BeFriending

It is often not recognized here in Australia that a number of countries in the Middle East actually have significant Christian populations that go back long in time. Armenia, for instance, was the first nation in the world to declare itself Christian. It made that decision in 301, almost a quarter of a century before the first great council of the ecumenical church, Nicaea. What we know as Lebanon today is a much a part of the Holy Land as Israel / Palestine. The land of Lebanon is mentioned 71 times in the Bible. Jesus made his way through Tyre and Sidon.

It is not well known but the Lebanese (originally described as ‘Syrian’) diaspora is one of the oldest in Australia. The first wave dates back to the 1870s; there may have been individuals before then (even the First Fleet!). The first two of three waves were predominantly Christian. Other related denominations in Australia were quicker to establish links back to the Middle Eastern churches. Redfern was once called ‘Little Beirut’.