The Syrian Church
Monophysite Churches Monophysite means “one nature” (mono = one, physis = nature). The Monophysite movement includes all those who believe in the single nature of Jesus, in contrast to the…
Coptic and Ethiopian Christianity
The Coptic Church The Apostle Mark, in whose house the Syrian Church is located, was one of Jesus’s 70 disciples and a key figure in the Jerusalem of the early…
Armenian and Georgian Christianity
Saint Nino and the Holy Robe Saint Nino (296–340) is the founder of Georgian Christianity. This is a unique case of a national religion being founded by a woman. She…
The Spiritual Meadows
The Works of Justinian The sacred planning of Byzantine Jerusalem was initiated by Constantine and completed by Justinian, the greatest of the Byzantine builder-emperors (reigned 527–565), who extended the Cardo…
Early Muslim Period
The Early Muslim Period At the beginning of the 7th century CE, a miracle happened to the Arab tribes of the desert: God chose them as the chosen people and…
Dome of the Rock Night Journey
The Night Journey Al-Isrāʾ wal-Miʿrāj (The Horizontal Journey Leading to the Vertical Journey) is a concept in Sufi Islam that refers to the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad to…
Alchemy and the Umayyad Dynasty
Alchemy and the Umayyad Dynasty Following Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali ibn Abi Talib, who are considered to be the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad dynasty rose…
Early Sufis and Jerusalem
Early Sufis and Jerusalem Towards the end of the 8th century CE, holy individuals began to appear throughout the Middle East, claiming to possess mystical knowledge passed down to them…
Iconography and John of Damascus
Iconography and John of Damascus Alongside the establishment of Islam in the Land of Israel, the rise of the Umayyad Empire, the construction of the Dome of the Rock and…