Known as the place St. Paul performed miracles, Lystra Ancient City that is mentioned in the Bible is one of the most important settlements in Central Anatolia. The city that was first discovered by foreign explorers towards the end of the 19th century, stayed hidden until the start of the systematic archeological excavations in 2024. With the last researches, the city’s structure and monumental constructions began to surface. Among those constructions, comes forward the structure that is known as “The Upper Church” which is both a religious center and the center of cultural continuity. This work aims to show how the religious and the social continuation were preserved from the Late Antiquity to Seljuk period by examining the architectural features of the Upper Church as well as the the grave findings found around the church. Among the archeological findings, there are important liturgical objects such as pendants, reliquaries and processional crosses besides the artifacts such as cutting tools and offering vessels that give information about the funeral rites and the rituals. The continuity seen in the church structure and the necropolis around it shows that Lystra preserved its sacred and social importance despite the political and cultural changes in the region. This work aims to emphasize the long-term importance of Lystra as a religious and cultural centre in Anatolia by evaluating the architectural findings, burial practices and the related findings altogether. Through a comprehensive analysis of architectural remains, funerary practices, and associated findings, this article seeks to highlight Lystra’s long-standing significance as a religious and cultural center in Anatolia.

Keywords: Lystra, Graves Findings, Cross, Reliquary, Glass Lamp, Middle East, Christianity, Turkey, Anatolia, archeology.

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Mi̇mi̇roğlu I., Karakok C., Pastutmaz Sevmen D., Gaymaz M. Preli̇mi̇nary Report on Lystra Upper Church and Selected Grave Fi̇nds. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 5–20. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme025

Specialists in the history, architecture, culture, and political and religious life of the Christian East have increasingly adopted the term «Orthodox Oriental studies» to describe their field of research. Drawing on the work of Dr. N.N. Lisovoy (1946–2019) — a leading scholar of the Christian East and the initiator and intellectual architect of this academic discipline — this article examines the origins of the term. It highlights the specific nature of the subject matter, particularly the confessional (Orthodox) dimension that distinguishes Orthodox Oriental studies from the broader field of Oriental studies. The author does not aim to assess the status of Orthodox Oriental studies as an academic discipline within the global scholarly community; while numerous research institutions in Europe and the United States specialize in the history of Christianity in the Middle East and the history of Orthodox patriarchates, this article focuses on the emergence and development of the field in Russia. This development took place under the auspices of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and involved the pivotal participation of N.N. Lisovoy, who served as Deputy Chairman of the IOPS and led the Society’s scientific section from 1988 to 2019. Unlike their foreign counterparts, Russian research in this field—while covering the general history and culture of the Orthodox East—focuses largely on the dynamics of inter-church relations between Russia and the Middle East. The article traces the evolution of the concept of Orthodox Oriental studies during the first decade of the 21st century and outlines the key areas of research proposed by N.N. Lisovoy. N.N. Lisovoy, and their implementation within research programs and projects of various scientific foundations — such as the Russian Foundation for the Humanities, the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, and others. The study demonstrates the relevance of research into the Orthodox East from an interdisciplinary perspective and highlights the significant role played by N.N. Lisovoy as the initiator and driving intellectual force behind this field of study.

Keywords: Orthodox East, Orthodox Oriental Studies, Holy Land, N.N. Lisovoy, Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, Jerusalem.

This study was conducted within the framework of the state assignment from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Theme 0149–2025–0015: «N.N. Lisovoy (1946–2019) as the Founder of Studying the Russian Presence in the Holy Land», R&D Registration No. 125022002760–9).

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Smirnova I.Yu. Nikolai Nikolaevich Lisovoy and Orthodox Oriental Studies. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 21–37. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme026

