This study examines diversity of religious as a factor that influences key socio-economic indicators. The purpose of the research is to identify the relationship between the level of religious diversity and such indicators of regional development as GDP per capita, the Human Development Index (HDI), unemployment rate, urbanization level, female labour force participation, and population growth. The methodology includes agglomerative hierarchical clustering (Ward’s method) of the region’s countries based on selected socio-economic indicators, as well as pairwise correlation analysis between the Religious Diversity Index (RDI) and the identified variables. The analysis reveals four stable clusters of countries with distinct socio-economic and demographic profiles. Statistically significant positive correlations between the RDI and GDP per capita, HDI, and urbanization, along with a negative correlation with unemployment, indicate that higher religious heterogeneity is associated with stronger socio-economic performance. These results are interpreted as evidence of an indirect effect of religious diversity on the socio-economic environment through institutional and cultural mechanisms shaping social behaviour and economic activity. The scientific significance of the study lies in expanding the empirical basis for analysing the role of religion in the socio-economic development of Middle Eastern countries and refining our understanding of its influence. The findings can be applied in forecasting socio-economic trajectories of the region and in designing culturally sensitive development models.

Keywords: religion, socio-economic development, Middle East, cluster analysis, religious diversity index, correlation analysis.

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Kashbrasiev R.V., Bich M.G., Mamontov A.V. Religious Diversity as a Factor of Socio-Economic Differentiation in the Middle East. Christianity in the Middle East, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 5–21. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme001

This article postulates (within the author’s methodological framework for researching the history of Armenian spiritual culture) a theological paradigm, based on an analysis of the specific ecclesiastical and religious policies of the Catholicosate of the Armenian Church during its period of functioning in Cilician Armenia. This new approach to research — the ecumenical paradigm of the Catholicosate of Cilician Armenia — covers the reigns of three Catholicoses of Cilician Armenia from the ancient Armenian Pahlavuni dynasty (Grigor II Vkayaser, Grigor III, Nerses Shnorhali (the Blessed), and Grigor III the Young) and the ecclesiastical and religious activities of Nerses of Lambron, Archbishop of Tarsus, Armenia. The subject of this article is the process of building relations (centered on the question of the union of Christian churches) between the Armenian Church and the Greek Byzantine and Roman Catholic Churches. The article defines the ecumenical paradigm of the Catholicosate of Cilician Armenia as a form of self-awareness/self-knowledge of the Armenian Church, embracing two semantic vectors: the aspiration for unification with other Christian churches based on Christian love and the need to preserve the Armenian national ecclesiastical and religious traditions formed in antiquity. This kind of ecclesiastical-religious policy of the Catholicosate of Cilician Armenia is a continuation, in new historical and cultural conditions, of the ecclesiastical-political line established by the ideologists of the Armenian nation and the heads of the Armenian Church back in the early Middle Ages, and the basis for building inter-church relations thereafter. This line served as the foundation for preserving the cultural authenticity of the Armenian nation and “Armenianness” (Armenian national self-awareness).

Keywords: Nerses Lambronatsi, Cilician Armenia, ecumenism, religious traditions, self-awareness, Armenian Church, union of Christian churches, Christianity, Catholicosate.
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Mirumyan R.A. The development of the Ecumenical Paradigm of the Catholicosate of Cilician Armenia. Christianity in the Middle East, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 22–41. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme003

This article, based on primary sources mainly in ancient languages of the Christian East, examines the prerequisites, causes and consequences of the council of “all bishops from the borders of the East and Assyria,” convened by the king of kings of Sassanian Iran Khosrow II Parviz (590–628) in his capital Ctesiphon. Among the multi-genre sources are narrative monuments, epistolary documents, synodal materials, and collections containing theological texts from the 7th century. The author criticizes the numerous versions of the dating of this council proposed in scientific and reference publications and demonstrates that it was convened immediately after the capture of Jerusalem and the Cross of the Lord by the Sassanian army in May 614. The author also reconstructs the list of the main participants of the synod from among the highest clergy of the countries of the Christian East subject to the Sassanians’ and occupied by them during the Byzantine war of 603–628, two guardians from among the highest secular nobility of Iran, restores the agenda and the adopted historical resolution. He has talking about the Shāhanshāh’s decree, which legally formalized the «Armenian Creed» as a mandatory religious doctrine for all Christian subjects. Therefore, the author, for the first time in oriental literature, designated this council as the “All-Persian Synod of Christians”. He devotes special attention to the Christological controversy between the Syrian Nestorians and the Monophysites, which ended in the defeat of the first party, and the controversy between the supporters and opponents of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (Chalcedon, 451), which ended in the victory of the second party.

Keywords: Persian council, Khosrow Parviz, Armenian Church, Church of the East, Syriac Jacobite Church, Nestorians, Monophysites, Chalcedonians, Anti-Chalcedonians.

