Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half , or third, of the Mediterranean Sea , often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea .
60-486: The Levant ( / l ə ˈ v æ n t / lə- VANT ) is a term used to define the historical and geographical subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west and core West Asia , or by the political term, Middle East to the east . In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is equivalent to Cyprus and a stretch of land bordering
120-784: A Muslim majority in the Levant is presumed to have been reached by the 13th century. The majority of Levantine Muslims are Sunnis adhering to the four madhhabs ( Hanafi , Shafi'i , Hanbali and Maliki ). Islamic minorities include the Alawites and Nizari Ismailis in Syria, and Twelver Shiites in Lebanon . Levantine Christian groups include Greek Orthodox ( Antiochian Greek ), Syriac Orthodox , Eastern Catholic ( Syriac Catholic , Melkite and Maronite ), Roman Catholic ( Latin ), Nestorian , and Protestant . Armenians mostly belong to
180-554: A hybrid of mostly medieval Arabic vernaculars with strong influence from contact with Turkish and Greek, spoken by approximately 1,000 people. Western Neo-Aramaic is additionally spoken in three villages in Syria: Maaloula , Jubb'adin and Bakhah . Among diaspora communities based in the Levant, Greek , Armenian and Circassian are also spoken. According to recent ancient DNA studies, Levantines derive most of their ancestry from ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of
240-436: A number of other varieties and dialects of Arabic are spoken in the Levant area, such as Levantine Bedawi Arabic (by Bedouins ) and Mesopotamian Arabic (in eastern Syria). Of the languages of Cyprus , the two official languages are Turkish and Greek. The most used languages by population are Greek in the south followed by Turkish in the north. Two minority languages are recognized: Armenian , and Cypriot Maronite Arabic ,
300-698: A particular Church". "Church or rite" is also used as a single heading in the United States Library of Congress classification of works. Historically, the governing entity of the Latin Church (i.e. the Holy See ) has been viewed as one of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy of early Christianity , along with the patriarchates of Constantinople , Alexandria , Antioch , and Jerusalem . Due to geographic and cultural considerations,
360-559: A schism which was not analogous since it was not based upon the same historical factors and involved far more profound theological dissent from the teaching of the totality of previously existing historical Christian churches. Until 2005, the pope claimed the title " patriarch of the West "; Benedict XVI set aside this title. Following the Islamic conquests , the Crusades were launched by
420-865: Is also known as the Western Church ( Latin : Ecclesia Occidentalis ). It is also known as the Roman Church ( Latin : Ecclesia Romana ), the Latin Catholic Church , and in some contexts as the Roman Catholic Church (though this name can also refer to the Catholic Church as a whole). One of the pope's traditional titles in some eras and contexts has been the Patriarch of the West . The Latin Church
480-763: Is borrowed from the French levant 'rising', referring to the rising of the sun in the east, or the point where the sun rises. The phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare , meaning 'lift, raise'. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή Anatolē ( cf. Anatolia 'the direction of sunrise'), in Germanic Morgenland ( lit. ' morning land ' ), in Italian (as in Riviera di Levante ,
540-488: Is necessarily a member of a particular church. A person also inherits, or "is of", a particular patrimony or rite. Since the rite has liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary elements, a person is also to worship, to be catechized, to pray and to be governed according to a particular rite. Particular churches that inherit and perpetuate a particular patrimony are identified by the metonymy "church" or "rite". Accordingly, "Rite" has been defined as "a division of
600-517: Is referred to as the Gallican Rite, used in Gaulish or Frankish territories. This was a conglomeration of varying forms, not unlike the present Hispano-Mozarabic Rite in its general structures, but never strictly codified and which from at least the seventh century was gradually infiltrated, and then eventually for the most part replaced, by liturgical texts and forms which had their origin in
660-399: Is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire and likewise that it should adapt its way of life to the different needs of time and place" and spoke of patriarchs and of "major archbishops, who rule the whole of some individual Church or Rite". It thus used the word "Rite" as "a technical designation of what may now be called
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#1732758403955720-702: The Archdiocese of Milan , in Italy , and much closer in form, though not specific content, to the Roman Rite; and the Carthusian Rite , practised within the strict Carthusian monastic Order , which also employs in general terms forms similar to the Roman Rite, but with a number of significant divergences which have adapted it to the distinctive way of life of the Carthusians. There once existed what
