Christianity in Jordan - History of Jordanian Christians

History of Jordanian Christians

Jordanian Christians are the oldest Christian community in the world and the majority have always been Orthodox adherents to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land which is the 16 Church of St. James, and was founded during Jesus’s lifetime. Many of them are descended from the Ancient Arab Ghassanid and Lakhmid Tribes, and they have throughout history shared the fate and the struggles of their Muslim fellow tribesmen. In 630 CE, during the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s lifetime, they joined Muhammad's army (led by his adopted son Zeid ibn Haritha and his cousin Jafar bin Abi Taleb) and fought against the Byzantine army of their fellow Orthodox Christians at the Battle of Mutah in Karak (it is because of this battle that they earned their tribal name “‘Uzaizat” which means “the reinforcements” — and Archbishop Fouad Twal himself comes from these tribes); then in 1099 17 CE they were slaughtered by Catholic Crusaders at the Fall of Jerusalem alongside their Muslim comrades; later from 1916-1918 CE during the Great Arab revolt they fought against the Muslim Turks alongside Arab Muslim comrades; they thereafter languished for a few decades along with their Muslim fellows under a Protestant Colonial Mandate, and in the Israeli Arab Wars of 1948, 1967 and 1968 they fought with their Muslim Arabs against Jewish opponents. Christian Jordanians have not only defended Jordan, but have also helped to build Jordan, playing leading roles in the fields of education, health, commerce, tourism, agriculture, science, culture and many other fields.