Our Eastern Door
The Syriac World: In Search of a Forgotten Christianity
by Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet and Muriel Debié
trans. by Jeffrey Haines
At the end of the eighth century, Christians living under Islamic rule were in crisis. New waves of persecution under Caliph al-Mahdi threatened their lives. Many fled, either west to the Byzantine empire or into northern Turkey. Rather than flee, Timothy I, Katholicos of the Church of the East, decided to move the patriarchal residence to the young city of Baghdad. Only a few decades later, Caliph al-Mamun would open a school at Baghdad, the famous “House of Wisdom,” from which sprang many of the great figures of Islamic philosophy. In the midst of persecution, political suspicion, and the destruction of churches, there would seem no chance that any Christian community could flourish. And yet, under the leadership of Timothy I, the Church of the East experienced an incredible time of missionary expansion, theological vigor, and cultural strength.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Charles Carman is a Ph.D. candidate at the Catholic University of America. His writings have appeared in The American Conservative, Books & Culture, and Fare Forward.
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on Orthodox from the online archives
more from the online archives
11.5—September/October 1998
Speaking the Truths Only the Imagination May Grasp
An Essay on Myth & 'Real Life' by Stratford Caldecott
17.6—July/August 2004
Old Science Confronts a Formidable Challenge in the Scientific ID Movement by Jay W. Richards
20.4—May 2007
A Short & Surprising History of Protestantism & Contraception by Allan C. Carlson
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