780-702: The Armenian Apostolic Church . There are also Levantines or Franco-Levantines who adhere to Roman Catholicism . There are also Assyrians belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church . Other religious groups in the Levant include Jews , Samaritans , Yazidis and Druze . Most populations in the Levant speak Levantine Arabic ( شامي , Šāmī ), a variety of Arabic descended from
840-614: The Black Sea 's economy and history. The three-word term is mainly a complex euphemism for the Balkan peninsula used by those who stigmatise the word " Balkanisation " and to suggest parallels with other conflicts of the Eastern Mediterranean. The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean includes the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the other regions of contiguous Afro-Eurasia : West Asia , North Africa ,
900-692: The Bronze and Iron age Levant. Other Arabs include the Bedouins of Syrian Desert , Naqab and eastern Syria , who speak Bedouin Arabic . Non-Arab minorities include Circassians , Chechens , Turks , Jews , Turkmens , Assyrians , Kurds , Nawars and Armenians . Overlapping regional designations Subregional designations Others Other places in the east of a larger region Eastern Mediterranean It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communities connected with
960-716: The Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper. Cilicia (in Asia Minor) and the Sinai Peninsula (Asian Egypt) are sometimes included. As a name for the contemporary region, several dictionaries consider Levant to be archaic today. Both the noun Levant and the adjective Levantine are now commonly used to describe the ancient and modern culture area formerly called Syro-Palestinian or Biblical: archaeologists now speak of
1020-720: The Dominican rite, and perhaps still other rites of which I am not aware. Today, the most common Latin liturgical rites are the Roman Rite —either the post- Vatican II Mass promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and revised by Pope John Paul II in 2002 (the "Ordinary Form" ), or the 1962 form of the Tridentine Mass (the "Extraordinary Form"); the Ambrosian Rite ; the Mozarabic Rite ; and variations of
1080-621: The Greek Dodecanese islands, and the countries of Lebanon , Syria , Palestine , Israel , Jordan and Egypt . North-eastern Mediterranean has been put to print as a term for the Greater Balkans: Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Greece , Slovenia , North Macedonia , Serbia , Kosovo , Montenegro , Romania . A five-author statistics-rich study of 2019 has sought to add Moldova and Ukraine beyond, which others link more to
1140-478: The Greek islands ). In 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon (1920–1946) was called the Levant states. Today, "Levant" is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted
1200-625: The Horn of Africa , Central Asia , Afghanistan , and Pakistan . Latin Church God Schools Relations with: The Latin Church ( Latin : Ecclesia Latina ) is the largest autonomous ( sui iuris ) particular church within the Catholic Church , whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 churches sui iuris in full communion with
1260-803: The Latin liturgical rites on 24 October 1998: Several forms of the Latin rite have always existed, and were only slowly withdrawn, as a result of the coming together of the different parts of Europe. Before the Council there existed, side by side with the Roman rite , the Ambrosian rite , the Mozarabic rite of Toledo , the rite of Braga , the Carthusian rite , the Carmelite rite, and best known of all,
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#17327584039551320-626: The Latin liturgical rites , of which the Roman Rite is predominant. The Latin liturgical rites are contrasted with the liturgical rites of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches defines the use within that code of the words "church" and "rite". In accordance with these definitions of usage within the code that governs the Eastern Catholic Churches ,
1380-541: The Mediterranean Sea in western Asia: i.e. the historical region of Syria ("Greater Syria"), which includes present-day Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Syria , the Palestinian territories and most of Turkey southwest of the middle Euphrates . Its overwhelming characteristic is that it represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia . In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of
1440-767: The Ottoman Sultan in 1579. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire , and in 1670 the French Compagnie du Levant [ fr ] was founded for the same purpose. At this time, the Far East was known as the "Upper Levant". In early 19th-century travel writing , the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman Empire , as well as independent Greece (and especially
