| Christianity by country |
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Christianity in Kuwait is a minority religion.
In 2020, there were an estimated 289 Christian Kuwaitis residing in Kuwait, [2] along with an estimated 837,585 non-citizen Christians. [3] In total, they make up 17.93% of the population.
A 2015 study estimates some 350 Christians in Kuwait who are former Muslims. [4]
Kuwait is the only GCC country besides Bahrain to have a local Christian population who hold citizenship. [5] [6]
Christian Kuwaitis can be divided into two groups. The first group includes the earliest, who were Iraqi Christian (Assyrian/Chaldean) and Turkish Christian (Antiochian Greek) immigrants and their local-born descendants. [7] They have assimilated into Kuwaiti society, like their Muslim counterparts, and tend to speak Arabic with a Kuwaiti dialect; their food and culture are also predominantly Kuwaiti. They make up less than a quarter of Kuwait's Christian population. The rest (roughly three-quarters) of Christian Kuwaitis make up the second group. They are more recent arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly Kuwaitis of Palestinian ancestry who were forced out of Palestine after 1948. [7] There are also smaller numbers who originally hail from Syria and Lebanon. [7] This second group is not as assimilated as the first group, as their food, culture, and Arabic dialect still retain a Levant feel. However, they are just as patriotic as the former group, and tend to be proud of their adopted homeland, with many serving in the army, police, civil, and foreign service. Most of Kuwait's citizen Christians belong to 12 large families, with the Shammas (from Turkey) and the Shuhaibar (from Palestine) families being some of the more prominent ones. [7]
Although there is a small community of Christian citizens, a law passed in 1981 prevents the naturalization of non-Muslims; however, male citizens who were Christians before 1980 (and male children born to families of such citizens since that date), can transmit their citizenship to their children. [8]
Traditionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians in Kuwait belong to the jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. Eastern Orthodox parish in Kuwait was reorganized in 1969 by late metropolitan Constantine Papastephanou of Baghdad and Kuwait (1969-2014), who visited Kuwait on many occasions. [9] His successor is Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim of Baghdad and Kuwait (since 2014). His official seat remains in Baghdad, but administrative headquarters of the Archdiocese are located in Kuwait. Today, Eastern Orthodox parishes in Kuwait are administered by priests Ephrem Toumi and Filimon Saifi. [10]
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The denominations of both citizen and foreign Christians in Kuwait include, but are not limited to, the following:
In 2012 the country had 7 official churches and 18 non-official churches, with Kuwait's largest cathedral being situated in the eastern part of Kuwait city. [12]
This is a demography of the population of Lebanon including population density, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations further east, south or north. The term does not describe a single communion or religious denomination. Eastern Christianity is a category distinguished from Western Christianity, which is composed of those Christian traditions and churches that originally developed further west.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the RūmOrthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity that originates from the historical Church of Antioch. Headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, it considers itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter and Paul. It is one of the largest Christian denominations of the Middle East, alongside the Copts of Egypt and the Maronites of Lebanon.
Arab Christians are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic speakers, who follow Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Established in the mid-fifth century as one of the oldest patriarchates in Christendom, it is headquartered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and led by the patriarch of Jerusalem, currently Theophilos III. The patriarchate's ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes roughly 200,000 to 500,000 Orthodox Christians across the Holy Land in Palestine, Jordan and Israel.
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church, or Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief pastor is Patriarch Youssef Absi, headquartered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus, Syria. The Melkites, who are Byzantine Rite Catholics, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, formerly part of Syria and now in Turkey, of the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by Saint Peter.
The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root m-l-k, meaning "royal", referring to the loyalty to the Byzantine emperor. The term acquired religious connotations as denominational designation for those Christians who accepted imperial religious policies, based on Christological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon (451).
Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. Biblical scriptures show that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, leading to the dawn of the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. As such, Christianity in Lebanon is as old as Christian faith itself. Christianity spread slowly in Lebanon due to pagans who resisted conversion, but it ultimately spread throughout the country. Even after centuries of living under Muslim Empires, Christianity remains the dominant faith of the Mount Lebanon region and has substantial communities elsewhere.
Antiochian Greek Christians are an ethnoreligious Eastern Christian group native to the Levant. They are either members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch or the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and they have ancient roots in what is now Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, the southern Turkish province of Hatay, which includes the city of Antakya —one of the holiest cities in Eastern Christianity, and Israel. Many of their descendants now live in the global Near Eastern Christian diaspora. They primarily speak Levantine Arabic, with Maaloula near Damascus being one of the few places where a Western Aramaic dialect is still spoken.
Christianity in Syria has among the oldest Christian communities on Earth, dating back to the first century AD, and has been described as a "cradle of Christianity". With its roots in the traditions of St. Paul the Apostle and St. Peter the Apostle, Syria quickly became a major center of early Christianity and produced many significant theologians and church leaders. Of the 325 bishops who took part in the First Council of Nicea in 325 AD, twenty were from Syria. Over the centuries, Syrian Christians have played a vital role in shaping Christian thought and practice, contributing to the development of various liturgical traditions, monastic movements, and theological schools. St. John the Apostle famously converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus, and Syria has produced two Popes: Pope Anicetus and Pope Gregory III. Their legacy includes the establishment of some of the most ancient churches, monasteries, and pilgrimage sites, such as the 5th century remains of the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, Our Lady of Saidnaya Monastery, and the Cathedral of Constantine and Helen.
The term Eastern Protestant Christianity encompasses a range of heterogeneous Protestant Christian denominations that developed outside of the Western world, from the latter half of the nineteenth century, and retain certain elements of Eastern Christianity. Some of these denominations came into existence when active Protestant churches adopted reformational variants of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox liturgy and worship, while others originated from Orthodox groups who were inspired by the teachings of Western Protestant missionaries and adopted Protestant beliefs and practices.
Christianity has been, historically, a Middle Eastern religion with its origin in Judaism. Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in the Middle East, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Far East, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. It is contrasted with Western Christianity, which developed in Western Europe. As a historical definition the term relates to the earliest Christian communities and their long-standing traditions that still exist.
Christianity, which originated in the Middle East during the 1st century AD, is a significant minority religion within the region, characterized by the diversity of its beliefs and traditions, compared to Christianity in other parts of the Old World. Christians now make up approximately 5% of the Middle Eastern population, down from 13% in the early 20th century. Cyprus is the only Christian majority country in the Middle East, with Christians forming between 76% and 78% of the country's total population, most of them adhering to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Lebanon has the second highest proportion of Christians in the Middle East, around 40%, predominantly Maronites. While Egypt has the largest Christian population in the Middle East. After Lebanon, Egypt has the next largest proportion of Christians, at around 10% of its total population. Copts, numbering around 10 million, constitute the single largest Christian community in the Middle East.
In 2022, Christians in Bahrain made up approximately 12% of the population. Bahrain has had a native Christian community for many centuries, with the first recorded presence dating back to the 12th century. Expatriate Christians, however, make up the majority of Christians in Bahrain, while local Christian Bahrainis make up a much smaller community. Alees Samaan, the former Bahraini ambassador to the United Kingdom, is a native Christian.
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Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the 2001 Indian census. According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD and introduced Christianity to the area. Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally much larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state.
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The Catholic Church in the Middle East is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Catholic Church is said to have traditionally originated in the Middle East in the 1st century AD, and was one of the major religions of the region from the 4th-century Byzantine reforms until the centuries following the Arab Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD. Ever since, its proportion has decreased until today's diaspora tendency, mainly due to persecution by Islamic majority societies. In most Islamic countries, the Catholic Church is severely restricted or outlawed. Significant exceptions include Israel and Lebanon.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Iraq refers to adherents, communities and institutions of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Iraq. Within the ecclesiastical order of the Eastern Orthodox Church, territory of Iraq traditionally belongs to patrimonial jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The Patriarchate has a diocese in Iraq, the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad, headed since 2014 by Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim.
