Jordan’s Christians: A Community With Roots Older Than the Modern State

An armed attack on a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral in Jordan’s southern governorate of Karak has renewed attention on the kingdom’s Christian community and its long history in the region.

Christians have lived in the area for centuries before the establishment of the modern Jordanian state. Their presence is part of the region’s historical and religious heritage, rather than a recent development in the kingdom’s society.

Jordanian Christians belong to several church traditions, including Greek Orthodoxy, the denomination of the church targeted in Karak. The term describes a religiously diverse community with deep local roots, not a single congregation or church.

The attack has brought that broader history into focus alongside concern over violence at a place of worship. Understanding Jordan’s Christians means looking beyond the incident to a community whose story predates the country’s modern borders and institutions.