This article is devoted to the reconstruction of the network of temporary Orthodox churches established by the Russian émigré community within the Constantinople Ecclesiastical District between 1920 and 1924. The study examines the processes of formation and functioning of church communities that emerged during the mass exodus of Russian refugees following the Russian Civil War and the evacuation of the White Army from Crimea. Particular attention is paid to the mechanisms of parish formation, the peculiarities of their organization, the conditions of their existence, and their role in the everyday life of the émigré community. The research is based on archival materials from the Church of St. Panteleimon in Istanbul, including official correspondence, reports, memoranda, minutes of meetings, and documents of the Episcopal Council of the Constantinople Ecclesiastical District, a significant portion of which is introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time. The study has made it possible to document the existence of at least twenty-four temporary Orthodox churches and church communities in Constantinople and its immediate surroundings. In addition, the sources indicate the existence of temporary churches in other camps of Russian refugees located outside the city and subordinated to the Higher Russian Church Administration Abroad. The article demonstrates that many communities emerged through the initiatives of refugees and clergy even before receiving official recognition. It concludes that temporary churches fulfilled not only religious functions but also important social, charitable, and unifying roles, becoming centres of self-organization for the Russian émigré community during the first years of exile.

Keywords: Russian emigration, Constantinople, Türkiye, temporary Orthodox churches, Orthodox communities, Russian refugees, archival sources, everyday life, church life, Patriarchate of Constantinople.

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Sigirci M.A. Temporary Orthodox churches of the Russian emigration in Constantinople (1920–1924): reconstruction of the network and functionin. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 38–48. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme027

Vladimir N. Beneshevich (1874–1938), an alumnus and professor of St. Petersburg University, was an outstanding scholar whose work spanned the history of Russian law, canon law, and Byzantine studies. The article examines Beneshevich’s activity within the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society over a period of two decades. It highlights two chronologically distinct models of interaction between the scholar and the Society. Before the Revolution of 1917, Beneshevich was a purely academic figure, detached from the religious-political line pursued by the Society. After the Revolution, however, he became one of the Society’s leaders. It was only on one occasion that this scholar became involved, as an expert on church-political and church-diplomatic issues in the late imperial period, in the discussion of the Sinai question. The article analyzes the forms of his collaboration with the Society, his scholarly initiatives, and his role as both an expert and a secretary of the Society. It also emphasizes the importance of the legal education Beneshevich received at St. Petersburg University, which proved highly valuable in the turbulent legal reality of the first years of Soviet rule. The article includes appendices, among them the letter of the Patriarch of Jerusalem granting Beneshevich the title of Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, documents on the “Palestinian meetings” of early 1917 in the Council of the Palestine Society, and a number of materials concerning his role in the Society’s fate during the Soviet years.

Keywords: V.N. Beneshevich V.N., Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, Sinai, scientific societies, Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem Patriarchate, Byzantine studies, Jerusalem, Palestine.

The study was conducted with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 25-18-00670 “Russian soft power policy and the Ottoman Empire of the 18th — early 20th centuries: the search for an alternative to military confrontation”.

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Anisimov O.V. Vladimir Beneshevich as a full member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the Russian Palestine Society. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 49–72. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme028

This article presents a comprehensive cognitive-discursive analysis of the metaphorical models representing religious experience in Russian pilgrimage literature from the second half of the 19th century to the early 20th century. During this period, the development of transport infrastructure and the active work of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society transformed the pilgrimage movement to the Holy Land into a mass phenomenon involving a socially diverse range of people. The pilgrimage diaries, travel sketches, and reports from this era constitute a unique corpus of historical ego-documents; they record not only the external topography of the journey but also the underlying mechanisms of the sacralization of space and the ways in which ineffable spiritual experiences are verbalized. Despite significant historiographical interest in the social and organizational aspects of pilgrimage, the linguistic and cognitive dimensions of these texts—specifically their use of metaphor—have received little close scholarly attention. This study aims to identify and comparatively analyze dominant metaphorical models in texts authored by individuals of varying gender, social, and professional backgrounds. The methodological framework combines cognitive metaphor theory with the MIPVU procedure, adapted here for the first time to analyze Russian-language texts from the period in question, while accounting for historical semantics and relying on contemporary lexicographical sources. The source material comprises texts from three representative groups: female pilgrims (V.A. Bryun de Saint-Hippolyte, E.F. Muyaki), clergy (Archpriest P.A. Arkhangelsky, Bishop Nikanor), and students from theological academies and seminaries (Kazan, Kyiv, and Perm). A comprehensive analysis of a corpus comprising approximately 350 pages identified 1,247 instances of metaphorical usage. Quantitative data reveal significant variation in metaphorical density. Qualitative analysis identified six macro-models accounting for over 85% of the metaphorical inventory. A comparative analysis uncovered distinct differences in the realization of these models. The study makes a significant contribution to the study of the language of 19th-century Russian spiritual culture, demonstrating the high heuristic value of applying cognitive linguistics and the MIPVU procedure to historical sources. The findings open up prospects for cross-cultural and interfaith comparative analysis of pilgrimage literature.

