Christians

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 in Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

make up about 9.0% of the population, and can be divided into two groups.

Expatriate Christians

Foreign citizens from all the world who live and work in Bahrain make up the majority of Christians in Bahrain. They belong to various Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches.

Bahraini Christians

Christians who hold Bahraini citizenship number some 1,000 persons. The majority of Christians are originally from Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

, Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, or Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, although there are smaller numbers from Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Many of them still retain cultural traits of their original homelands. For example, many of the Christians from the Levant

Levant

The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...

 speak a Levantine dialect of Arabic rather than the Bahraini Arabic dialect. The cuisine of Christian Bahrainis is also a sign of their ties to their original homelands.

The majority of Christian Bahraini citizens tend to be Orthodox Christians, with the largest church by membership being the Greek Orthodox Church

Greek Orthodox Church

The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...

. They enjoy many religious and social freedoms, and even have members in the Bahraini government. Bahrain is one of two GCC

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf , also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council , is a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf and constituting the Arabian Peninsula, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates...

 countries to have a local Christian population; the other country, Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, also has Christian population but in much smaller numbers, with only about 200 Christian citizens.

Selected churches

• St. Christopher's Cathedral - Anglican
• Sacred Heart Church (Manama, Bahrain)
  Sacred Heart Church (Manama, Bahrain)
  The Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Manama, Bahrain. The church is one of only two catholic churches in Bahrain . The Sacred Heart Church serves an estimated 140,000 people. The parish priest is Fr. Uldarico Camus.-History:In January, 1938 or 1939, H.E...
  
   - Catholic
• The National Evangelical Church http://www.necbahrain.org/
• The Bahrain Malayalee Church of South India
• St. Mary's Orthodox Church - Indian Orthodox http://www.stmarybahrain.com/
• St. Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
• The Mar Thoma Church & St. Paul's Marthoma Church
• Saar Fellowship http://www.saarfellowship.com/

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Bahrain
  Roman Catholicism in Bahrain
  The Roman Catholic Church in Bahrain is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome....
  
  
• Sacred Heart Church (Manama, Bahrain)
  Sacred Heart Church (Manama, Bahrain)
  The Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Manama, Bahrain. The church is one of only two catholic churches in Bahrain . The Sacred Heart Church serves an estimated 140,000 people. The parish priest is Fr. Uldarico Camus.-History:In January, 1938 or 1939, H.E...
  
  
• Christians in Bahrain (historical region)

External links

• St Christopher’s Cathedral and Awali Anglican Church