Christians and Christianity in the Holy Land: From the Origins to the Latin Kingdoms (review)

As Guy G. Stroumsa's introduction explains, the primary aim of this collection of essays is to deal 'with Christianity and Christians in the Holy Land, rather than with the Holy Land in Christian consciousness' (p. 3). The volume, whose origins lie in a conference held in Jerusalem in 1999, is intended to fill a perceived gap in the historiography and provide a springboard for future research. The thirteen articles are divided into two sections, the first of which, under the title 'History', contains five essays which sketch the development of Christianity in the region from the religion's inception up until Salah al-Din's conquest of Jerusalem in 1187. The remaining eight essays, grouped under the title 'Major Themes and Issues', begin with Christoph Markschies' evaluation of the extent to which the region's native-born churchmen contributed, or rather failed to contribute, to the shaping of Christian thought in the third and fourth centuries. They conclude with Bianca Kühnel's considered exploration of the part played by the Holy Land in the evolution of Christian art and architecture. Along the route between these two points are to be found articles as varied as Ora Limor's wide-ranging examination of pilgrimage and sacred landscape and Stéphane Verhelst's detailed study of the Jerusalem liturgy.

Amongst the most thought-provoking contributions in the collection are Günter Stemberger's consideration of Christian-Jewish relations under Byzantine rule and Yizhar Hirschfeld's exploration of the types of monastery that developed in the region. One of this volume's key strengths lies in its organisation: the editors have ensured that the majority of articles contain, where appropriate, references to material elsewhere in the volume. For example, the casual reader of Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony and Aryeh Kofsky's general survey of monasticism in the Holy Land will find themselves usefully directed to Sidney H. Griffith's exploration of the evolution of Christianity under the Caliphate.

While the range of essays in this collection certainly justifies the subtitle From the Origins to the Latin Kingdoms, it is worth noting that those interested in the history of the Byzantine and pre-Byzantine Church will find more to interest them than the historian of the Muslim world or the crusades. While Griffith's contribution certainly shines much-needed light on Christian use of Arabic and the language's role in shaping the identity of the Orthodox community in the wake of the Arab conquests, it is unfortunate that none of the essays focus on the broader interaction between Christianity and Islam in the era of the Caliphate. Another topic notable by its absence is a dedicated discussion of the evolution of non-Chalcedonian Christianity in the Holy Land. Overall, however, this is an excellent, informative volume that will doubtless spark new and innovative research.