Keywords: metaphor, pilgrimage literature, MIPVU, Jerusalem, cognitive linguistics, historical semantics, Holy Land, Palestine, pilgrimage.

The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 26-18-01018, «Pilgrimage Practice and Text: A Digital Study of Travelogues about the Holy Land (19th–21st Centuries)».

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Valitov A.A., Palamarenko E.V., Shitikov P.M. The metaphorics of russian pilgrimage diaries about the Holy Land from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th centuries. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 73–93. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme029

This article examines the history and architecture of Halidzor (Halijor) and Tatev (Tatʿev) Hermitages. As a result of prolonged wars, monastic life in Armenia had fallen into decline, and the rules of monasticism had been forgotten. The revival of the Armenian monastic tradition is closely associated with the names of Sarkis the Bishop, Kirakos the Priest, and their companions. Drawing on the testimony of the seventeenth-century Armenian historian Arakel of Davrizh (Aṙakʿel Dawrižecʿi), this article presents the history of the foundation of the Great Halidzor Hermitage, also known as the Harants Hermitage (the Armenian word Harancʿ means Fathersʿ). It was established between 1611 and 1613 and was subsequently destroyed by an earthquake and landslide in 1658. The article then presents the history of the foundation of the Great Tatev Hermitage, which continued the spiritual and monastic tradition of the Great Halidzor Hermitage. The article also analyzes the daily life and practices of the two hermitages, including the monksʿ meals and fasting, monastic vestments, and the order of prayers. It further presents the architecture of the Halidzor and Tatev Hermitages on the basis of plans prepared by the architect Murad Hasratyan (1973). The article concludes with an overview of the ongoing archaeological excavations and their principal findings. It is accompanied by photographs, including architectural plans of both hermitages, images of the churches and adjacent buildings, and documentation of the archaeological excavations.

Keywords: monasticism, Armenian monasteries, Halidzor Hermitage, Tatev Hermitage, Sarkis the Bishop, Kirakos the Priest, Movses of Tatev.

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Tumanyan L.S., Harutyunyan K.A, Nalbandyan A.S. Revival of Monastic Life in Armenia in Seventeenth Century: Halidzor and Tatev Hermitages. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 94–117. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme030

This article examines the history of the spread of Christianity in the territory of present-day Abkhazia within the context of contemporary geopolitical realities. The study employs historical-comparative and historical-genetic methods, as well as the method of philosophical analysis. The authors contend that the spread of Christianity in the region occurred in two stages: early apostolic preaching (first-second centuries) and the dissemination of Christianity in the third-sixth centuries. Whereas during the first stage the role of the apostles and their missionary activity was prominent, during the second stage Christianity was spread by exiles and soldiers of the Roman garrisons. A comparison of archaeological data and written sources leads to the conclusion that Christianity was disseminated primarily in urban centres. Pitiunt, Sebastopolis, and Anakopia became the largest centres for the spread of Christianity in the Black Sea littoral during the period under study. A contemporary trend is the recourse to the historical past and its instrumentalisation to justify the current religious situation in Abkhazia. Such a use of historical facts to justify or alter the status of the religious structures of modern Abkhazia is not entirely correct. Inter-church cooperation (involving the Russian Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, and the diocesan structures of Abkhazia), based on rigorous philosophical and historical-theological expertise, is needed; this would reduce the role of conflict-generating political attitudes in the study of the history of Christianity in Abkhazia.

Keywords: Abkhazia, early Christianity, urban centers, Pitiunt, Sebastopolis, Georgia, Orthodoxy.

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Eldinov O.A., Mekushkin A.A., Biryukova Yu.A. Christianization of Late Antique and Early Medieval Abkhazia: Urbanization, Missionary Endeavors, and the Political Theology of Power in Contemporary Historiographical Debates. Christianity in the Middle East, 2026, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 118–136. https://doi.org/10.65324/cme031