Lebanon has the highest rate of Christians in the Middle East, where the percentage ranges between 39% and 40.5% of its population. (no official census has been made in Lebanon since 1932). The majority of these consists of the Maronite Church based in Beirut, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Pope and the rest of the Catholic Church.
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Catholicism portal
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The Catholic Church in the Middle East is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Catholic Church is said to have traditionally originated in the Middle East in the 1st century AD, and was one of the major religions of the region from the 4th-century Byzantine reforms until the centuries following the Arab Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD. Ever since, its proportion has decreased until today's diaspora tendency, mainly due to persecution by Islamic majority societies. In most Islamic countries, the Catholic Church is severely restricted or outlawed. Significant exceptions include Israel and Lebanon.
The largest group remaining in the Middle East is the Maronite Church based in Beirut, Lebanon, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Pope and the rest of the Catholic Church.
For specific nations (including Eastern Catholic churches), see:
Catholic Church in Armenia
Armenian Catholic Church
Catholic Church in Azerbaijan
Catholic Church in Israel
Catholic Church in Iran
Catholic Church in Iraq
Chaldean Catholic Church
Catholic Church in Egypt
Coptic Catholic Church
Catholic Church in Jordan
Catholic Church in Kuwait
Catholic Church in Lebanon
Maronite Church
Catholic Church in Oman
Catholic Church in the Palestinian territories
Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates
Catholic Church in Saudi Arabia
Catholic Church in Syria
Syriac Catholic Church
Melkite Catholic Church
Catholic Church in Turkey
Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
Catholic Church in Yemen
Catholic Church in Bahrain
In addition, the Latin Church in the Middle East comprise Latin Catholics, called Latins during the Middle Ages, subject to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
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