1500-731: The Southern Levant . While the usage of the term "Levant" in academia has been restricted to the fields of archeology and literature, there is a recent attempt to reclaim the notion of the Levant as a category of analysis in political and social sciences. Two academic journals were launched in the early 2010s using the word: the Journal of Levantine Studies , published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review , published by Boston College . The word Levant has been used in some translations of
1560-632: The early modern period and subsequently, the Latin Church carried out evangelizing missions to the Americas , and from the late modern period to Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia . The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century resulted in Protestantism breaking away, resulting in the fragmentation of Western Christianity , including not only Protestant offshoots of the Latin Church, but also smaller groups of 19th-century break-away Independent Catholic denominations . The historical part of
1620-581: The one true church as defined by the Four Marks of the Church in Catholic ecclesiology . The approximately 18 million Eastern Catholics represent a minority of Christians in communion with the pope, compared to well over 1 billion Latin Catholics. Additionally, there are roughly 250 million Eastern Orthodox and 86 million Oriental Orthodox around the world that are not in union with Rome. Unlike
1680-539: The pope ; the other 23 are collectively referred to as the Eastern Catholic Churches , and have approximately 18 million members combined. The Latin Church is directly headed by the pope in his role as the bishop of Rome , whose cathedra as a bishop is located in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome , Italy . The Latin Church both developed within and strongly influenced Western culture ; as such, it
1740-518: The vernacular . The predominant liturgical rite is the Roman Rite , elements of which have been practiced since the fourth century. There exist and have existed since ancient times additional Latin liturgical rites and uses , including the currently used Mozarabic Rite in restricted use in Spain, the Ambrosian Rite in parts of Italy, and the Anglican Use in the personal ordinariates . In
1800-693: The Bishop of Rome and the Latin Church, following various theological and jurisdictional disputes in the centuries following the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. These included notably the Nestorian Schism (431–544) ( Church of the East ), Chalcedonian Schism (451) ( Oriental Orthodoxy ), and the East-West Schism (1054) ( Eastern Orthodoxy ). The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century saw
1860-611: The Catholic Church as the names of Catholic titular sees , irrespective of the question of liturgical families. In the Catholic Church, in addition to the Latin Church—directly headed by the pope as Latin patriarch and notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments — there are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches , self-governing particular churches sui iuris with their own hierarchies. Most of these churches trace their origins to
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1920-581: The Catholic Church in the West is called the Latin Church to distinguish itself from the Eastern Catholic Churches which are also under the pope's primacy . In historical context, before the East–West Schism in 1054 the Latin Church is sometimes referred to as the Western Church . Writers belonging to various Protestant denominations sometime use the term Western Church as an implicit claim to legitimacy. The term Latin Catholic refers to followers of
1980-428: The Catholic Church; they may continue as married priests. In the Latin Church, a married man may not be admitted even to the diaconate unless he is legitimately destined to remain a deacon and not become a priest. Marriage after ordination is not possible, and attempting it can result in canonical penalties. The Eastern Catholic Churches, unlike the Latin Church, have a married clergy. At the present time, Bishops in
2040-564: The Christian Church using a distinctive liturgy", or simply as "a Christian Church". In this sense, "Rite" and "Church" are treated as synonymous, as in the glossary prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and revised in 1999, which states that each "Eastern-rite (Oriental) Church ... is considered equal to the Latin rite within the Church". The Second Vatican Council likewise stated that "it
2100-560: The Eastern Mediterranean with its islands; that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece in Southern Europe to Egypt and Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya) in Northern Africa . In the 13th and 14th centuries, the term levante was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Anatolia , Syria-Palestine , and Egypt , that is,
2160-421: The Latin Church are generally appointed by the pope after hearing the advice of the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia , specifically the Congregation for Bishops , the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (for countries in its care), the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State (for appointments that require the consent or prior notification of civil governments), and
2220-456: The Latin Church is one such group of Christian faithful united by a hierarchy and recognized by the supreme authority of the Catholic Church as a sui iuris particular Church. The "Latin Rite" is the whole of the patrimony of that distinct particular church, by which it manifests its own manner of living the faith, including its own liturgy, its theology, its spiritual practices and traditions and its canon law. A Catholic, as an individual person,
2280-443: The Latin Church, the pope does not exercise a direct patriarchal role over the Eastern Catholic churches and their faithful, instead encouraging their internal hierarchies, which while separate from that of the Latin Church and function analogously to it, and follow the traditions shared with the corresponding Eastern Christian churches in Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) described
2340-658: The Levant and of Levantine archaeology ; food scholars speak of Levantine cuisine ; and the Latin Christians of the Levant continue to be called Levantine Christians . The Levant has been described as the "crossroads of Western Asia , the Eastern Mediterranean, and Northeast Africa ", and in geological ( tectonic ) terms as the "northwest of the Arabian Plate ". The populations of the Levant share not only geographic position, but cuisine , some customs, and history . They are often referred to as Levantines . The term Levant appears in English in 1497 , and originally meant 'the East ' or 'Mediterranean lands east of Italy'. It
2400-422: The Roman Rite (such as the Anglican Use ). The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches employ five different families of liturgical rites. The Latin liturgical rites are used only in a single sui iuris particular church. Of other liturgical families, the main survivors are what is now referred to officially as the Hispano-Mozarabic Rite , still in restricted use in Spain; the Ambrosian Rite , centred geographically on
2460-444: The Sun rises". In 1581, England set up the Levant Company to trade with the Ottoman Empire . The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and Lebanon after World War I . This is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used more specifically to refer to modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and the island of Cyprus . Some scholars mistakenly believed that it derives from
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2520-415: The West from 1095 to 1291 in order to defend Christians and their properties in the Holy Land against persecution . In the long term the Crusaders did not succeed in re-establishing political and military control of Palestine, which like former Christian North Africa and the rest of the Middle East remained under Islamic control. The names of many former Christian dioceses of this vast area are still used by
2580-409: The boundaries of the Levant as follows. A distinction is made between the main subregions of the Levant, the northern and the southern: The island of Cyprus is also included as a third subregion in the archaeological region of the Levant: The vast majority of Levantines are Muslims . After the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, Islam was first introduced into the region. However,
2640-770: The diocese of Rome. Other former "Rites" in past times practised in certain religious orders and important cities were in truth usually partial variants upon the Roman Rite and have almost entirely disappeared from current use, despite limited nostalgic efforts at revival of some of them and a certain indulgence by the Roman authorities. Jus novum ( c. 1140 -1563) Jus novissimum ( c. 1563 -1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of
2700-431: The faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life Canon law for the Latin Church is codified in the Code of Canon Law , of which there have been two codifications, the first promulgated by Pope Benedict XV in 1917 and
2760-489: The island of Cyprus in Levantine studies, including the Council for British Research in the Levant , the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department, Journal of Levantine Studies and the UCL Institute of Archaeology, the last of which has dated the connection between Cyprus and mainland Levant to the early Iron Age . Archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of
2820-417: The lands east of Venice . Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. The term entered English in the late 15th century from French. It derives from the Italian levante , meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east, and is broadly equivalent to the term al-Mashriq ( Arabic : ٱلْمَشْرِق , [ʔal.maʃ.riq] ), meaning "the eastern place, where
2880-409: The latter patriarchates developed into churches with distinct Eastern Christian traditions. This scheme, tacitly at least accepted by Rome, is constructed from the viewpoint of Greek Christianity and does not take into consideration other churches of great antiquity which developed in the East outside the frontiers of the Roman Empire. The majority of Eastern Christian Churches broke full communion with
2940-437: The mainland and islands of Greece ), the Ionian Sea (thus southern Albania in Southeastern Europe ), and can extend west to Italy 's farthest south-eastern coasts. Jordan is climatically and economically part of the region. The eastern Mediterranean region is commonly interpreted in two ways: The countries and territories of the Eastern Mediterranean include Cyprus , Turkey ( Anatolia ), its smaller Hatay Province ,
3000-429: The mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion." In the Eastern Churches these sacraments are usually administered immediately after baptism , even for an infant. Celibacy , as a consequence of the duty to observe perfect continence, is obligatory for priests in the Latin Church. An exception is made for married clergy from other churches, who join
3060-507: The name of Lebanon. Today the term is often used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. Another term for "Syria-Palestine" is Ash- Shaam ( Arabic : ٱلشَّام , /ʔaʃ.ʃaːm/ ), the area that is bounded by the Taurus Mountains of Turkey in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east, and Sinai in the south (which can be fully included or not). Typically, it does not include Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor),
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#17327584039553120-454: The other four patriarchates of the ancient pentarchy , but either never historically broke full communion or returned to it with the Papacy at some time. These differ from each other in liturgical rite (ceremonies, vestments, chants, language), devotional traditions, theology , canon law , and clergy , but all maintain the same faith, and all see full communion with the pope as bishop of Rome as essential to being Catholic as well as part of
3180-468: The portion of the Liguria coast east of Genoa ), in Hungarian Kelet ('east'), in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant , ('the place of rising'), and in Hebrew מִזְרָח mizraḥ ('east'). Most notably, "Orient" and its Latin source oriens meaning 'east', is literally "rising", deriving from Latin orior 'rise'. The notion of the Levant has undergone a dynamic process of historical evolution in usage, meaning, and understanding. While
3240-436: The pre-Islamic Arabic dialects of Syria and Hejazi Arabic , but retaining significant influence from Western Middle Aramaic . Levantine Arabic is usually classified as North Levantine Arabic in Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Turkey, and South Levantine Arabic in Palestine and Jordan. Each of these encompasses a spectrum of regional or urban/rural variations. In addition to the varieties normally grouped together as "Levantine",
3300-408: The sea and land greatly climatically influenced. It includes the southern half of Turkey's main region Anatolia , its smaller Hatay Province , the island of Cyprus , the Greek Dodecanese islands, and the countries of Egypt , Israel , Jordan , Palestine , Syria and Lebanon . Its broadest uses can encompass the Libyan Sea (thus Libya ), the Aegean Sea (thus European Turkey and
3360-457: The second by Pope John Paul II in 1983. In the Latin Church, the norm for administration of confirmation is that, except when in danger of death, the person to be confirmed should "have the use of reason, be suitably instructed, properly disposed, and able to renew the baptismal promises", and "the administration of the Most Holy Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand
3420-466: The term ash-Shām as used by the organization known as ISIL, ISIS, and other names , though there is disagreement as to whether this translation is accurate. In The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE (OHAL; 2013), the definition of the Levant for the specific purposes of the book is synonymous to that of the Arabic " bilad al-sham , 'the land of sham [Syria]'", translating in Western parlance to greater Syria . OHAL defines
3480-432: The term "Levantine" originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it later came to refer to regional "native" and "minority" groups. The term became current in English in the 16th century, along with the first English merchant adventurers in the region; English ships appeared in the Mediterranean in the 1570s, and the English merchant company signed its agreement (" capitulations ") with
3540-511: The term Levant to identify the region due to its being a "wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus" that does not have the "political overtones" of Syria-Palestine. The term is also used for modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region, namely Cyprus , Egypt , Iraq , Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Palestine , Syria , and Turkey are sometimes considered Levant countries (compare with Near East , Middle East , Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia ). Several researchers include
3600-406: Was in full communion with what is referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church until the East-West schism of Rome and Constantinople in 1054. From that time, but also before it, it became common to refer to Western Christians as Latins in contrast to Byzantines or Greeks . The Latin Church employs the Latin liturgical rites , which since the mid-20th century are very often translated into
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