The Protestant Reformation in the Middle East. Present Situation and Future Outlook

Abstract

2017 marks the 500h anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. It is an occasion to recall the achievements and record of a major event that contributed significantly to the modern world, and an opportunity to discern the meaning and role of the Reformation for future generations also. In the Middle East, the presence of the Reformation is approximately two hundred years old. It was in the last one hundred years of Ottoman rule that the message of the Reformation reached these lands, in 1823, some three hundred years after Luther's first public move in 1517 when it is said that he posted 95 Theses on the door of the Cathedral Church of Wittenberg. [...]

This article is a thoroughly revised version of two addresses delivered at the International Conference "The Reformation in Germany and Lebanon 500 Years Later" held at the Near East School of Theology, June 23-28, 2016.