Dr. Michael Parker, professor of church history and director of graduate studies here at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, writes in the Presbyterian Outlook about the Center for Middle Eastern Christianity at our seminary:

CAIRO – Wageeh Mikhail, interim director of the brand-new Center for Middle Eastern Christianity, predicts the center will help counter a popular truism of its region: that Middle Eastern culture is naturally Islamic.

The center, based at a venerable Christian seminary, “will overturn this idea,” Mikhail said, “by highlighting the central role played by Arab Christians in building Arabic civilization in the Middle Ages.”

The center opened in April on the top floor of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC), which was founded in 1863 by Presbyterian missionaries. The keynote theme during opening ceremonies was the Arab proverb, “Dig deep and you will find a pot of gold under your feet” — meaning Middle Eastern Christianity has much theological treasure buried in its 2,000-year history.

Mikhail said the center will be a place to advance the scholarship of . . . read more

Dr. Michael Parker (middle) in the exhibition room of the Center for Middle Eastern Christianity

See also:

• Center for Middle Eastern Christianity (in Dutch, with pictures)
• Verslag opening Center for Middle Eastern Christianity (in Dutch)
• Photo album on Facebook of grand opening Center for Middle Eastern Christianity
• 150 Years of Witness in Egypt, an earlier article by Dr. Michael Parker