22/05/2024 08:30 - 12:00

HALL: LA PIRA - ROOM 3

Proponent: Canton A., Spallino P.

Chair: Panzeca I.

Speaker: Blanquart T., Canton A., Ebeid B., Panzeca I., Sarriò Cucarella D., Spallino P.

The geographical extent of the Christian presence in the Middle East ranges from Egypt to Iraq and even beyond. Being far from the main centers of Christendom, such as Rome and Constantinople, and also as a result of Islamic expansion, the successful reception of the decisions of the ecumenical councils, as well as of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed itself, has been difficult and at times fragmented. The Symbol is a text that emerged from the need of the Council Fathers to provide an answer to the controversies about the nature of Christ that had arisen in the fourth century. The text of the Creed has certainly been commented on by Christians of the various denominations in the Middle East, but as a result of Muslim expansion, it has also become a text that has needed to be defended (apologetic aspect) or has been attacked (polemical aspect). Christians have had to justify this text in the Muslim context where Qur'anic quotations and Muslim traditions have been used by Christian authors to support the veracity of the statements of the Symbol of Faith. In contrast, on the Muslim side, several Muslim authors have given an account of this text sometimes only by quoting it and sometimes by commenting on it polemically to demonstrate the errors professed by Christians in their Creed.