The Vanishing
Faith, Loss, and the Twilight of Christianity in the Land of the Prophets
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
The Vanishing reveals the plight and possible extinction of Christian communities across Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine after 2,000 years in their historical homeland. Some of the countries that first nurtured and characterized Christianity - along the North African Coast, on the Euphrates and across the Middle East and Arabia - are the ones in which it is likely to first go extinct. Christians are already vanishing. We are past the tipping point, now tilted toward the end of Christianity in its historical homeland. Christians have fled the lands where their prophets wandered, where Jesus Christ preached, where the great Doctors and hierarchs of the early church established the doctrinal norms that would last millennia. From Syria to Egypt, the cities of northern Iraq to the Gaza Strip, ancient communities, the birthplaces of prophets and saints, are losing any living connection to the religion that once was such a characteristic feature of their social and cultural lives. In The Vanishing, Janine di Giovanni has combined astonishing journalistic work to discover the last traces of small, hardy communities that have become wisely fearful of outsiders and where ancient rituals are quietly preserved amid 360 degree threats. Di Giovanni's riveting personal stories and her conception of faith and hope are intertwined throughout the chapters. The book is a unique act of pre-archeology: the last chance to visit the living religion before all that will be left are the stones of the past.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this informative work of journalism and memoir, war reporter Di Giovanni (Ghosts of Daylight) recounts her travels through the Middle East with a focus on rapidly shrinking Christian minority groups. While Islam is the majority religion of the region, there are sizable populations of Christian in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Egypt dating back to the founding of Christianity. In recent decades, Di Giovanni notes, they have suffered ethnic cleansing, political oppression, and the upheaval of civil wars. Di Giovanni's insightful reporting traces the histories of these groups and emphasizes the cultural legacies they represent; among other topics, she explains the spread and impact of ISIS on Christian minorities throughout Syria and Iraq, and the "drum roll of violence and killing" targeting Coptic Christians within Muslim Brotherhood–controlled Egypt. The propulsive account is marked by the author's keen eye for detail and the stories of the people involved, such as an Egyptian Coptic Christian jeweler who refuses to give up proclaiming his faith despite constant fear and public humiliations. This is perfect for anyone interested in the Middle East, or in how humans live through war.