Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

make up about 14.5% of the population. Bahrain has had a native

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

community for many centuries, with the first recorded presence dating back to the 12th century. Expatriate Christians, however, make up the majority of Christians in Bahrain, while local Christian Bahrainis (who hold Bahraini citizenship) make up a much smaller community.

Alees Samaan Alees Thomas Samaan (sometimes spelled as Alice) is a Bahraini politician and former ambassador to the United Kingdom. She was the first woman to chair a parliament in the Middle East when in April 2005 she chaired Bahrain's upper house of parliam ...

, the former Bahraini ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, is a native Christian. Saint Christopher's Catedral Bahrain A 865

Bahraini Christians

Christians who hold Bahraini citizenship number approximately 1,000.2010 Census shows only two religion categories: "Muslim" and "Other". Reasonably assuming majority of "Other" Bahraini citizens is Christian. The majority of the Christians are originally from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, with a small minority having lived in Bahrain for many centuries; the majority have been living as Bahraini citizens for less than a century. There are also smaller numbers of native Christians who originally hail from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The majority of Christian Bahraini citizens tend to be

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

s, with the largest church by membership being the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. They enjoy many equal religious and social freedoms. Bahrain has Christian members in the Bahraini government. Bahrain is one of two GCC countries to have a native Christian population; the other country,

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, also has Christian population but in smaller numbers, with less than 400 Christian Kuwaiti citizens.

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Christians in Bahrain traditionally belong to the jurisdiction of

Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

. An Eastern Orthodox parish in Bahrain was organized in 2000 by late metropolitan

Constantine Papastephanou Constantine Papastephanou ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Παπαστεφάνου; born 1924, Damascus, State of Damascus – 17 April 2016, Athens, Greece) was an Eastern Orthodox hierarch and long serving (1969-2014) Metropolitan bishop, Metropoli ...

of Baghdad and Kuwait (1969-2014), who also had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Eastern Orthodox in Bahrain and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Expatriate Christians

Foreign citizens who live and work in Bahrain make up the majority of Christians in Bahrain. They include people from Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. They belong to various Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches.

Notable Bahraini Christians

- Former Bahraini ambassador to the

. *Hani Aziz - Pastor of the Arabic Congregation of the National Evangelical Church in Bahrain
Hala Qurisa
- Second Deputy Chairman of the Shura Council. *

Camillo Ballin Camillo Ballin (June 24, 1944 – April 12, 2020) was an Italian-Bahraini Catholic bishop, writer, missionary, and educator who was the Vicar Apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia. Family and early life Camillo Ballin, son of ...

, Italian-Bahraini Bishop

Selected churches

* Sacred Heart Church (Manama, Bahrain) - Catholic *St. Mary's Orthodox Church - Indian Orthodo

*St. Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church *The Mar Thoma Church & St. Paul's Marthoma Church *Saar Fellowshi

*Indian Pentecostal Church of God Bahrain *IPC SHALOM Bahrain *House of Praise Community Churc

*St. Christopher's Cathedral - Anglican *The National Evangelical Churc
The Father's House AG Church
*The Bahrain Malayalee Church of South India

Notes

References

External links

St Christopher’s Cathedral and Awali Anglican Church

The Father's House AG Church

The House of Praise Community Church
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