02 — The Antiochian Church in the 19th Century
The ecclesial and political world of St. Joseph’s ministry: Arab Orthodoxy under Ottoman rule, the millet system, the long tension between a Greek-led hierarchy and an Arab laity in the Patriarchate of Antioch, and Joseph’s own parish ministry in the Christian quarter of Damascus.
Tradition: Antiochian Orthodox (Arab New-Martyr of the Patriarchate of Antioch)
This section sets the frame within which Joseph lived and served. His martyrdom cannot be understood apart from the situation of the Orthodox of Antioch in the nineteenth century — a minority community under Ottoman law, ancient in its faith but strained by an internal Greek–Arab tension over the leadership of its own Church, and gathered, in Damascus, in the vulnerable Christian quarter that 1860 would destroy.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| arab-orthodoxy-under-ottoman-rule.md | The millet system and the legal position of Ottoman Christians; the Greek–Arab tension in the Patriarchate of Antioch; and the later chapter that runs through St. Raphael of Brooklyn. |
| pastor-of-damascus.md | Joseph’s parish ministry as Great Economos of the Mariamite cathedral; the community of Bab Touma and the Christian quarter he served. |
See Also
- Foundations — who Joseph was
- The 1860 Events in Context — the causes of the catastrophe that struck this world
- St. Raphael of Brooklyn — the Antiochian-Arab story a generation later