The Split of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (1724) and the Emergence of a New Identity in Bilad aI-Sham as Reflected by some Melkite Historians of the 18th and Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

In the middle of the 17th century the Christians of Bilad aI-Sham consisted of a variety of communities which enjoyed a semi- or full recognition by the Ottoman authorities. All these Churches belonged to the Urgestein of Christianity as the youngest of them the Maronite Church could already view back on 1000 years of history. But things were about to change, and the following 100 years witnessed a phenomenon that had not occurred since the quarrels in Eastern Christianity in the centuries of the seven Ecumenical Councils: communities split and new Churches emerged. And as religion was still the determining factor for the individual this meant that several new identities came into being.