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Shahinyan A.K. The All-Persian Synod of Christians, convened by shāhanshāh Khosrow II Parviz (590–628). Christianity in the Middle East, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 42–55. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme002

The article presents a comprehensive study and the first critical edition of a corpus of ancient isosyllabic hymns «κατὰ στίχον,» representing a unique stratum of liturgical poetry fundamentally distinct from classical forms of Byzantine hymnography. These texts are characterized by three constitutive features: strict isosyllabism, homotony, and stichic form. The author advances the hypothesis that these hymns, lost in Constantinople with the establishment of the Studite Typikon, have Egyptian origins. This thesis is verified by evidence from Greek papyri of the 5th–6th centuries, as well as data from the unique liturgical collection Sin. gr. NΕ ΜΓ 62 (studied by A.Yu. Nikiforova and G. Rossetto), which demonstrates the genre’s widespread use in the Coptic milieu, including the presence of original hymns for saints’ commemorations. The central element of the work is a critical edition of a cycle of six hymns for Great Compline, traditionally positioned after the hymn «The Bodiless Nature». The textological base includes the early Hagiopolite Horologia Erlangensis UB A 2, Taurensis B.VII.30, and the manuscript Sin. gr. NE M 46, engaged for collation for the first time. The historical dynamics of the texts’ existence is traced: their disappearance from central Byzantine codices by the 11th century and preservation on the liturgical periphery. Particular attention is devoted to the Slavonic tradition, which preserved these archaic elements in 13th–14th century Horologions. The text of the Yaroslavl Horologion was selected for comparative analysis with Greek originals. The conducted comparison confirms A.A. Andreev’s opinion that this manuscript contains the oldest Slavonic recension of the Compline service order. The research findings allow us to suggest the «κατὰ στίχον» genre as a common archaic element of Eastern Christian worship, a stage in the development of hymnography documented during the period of living performative practice by Egyptian monuments, and «at its twilight,» as rudimentary «ascetic reading,» by monuments from Palestine, Constantinople, Southern Italy, and finally Slavonic sources.

Keywords: Horologion, Great Compline, Hagiopolitan liturgy, Hagiopolite Horologion, early Byzantine hymnography, isosyllabia, homotony, liturgy, papyrus evidence, relic hymnography.

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Khvostunkov F.K. The hymns «κατὰ στίχον» in the Great Compline of the early Hagiopolitan Books of Hours: historical and liturgical status Christianity in the Middle East, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 56–70. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme012

This article examines a heritage stone mansion situated in the Midyat Urban Conservation Area of the town of Midyat in Mardin Province, southeastern Türkiye. Specifically, it is located on Culture and Arts Street in the Akçakaya district of Abraham Shabo. Now known as the “State Guesthouse” (Turkish: Devlet Konukevi), the building is situated at the highest point of the conservation zone. With three floors above ground level, it is the tallest structure in the protected area. The mansion contains a total of five inscriptions: one on the first floor and four on the third. Written in Arabic, Turkish and Syriac, these multilingual inscriptions reflect the origins of the building in a culturally and linguistically diverse society. The earliest dated inscription dates to 1214 AH/1799 CE, while the most recent dates to 1948, indicating a continuous phase of transformation extending from the late Ottoman period into the early Republican era. This study is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of the mansion as a whole, including all its inscriptions, shedding light on an understudied aspect of the Christian cultural heritage in Tur Abdin. The study focuses on the Syriac Christian Shabo family, the mansion’s original patrons, and particularly on Ishak Shabo, who played a pivotal role in its construction. It also takes an in-depth look at the contributions of the local Syriac stonemasons Malke Abraham and Elias Maksi. The preserved inscriptions on the building attest to their involvement in the construction. The research provides a thorough analysis of the mansion’s construction phases, architectural plan, typology, façade articulation, ornamental stone carving, and epigraphic details.

Keywords: Midyat, Tur Abdin, Late Ottoman Period, Early Republican Era, Ishak Shabo Mansion, Christian Heritage, Syriac Stonemasons, Ottoman Empire, Türkiye, Christianity.

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Kaya N. The Midyat State Guesthouse (Ishak Shabo Mansion): a Historical and Architectural Study of Christian Civil Heritage in Tur Abdin. Christianity in the Middle East, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 71–93. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme004

This article examines the situation in southeastern Turkey, primarily the Tur Abdin region, currently home to religious minorities adhering to various branches of Christianity. It examines the main denominations of Christianity currently present in Turkey. The historical fate of Christianity in what is now Turkey is analyzed. The main religious minorities residing in what is now Turkey are identified. Particular attention is paid to the largest religious minorities residing in this region—the Syriac Jacobites and Assyrians. Accordingly, the current status of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East in Turkey is examined. The article analyzes the status of Christians within Turkey, the main historical changes and trends, and the problems and specifics of legal regulation of the Christian minority. The rights of communities as religious and national minorities are also addressed. The article examines the domestic situation and the influence of religious state policy on the international arena. A perspective is provided on the development of the situation regarding the role of Turkish Christians in the context of Turkish-European relations. The article explores the unique character of the Christian region in southeastern Turkey, the rich history of Tur Abdin, its main cities, and its cultural, historical, and religious monuments. It analyzes the history and importance of monastic complexes, churches, and religious monuments associated with the Syriac-Jacobites and Assyrians in Turkey. Modern scientific research is used to determine the current state of these sites, which, due to various factors, are at risk of destruction and disappearance. The most severely damaged religious heritage sites are identified, and an assessment is made of the preservation conditions and the need for state intervention and archaeological restoration. The overall situation of Christians in modern Turkey is assessed, taking into account all the problems and threats facing this religious minority.

Keywords: Turkey, Mesopotamia, Christianity, religious minorities, religious policy, religion, Tur Abdin.

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Tsyganov G.A. Christian legacy of Tur Abdin. Christianity in the Middle East, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 94–111. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme005