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In response to those who attended our conference at Lambeth Palace, Friends have published a booklet which outlines the history and current situation of the different churches in the Middle East. It is available from the BibleLands office at a price of £4 inc p&p for Friends and £5 for non-Friends.

Rt Rev Dr Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter and a patron of BibleLands has read the booklet and here's his review:

'How little so many Christians seem to know about their fellow Christians in the Middle East! In fact, I come across many church people in the UK who seem surprised to discover that there are significant Christian communities there at all. In spite of knowing of Christianity’s beginnings in Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem many now see the lands of the Bible as either an ‘Islamic’ world, or, in the case of Israel/Palestine, a setting for long standing conflicts between Muslims and Jews. Yet in this region are to be found some of the oldest Christian churches in the world, and they deserve to be known about far more.

It is, therefore, very good to welcome this new booklet by Hugh Boulter, which provides such a clear introduction to, and understanding of, the Christian Presence in the Lands of the Bible. He has brought together a wealth of information that is otherwise difficult to find in one place. Here we are given a brief, but systematic, overview of the main church families in the region, their origins and the relationships between them. As a resource for a church home group, for schools, for those planning to visit the middle East or for the general reader I commend this introduction to the life of the ancient Christian churches who need to be better known, understood and celebrated by their fellow Christians in the West'.

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