To the History of the Study of Ancient Christianity in Syria

Abstract

The paper attempts to outline the historiography of the history of Christianity and the ancient church in Syria in the pre-Nicene period. For this purpose, the authors propose their own classification of microregions of historical Syria in the Roman and Early Byzantine period, taking into account the existing domestic and foreign historiographic traditions. A stream of foreign historiography is distinguished, which has acquired a positivistic character since the 19th century, replacing the apologetic approach. Nevertheless, the views of foreign researchers, as a rule, have largely been influenced by the confessional approach, mainly Protestant. In the domestic historiographic tradition, these problems  have been dealt with much less. It is possible to single out only the Minsk school of studying ancient Christianity which was formed in the Soviet period but is still developing today. In addition, it is possible to mention only individual names of scientists who have either systematically or episodically addressed this issue. Among the individual topics and subjects of interest are the activities of the apostles in Syria, the role of Antioch and Edessa,

the role of the first bishops of the Antiochian church, as well as the lives of Syria’s saints. As a result of the research, the authors conclude that a fullfledged  modern study of the history of Christianity and the church in pre-Nicene Syria has yet to be done.