship services attended by thousands, such as have been held at the famous 'Cave Church¹ in Mokattam, near Cairo.

In addition to this spiritual renewal movement, churches have also been experiencing an institutional renewal. Most notably,