The Vanishing: The Twilight of Christianity in the Middle East

The Vanishing is a tragic portrait of a disappearing world, created with passion and literary grace. It reveals the plight and possible extinction of Christian communities across Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine after 2,000 years in their historical homeland. Janine di Giovanni has combined astonishing journalistic work to discover the last traces of small, hardy communities where ancient rituals are quietly preserved amid 360-degree threats.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 24 November 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Salman Rushdie's 'The Vanishing' is a poignant portrayal of a fading world, crafted with passion and literary finesse. Hisham Matar describes it as profoundly moving. Mark Tully praises it as a profound and thought-provoking exploration.

The book delves into the plight and potential extinction of Christian communities across Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine, after a span of 2,000 years in their historical homeland. Some of the regions that initially nurtured and shaped Christianity, such as along the North African Coast, on the Euphrates, and across the Middle East and Arabia, are the ones where it is most likely to disappear first. Christians are already dwindling. We have crossed the tipping point and are now moving towards the end of Christianity in its historical homeland. Christians have abandoned the lands where their prophets roamed, where Jesus Christ preached, and where the great Doctors and hierarchs of the early church established the doctrinal norms that would endure for millennia. From Syria to Egypt, the cities of northern Iraq to the Gaza Strip, ancient communities, the birthplaces of prophets and saints, are losing their living connection to the religion that once defined their social and cultural lives.

In 'The Vanishing', Janine di Giovanni has undertaken an astonishing journalistic journey to uncover the last remnants of small, resilient communities where ancient rituals are quietly preserved amidst a myriad of threats. Full of faith and hope, di Giovanni's captivating personal stories offer a unique act of pre-archeology: a final opportunity to visit the living religion before all that remains are the stones of the past.

Weight: 194g
Dimension: 130 x 197 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526625854